Le violoneux

• Father Martin, a village Geiger
• Rose, his ward
• Peter, a young farmer

The magic violin is an operetta in one act by composer Jacques Offenbach; for the libretto recorded Antoine Chevalet and Eugène Mestépès responsible. The premiere of the play took place in 1855 at the Théâtre des Bouffes in Paris.

Action

The scene is a typical village square a typical little village in southern Germany.

Peter is the military and his only chance to escape this would be to appoint a deputy. But that costs 500 guilders, who wants to be rich and miserly uncle but do not give up. When Peter Rose tells of his distress, she gives him the advice, their guardian, to ask the village fiddler Martin. This Martin dares not but because he for his violin Arts holds it for a wizard.

The last resort, the Peter thus remains, would his marriage to Rose. When Rose told this her guardian, this points out that in the worst case, then rose her Peter had to follow as a sutler in the war. Soon Martin is hired by ladyship to their wedding. This connection he wants to take advantage of now to ask at the castle for his ward and the groom.

Rose sitting alone in the room and looks thoughtfully at the instrument. Since alone with this fiddle their livelihood and that of her guardian is secured, she kisses the violin in spontaneous gratitude. At that moment Peter comes to rips her superstitious the violin from his hands and smashes it on the table. When Martin comes back a little later with no hope, he finds while cleaning up his broken violin in the rubble of a letter. It is the lost testament of his deceased brother and father of Rose, who bequeathed his daughter 5000 guilders. And so Peter is free to buy from the soldiers and marry his rose.