There is also a tradition, albeit relatively rare today in Germany, of
Kasperletheater using stringed marionettes. (The Augsburger
Peppenkisten, for example, plays Kasperle as a marionette; in the Czech
tradition, Kasparek is usually a marionette). This is usually a
professional practice and comes rather directly from antecedents in
marionettes based on figures from the Italian Commedia. The puppets for
which Mozart composed his youthful puppet play were probably
marionettes, as were the Kasperle puppets in the 19th century plays by
Franz von Pocci. The handpuppets, on the the other hand are indeed now
an ubiquitous children's toy in Germany as well as used by
professionals, and while Kasperle is the direct relation of Punch in
English-speaking countries or Jan Klassen in Holland and even the FRench
language Grand Guignole figures, he (and his southern relation Hans
Wurst) is now a rather benign, if not even sweet, figure in Germany
Daniel Wolf
Frankfurt.
Oliver Pospiech wrote:
"Kaspertheater" or "Kasperletheater" is a puppet show with small dolls
wrapped around the players hand, what means three of his fingers move head
and the two arms of the puppet. It's a very famous childrens game, maybe
found in every home of german families.
Pictures:
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaspertheater
Oliver
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
Finale@shsu.edu
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
