Die Verschwörung des Fiesko zu Genua

by Friedrich Schiller, Joachim Hagner (Kommentator)

Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (1759-1805) was a German poet, philosopher, historian, and dramatist. Schiller wrote many philosophical papers on ethics and aesthetics. He developed the concept of the Schöne Seele (beautiful soul), a human being whose emotions have been educated by his reason, so that Pflicht und Neigung (duty and inclination) are no longer in conflict with one another; thus "beauty," for Schiller, is not merely a sensual experience, but a moral one as the Good is the Beautiful. His philosophical work was also particularly concerned with the question of human freedom, a preoccupation which also guided his historical researches. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. Critics have noted his innovative use of dramatic structure and his creation of new forms, such as the melodrama and the bourgeois tragedy. Amongst his famous works are Love and Intrigue (1784), Don Carlos (1787), The Minister (1796), The Death of Wallenstein (1799), The Piccolomini (1800) and Mary Stuart (1800).

Genres: Classics, Drama, Plays, German Literature, Germany, Literature, Theatre

Taschenbuch

First published January 1, 1783

About the author

People best know long didactic poems and historical plays, such as Don Carlos (1787) and William Tell (1804), of leading romanticist German poet, dramatist, and historian Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller.

This philosopher and dramatist struck up a productive if complicated friendship with already famous and influential Johann Wolfgang von Goethe during the last eighteen years of his life and encouraged Goethe to finish works that he left merely as sketches; they greatly discussed issues concerning aesthetics and thus gave way to a period, now referred to as classicism of Weimar. They also worked together on Die Xenien ( The Xenies ), a collection of short but harsh satires that verbally attacked perceived enemies of their aesthetic agenda.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Friedri...

Reviews

[Uralte Morla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Die Republik in Genua ist in Gefahr. Der herrschende Fürst will seinem Neffen die Nachfolge übertragen, anstatt von den Senatoren wählen zu lassen. Und dieser Neffe mit Namen Gianettino ist sich seiner Sache auch schon vollkommen sicher. Er beleidigt die Senatoren nicht nur, er schreibt sie gleich mal auf eine Todesliste, organisiert Meuchelmörder und vergewaltigt die junge Berta, weil er eben gerade Lust darauf hat. Kurzum: Er ist ein Arschloch durch und durch.
Zum Glück plottet die Gegenseite schon seinen Tod und vor allem Fiesco hat bereits alle Hebel in Bewegung gesetzt, um die Republik und damit Genua vor der Tyrannenherrschaft zu befreien.
Hat er wirklich? So ganz ehrlich ist der gute Fiesco nämlich auch nicht. Zu sehr hat er sich schon in die Idee verliebt, selbst den obersten Posten in Genua einzunehmen. Dass das nicht gut ausgehen kann, ist klar und Schiller baut ganz wunderbar alles für die finale Katastrophe zusammen.
Ein paar Längen hat sein Fiesco (1783), ein paar etwas zu geschwurbelte Dialoge. Aber es war auch erst sein zweites Theaterstück, da hat er halt noch geübt. Und dafür isses dann doch wieder ziemlich großartig.
Und immerhin Berta darf am Ende leben und glücklich sein. Das ist doch eine wesentliche Weiterentwicklung im Vergleich zu Lessing - auch wenn das arme Ding erstmal ne Weile im Keller sitzen musste.

[Maya Chhabra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fiesco, or the Genoese Conspiracy: A Republican Tragedy

This is Schiller still in his younger throw-in-everything-and-the-kitchen-sink phase (cross-dressing, republicanism, oaths, assassination plots, adultery, betrayal, rebellion!), recounting the twists and turns of the titular "Genoese Conspiracy." Highly entertaining, though I keep reading Schiller to find something that matches the brilliance of Don Carlos and yet again I was disappointed. Because the play has two different endings, I was left guessing how it would end even though I basically knew the plot- this is the tragic ending and I liked it.



Fiesco's motivations can be a bit hard to follow as at one point he says that to throw away a diadem is divine, planning not to make himself Duke, but then the next scene he's changed his mind.


Verrina's last line is one of those typical wham lines that end a Schiller play- "I go to join Andreas." Wait! You were the most ideological republican of the conspirators, and now, after Fiesco's betrayal, which you knew was coming and avenged, you go over to the side of the autocrat? How does that make sense? Verrina is a pain, especially in his melodramatic imprisonment of the innocent Bertha to manipulate the other conspirators, but his politics make sense until that last line. It sounds like I'm complaining about that line, but really it makes you think and has an emotional impact and I think it would work on stage. It's just hard to make sense of.



The scene (one of two variants, and the better of the pair) in which Bertha cross-dresses and goes out into the streets, rescuing herself, is fantastic, and the tragic consequences of Leonora's similar action have a sickening inevitability.



Andreas Doria is a fascinating character, a magnanimous tyrant who disarms Fiesco by his refusal to react to his treachery, leaving himself open to whatever Fiesco does. I like that the play argues that tyranny is a problem even when the tyrant is basically a good ruler (not that Andreas will or can reign in his horrible heir).



The character of the Moor (referenced in Vasily Grossman's Life and Fate) is cheerfully villainous in a Richard III way, with the humor coming from his incompetence. Fiesco casually uses him until he no longer needs him, then disposes of him (thus the Grossman reference) but this is complicated by the Moor's betrayal of Fiesco at one point and Fiesco's mercy then.



Pretty sure this review makes no sense unless you have read/are familiar with the play, but whatever. In conclusion, everyone should read Don Carlos, but if you like The Robbers, this is for you as well. I think this would work pretty well on stage.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Der Titel ließ mich meinen, über EINE Verschwörung zu lesen - aber hui, hier geht es ja richtig hoch her. Die Bürger von Genua sind unzufrieden mit ihrem Dogen, der zusammen mit seinem Neffen die Stadt tyrannisiert. Fiesco plant schon seit langer Hand einen Putsch, nur fehlt noch der Stein, der alles zum Rollen bringt. Als dann die Tochter eines Bekannten von des Dogen Neffen vergewaltigt wird, kann Fiesco seinen Plan endlich umsetzen. Gleichzeitig haben seine Mitverschwörer noch ihre eigenen Pläne, um die Republik zu wahren, Fiescos Gemahlin ist unendlich traurig in ihrer Ehe und auch die Tyrannen sind nicht tatenlos und scheuen keine Mühe, ihre Macht zu festigen. Mehr als genug Stoff für ein unterhaltsames und rasantes Drama, dass ich gerne mal auf der Bühne inszeniert sehen würde!

[Esdaile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dieses Stuck is sehr unterschätzt; wenn ich die Zeit dafür habe, wedre ich hier meine Rechfertigung für diese Meinung geben

[Ilja Leonard Pfeijffer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich habe das Stück für die Hälfte gelesen in der deutschen Originalfassung und ganz gesehen auf italienisch in der Aufführung vom Teatro Nazionale Genova auf der Freilichtbühne auf Piazza San Lorenzo in Genua. Diese Aufführung war spektakulär und trotzdem nicht schlecht. Aber das Stück ist unmöglich. Der Titel ist falsch: es gibt nicht eine Verschwörung aber mindestens sieben. Zu viel von alles. Ein Seifenoper des achtzehnten Jahrhunderts.

[Meli Montes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Auf Schiller scheint zumindest bedingt Verlass zu sein 💪

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Schiller's second drama is a tale of two plays. The first two acts are awkward, clunky, and too contrived, feeling far too much like an artificial "set up." Luckily, I stuck with it because the final three acts are full of fiery, roaring action. In fact, by the fourth act I was unable to stop reading. Schiller (like the rest of his Storm and Stress peers) knows how to write rapid battle scenes unlike anything I've ever experienced in drama.

Fiesco, like Goethe's Götz von Berlichingen, is cinematic in flow with quickly-paced scenes that catapult the events to a swift and violent conclusion. It is worth working through the first two acts to experience the second half, which explores how Fiesco's quest for power causes him to lose everything he loves. Is the desire to rule as a "lion" worth sacrificing love and friendship? Can tyranny be overthrown and replaced by anything other than tyranny itself? The tragedy of Fiesco is his blindness of his own personal weaknesses. His triumph in rebellion comes at the expense of his failure to cement the bonds in his personal life -- a warning for those who strive for success while their personal lives crumble around them.

Taken as a whole, Fiesco is a great drama. It's is a prime example of the theater as a moral institution, and is a worthy follow-up to The Robbers, even as Schiller appears to stumble in the first couple acts coming out of the gate.

[Old-Fashioned Agnes · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Living means dreaming, to be wise, Lomellin, means dreaming pleasantly.”

“The Fiesco’s conspiracy in Genua” by Friedrich Schiller, 1783, is set in the 15th century.

Genua is ruled by a prince but there is a group of people who want to restore the republican regime. Fiesco seems to be of prince’s party but it is revealed that he is a republican who worked in conspiracy. However, later he admits that he would like to be the prince himself.

The end of the play is very surprising, I am sure no one would be able to guess that.

[Apolline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Franchement c'était cool, l'histoire est assez facile à suivre. Il y a quelques parties de l'intrigue que j'avais oubliées mais on comprend vite de quoi ils parlent quand elles reviennent au cœur de la scène.

~ Patrocle est mort lui aussi
Qui était plus que toi. ~

[Hans]

SBB 104

[John]

https://library.oapen.org/bitstream/h...

[Lea Evers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Traditionelles bürgerliches Trauerspiel, was auf den zweiten Blick gar nicht so traditionell ist. Bis zum Ende spannend aber zu langwierig.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Leonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story war echt gut aber sie Sprache ist halt echt altertümlichen und anstrengend

[Legens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe this play is not quite as full of the youthful energy as The Robbers are, and not as well-composed in its intricate balance between the two main characters as Mary Stuart. But apart from those two masterpieces, it's my new third-favorite Schiller play now (I've read seven in total). After a somewhat slow start in the first two acts (strictly following the conventions of the dramatic structure of exposition and rising action) our triple intrigue of Gianettino's coup plan, Fiesco's counter-coup, and Verrina's betrayal is all set up, and takes place in back-to-back action for the last three acts. Fiesco is a fascinating main character in his storm-and-stress brilliancy (and his utter lack of purpose, oscillating between political indifference, fascination with republicanism, and will to personal power). Definitely a very entertaining read!

Bonus: My ranking of the seven Schiller plays I've read:
1. Mary Stuart
2. The Robbers
3. Fiesco
4. Intrigue and Love
5. William Tell
6. Don Carlos
7. The Maid of Orleans

[Emil İsmailov]

perfect