The Cousin from Nowhere
(Der Vetter aus Dingsda)

by Eduard Kunneke (1885-1953).
Operetta in 3 acts, based on a comedy by Max Kempner-Hochstadt. First performance, April 1921, Berlin.

Synopsis

A pretty Dutch girl called Julia, longs for the day when her beloved cousin, Roderich, whom she has not seen since childhood, will come home from 'nowhere' in the East Indies. As a result of this obsession, she refuses the attentions of a local lad, Egon, and is not inclined to fall in with the plans of her uncle Josse, that she should wed his brother's son, August, who she has not even met. One day a handsome stranger arrives at the house, and Julia is delighted when, in response to her hopeful prodding, he says he is her cousin Roderich, but very disappointed when it turns out that this claim is untrue. When the real Roderich does return from the East Indies, he is aghast to find that his cousin Julia has maintained a passion for him all the years since their childhood, and she in turn, when she finds that her passion has not been reciprocated, regrets having turned the 'false' Roderich away. However for all except the local lad Egon, everything soon ends happily when the 'false' Roderich turns out to be August, the son of her Uncle Josse's brother, and is welcomed back by Julia with open arms, and the 'true' Roderich falls in love with Julia's best friend Hannchen.