Die Zirkusprinzessin
| Emmerich Kálmán |
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Operettas
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Die Zirkusprinzessin (The Circus Princess) is an operetta in three acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán to a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 26 March 1926 and went on to 344 performances there.[1]
The plot revolves around a romantic intrigue with interpolated circus sequences. The mysterious "Mister X", a dashing circus performer, is hired by a disappointed suitor of Princess Fedora Palinska to pose as a nobleman and marry her. "Mister X" is in fact a nobleman, the disinherited nephew of a deceased prince. One of the work's most well-known arias, Zwei Märchenaugen (Two fairy-tale eyes), has been recorded by several famous tenors, including Fritz Wunderlich,[2] Charles Kullman,[3] and Richard Tauber.[4]
An English version, The Circus Princess, premiered in at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City on 25 April 1927 starring Guy Roberston and Desiree Tabor. The circus sequences in the New York production were particularly lavish, including equestrians, aerialists, and a famous clown of the day, Poodles Hanneford.[5]
[edit] Roles
| Role | Voice type | Premiere Cast, March 26, 1926 (Conductor: - ) |
|---|---|---|
| Fedja Palinski, Mr X | tenor | Hubert Marischka |
| Princess Fedora Palinska | soprano | Betty Fischer |
| Miss Mabel Gibson | soprano | Elsie Altmann |
| Toni Schlumberger | tenor | Fritz Steiner |
| Prinz Sergius Wladimir | baritone | |
| Count Sakusin | ||
| Lieutenant Petrovitsch | ||
| Director Stanislawski | bass | |
| Carla Schlumberger, hotel manager | contralto | |
| Samuel Pressburger | ||
| Gesellschaft, officers, circus people - chorus | ||
[edit] Recordings
- Emmerich Kálmán: Die Zirkusprinzessin - Margit Schramm (soprano), Guggi Löwinger (soprano), Julius Katona (tenor), Rudolf Schock (tenor), Ferry Gruber (tenor); Deutsche Oper Berlin (chorus); Berliner Symphoniker (orchestra); Robert Stolz (conductor), Label: Eurodisc.
[edit] Notes and references
- Casaglia, Gherardo, Amadeus Almanac. Accessed 17 September 2008.
- Martin, Jessie Wright (2005) A Survey of the Operettas of Emmerich Kalman, PhD. Thesis: Louisiana State University, August 2005.
- Naxos Records, Liner Notes, The Best of Operetta Vol. 2.
- Smith, Cecil (1981) Musical Comedy in America: From the Black Crook Through Sweeney Todd Routledge. ISBN 0878305645
- Traubner, Richard (2003) Operetta: A Theatrical History, Routledge. ISBN 0415966418
