About the work
Farce with song in two acts by Johann Nestroy, premiered on 6 May 1836 at the Theater an der Wien as a benefit performance for the author. Nestroy drew on Josef Alois Gleich's play "Maler Klex oder Das Notwendige und das Überflüssige" (1819), itself based on the French comedy "Le Nécessaire et le Superflu" by Charles Auguste de Sarrazin.
Plot
The poor rope-maker Sebastian Faden becomes an unwitting hero through sleepwalking when he prevents a robbery one night. A wealthy lord then bets that he can make Faden permanently happy through money: with magical help Faden gains wealth and marries Emilie, but loses his fortune the moment he makes a frivolous wish. Only a second sleepwalking episode clears up an old misunderstanding and saves his reputation, whereupon the lord grants him modest but genuine happiness.
Cultural significance
With 110 performances, the play was among the most successful farces of its time; a contemporary critic remarked that anyone wanting their sides shaken for hours would get their money's worth here, praising in particular the interplay between Nestroy and Wenzel Scholz.