In the opera in one act by Max Marschalk, an elf befriends the young Marie, who is the nanny in a lady's house and takes care of her son Hansen. Hänschen likes the songs and stories of his nanny. When asked how Marie knew these songs from, she replied that it was a little pixy she was teaching her. But Hans has to go to sleep now and then the imp appears behind the stove. He begins to talk to the young girl and makes her remember an incident that she pushed aside a long time ago. The girl's dark secret is then revealed and the opera ends with a dramatic finale. But until the end we don't know who this pixie really is and why he appeared?
Max Marschalk has written music for many pieces by Gerhart Hauptmann, such as "Und Pippa tanzt", "Sunken bell" or "Schluck und Jauch". The first and most important was "Hanneles Himmelfahrt", which was translated into Polish by Maria Konopnicka. It was Bolko von Hochberg who, as director of the Royal Theater in Berlin, made the premiere possible in 1893. Hannele is a half-orphan who, mistreated by her father, throws herself into the icy river out of desperation. Rescued by the villagers and their teacher Gottwald, she lies dying next to sister Marta, and sees in a dream how everyone around is transformed into angels. In heaven she sees her beloved teacher transforming into the "stranger" (Jesus) who receives her in paradise. Hannele was the debut role of many later great actresses such as Pola Negri.
