With this new production of the operetta classic The White Horse Inn, director Jan Philipp Gloger sets out in search of the contemporary aspects of the piece, which he recognizes above all in the theme of tourism. Come with us to the region of the Salzkammergut and take a look behind the façade of the traditional eponymous hotel!

Synopsis

“At the White Horse Inn on Lake Wolfgang everyone’s happy and life is carefree!”

Act 1

It’s high season at the “White Horse Inn” on Lake Wolfgang, one of Austria’s finest holiday regions. Tourists are rushing in, urged to hurry by their tour guides. In the middle of all the hustle and bustle head waiter Leopold appears. He is well versed in keeping at bay the chaotic mob while always displaying his shrewd character Austrian waiters are so well-known for. What really gets to him is his unrequited love for his feisty boss Josepha who cold-shoulders him and longs for the arrival of one of her regulars, handsome Dr. Erich Siedler. Once at hotel, Dr. Siedler no longer shows interest in Josepha but in Ottilie, another hotel guest and daughter of Wilhelm Giesecke, a cranky textile entrepreneur from Berlin. Giesecke is not at all in a holiday mood: A legal dispute with his rival Mr. Sülzheimer makes him furious. What he doesn’t know is that Dr. Siedler is Mr. Sülzheimer’s lawyer. What’s more, Dr. Siedler snagged the last available room with balcony. Unnoticed by Mr. Giesecke, Dr. Siedler and Ottilie fall in love … an excellent turn of events, from Leopold’s point of view.

“Watching just hurts so much!”

Act 2

The air between Josepha and Leopold is getting thicker every day. When Leopold refuses to grant special favors to his rival, things get out of hand quickly: Josepha fires Leopold, he is more than willing to leave immediately to avoid even more heartbreak. At the same time, new guests arrive, among them charming Sigismund Sülzheimer, son of Mr. Giesecke's arch-enemy. Dr. Siedler has sent for him in order to bring the pending patent dispute to an end by matching Ottilie and Sigismund. Siedler fills Giesecke in on his plan, Giesecke is fine with it. Handsome Sigismund, however, instantly falls in love with taciturn Klara; she’s in the company of her father, the Swabian Professor Hinzelmann, a modest cultural tourist. News suddenly spreads that the Emperor is on his way to St. Wolfgang, causing great excitement in the White Horse Inn: Where should he reside? And without a head waiter, how is all this supposed to work? Josepha begs Leopold to come back and support her, Leopold – heavily drunk – agrees under one condition: Dr. Siedler must leave! As the Emperor arrives at the hotel, the spiral of jealousy between the lovers unfolds again …

“I know what genius is.”

Act 3 

At the White Horse Inn, the Emperor hopes to finally find some peace and quiet, but the tourists take a huge delight in his presence. In the midst of everything, Josepha and the Emperor have a insightful and game-changing conversation. As the holiday slowly draws to a close, the couples finally come together: Klara and Sigismund have fallen in love, partly because of each other's charming weaknesses. Siedler reveals to Giesecke that he has not succeeded as a matchmaker after all but wants to marry Ottilie himself. And Josepha and Leopold finally commit to each other and embark on their future.