About the work
Die Zauberreise in die Ritterzeit (in full "...oder Die Übermüthigen oder Vergangenheit und Gegenwart") is an original magic farce in three acts by Johann Nestroy with music by Adolf Müller the Elder, premiered on 20 October 1832 at the Theater an der Wien.
Plot
A family is infatuated with chivalry and finds its own present dull; the fairies Present and her mother Past magically transport the dreamers into the Middle Ages to cure them. There they experience brutally ruling knights and the oppression of women, and finally end up locked in a starvation tower, after which, cured of their idealisation of chivalry, they return to the present.
Cultural significance
Contemporary critics praised the original idea of a time trip used to disillusion romantic nostalgia for the past, but criticised the superficial execution of the material; the play was dropped after just five performances in October 1832, and two revival attempts in 1836 were likewise unsuccessful.