Wolf on the Ringstrasse

by Michaela Jeffery

In Austria, 1895, the caustic composer Hugo Wolf pens his famous opera, Der Corregidor. It is a new dawn. The fin du siècle is breaking over Europe with the chilly clarity of a wet spring morning. Plagued by the spectre of his adolescent rivalry with school fellow Gustav Mahler, and manically consumed by a need to generate a work equal to those of the dead master Wagner, Wolf retreats, penniless and wretched...

In Austria, 1895, the caustic composer Hugo Wolf pens his famous opera, Der Corregidor. It is a new dawn. The fin du siècle is breaking over Europe with the chilly clarity of a wet spring morning. Plagued by the spectre of his adolescent rivalry with school fellow Gustav Mahler, and manically consumed by a need to generate a work equal to those of the dead master Wagner, Wolf retreats, penniless and wretched, to the mountains and the childhood home of the wife of his most devoted patron, Herr Heinrich Köchert.

But Melanie Köchert has no time for ghosts. She would rather bury the remnants of the relationship she’d kindled so long ago with Hugo Wolf - scorch the earth - than permit that life to engulf her again.

Wolf on the Ringstrasse is a ferocious, evocative exhumation of artistic life that challenges the romance of the singular, egoist ‘auteur,’ and the enduring music of monstrous men.

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Wolf on the Ringstrasse

Recommended by

  • Kate Danley: Wolf on the Ringstrasse

    A gorgeous historical play of epic depth and beauty. If Chekhov wrote "Amadeus" about Hugo Wolf, it would have felt like this. The dialog and story are so rich and complex, my brain chewed on them like a Michelin star five-course meal.

    A gorgeous historical play of epic depth and beauty. If Chekhov wrote "Amadeus" about Hugo Wolf, it would have felt like this. The dialog and story are so rich and complex, my brain chewed on them like a Michelin star five-course meal.

Character Information

Philip Wolf and Wagner double.
  • MELANIE KOCHERT
    Character Age
    30s - 40s
    Character Gender Identity
    Female
  • HUGO WOLF
    Character Age
    30s - 40s
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • GUSTAV MAHLER
    Character Age
    multiple ages
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • PHILIP WOLF / RICHARD WAGNER
    Character Age
    50s - 60s
    Character Gender Identity
    Male
  • THE BOY
    Non speaking. A young pianist.
    Character Age
    unspecified
    Character Gender Identity
    Male

Development History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Spirit Fire Theatre, Year 2018

Production History

  • Type Workshop, Organization Spirit Fire Theatre, Year 2019

Awards

  • Top 12 Outstanding Theatre Productions of 2019
    The Calgary Herald
    2019