Zauberspiel (magic play, plural: Zauberspiele) or Zauberstück (magic piece, plural: Zauberstücke) is a German-language work for the stage that has magic characters or magic action, or both.
These plays were popular in the 18th and 19th centuries in the south of the German-speaking area, particularly in Vienna.
They drew on earlier traditions including the chivalric romances of medieval and early modern times, the medieval mystery plays, and plays such as Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest.
[1] An early such work was Megära, die förchterliche Hexe ("Megära, the witch of the forest") by Philipp Hafner, of 1763.
[1] In the 19th century Zauberspiele were written by dramatists including Ferdinand Raimund, Adolf Bäuerle, Josef Alois Gleich, Karl Meisl, Johann Nestroy[1][2] and Franz Xaver Told, whose play Der Zauberschleier ("The Magic Veil"), of 1842, was particularly successful.