Doctor Faust - Freely Based on the German Chapbook - Author: Toni Gruber

Goethe's Faust cannot simply be adapted for the marionette stage for dramaturgical reasons - excerpts or cuts would be both a near-impossible craft challenge and a disservice to the poetry. Toni Gruber, who had previously written for the Tölzer Marionetten, therefore developed an independent new version in 1980, written in free Knittelvers - a stylistic choice made for reasons of economy and emphasis, explicitly not an imitation of Goethe's style.

The audio recording used also dates from 1980 and, featuring the then voice ensemble of the Tölzer Marionettentheater, is an irreplaceable historical document. Oskar Paul, who designed and built the figures and the set, can be heard in it as an inhabitant of Saturn. During the digitisation and restoration of the original magnetic tape, small details were refined and a new song was chosen for Gretchen.