Kálmán_Imre_cropped_(Willinger_Vilmos,_1924)

' (''The Circus Princess'') is an operetta in three acts by Hungarian composer

Emmerich Kálmán Emmerich Kálmán ( hu, Kálmán Imre; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was a Hungarian composer of operettas and a prominent figure in the development of Viennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most popular works are '' Die Csár ...

to a German

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered at the

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

in Vienna on 26 March 1926 and went on to 344 performances there.

Synopsis

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, ' (Two fairy-tale eyes), has been recorded by several famous

tenors A tenor is a type of classical male singing voice whose vocal range lies between the countertenor and baritone voice types. It is the highest male chest voice type. The tenor's vocal range extends up to C5. The low extreme for tenors is wid ...

, including

Fritz Wunderlich Friedrich "Fritz" Karl Otto Wunderlich (26 September 1930 – 17 September 1966) was a German lyric tenor, famed for his singing of the Mozart repertory and various lieder. He died in an accident aged 35. Biography Wunderlich was born in Kusel in ...

Charles Kullman Charles Kullman (January 13, 1903February 8, 1983), originally Charles Kullmann, was an American tenor who enjoyed a wide-ranging career, both in Europe and America. Life and career Charles Kullman was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and be ...

, and

Richard Tauber Richard Tauber (16 May 1891 – 8 January 1948) was an Austrian tenor and film actor. Early life Richard Tauber was born in Linz, Austria, to Elisabeth Seifferth (née Denemy), a widow and an actress who played soubrette roles at the local theat ...

International productions

The operetta was swiftly performed in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

, in an adaptation by Ernő Kulinyi and Imre Liptai, at the Király Színház in

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, on 24 September 1926. Productions in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

(

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Vasa-Teatern, October 6, 1926);

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

(

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Operetten-Teater, October 17, 1926), and - as '' Mister X'' - in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

(

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, November 23, 1926). There were also productions during 1926 in

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

and

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. An English language version, ''The Circus Princess'', adapted by Harry B. Smith - first seen at the Apollo Theatre,

Atlantic City Atlantic City, often known by its initials A.C., is a coastal resort city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States. The city is known for its casinos, Boardwalk (entertainment district), boardwalk, and beaches. In 2020 United States censu ...

, on April 4, 1927 - enjoyed a successful run at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 25 April 1927 starring Guy Robertson and Desiree Tabor. The circus sequences in the American production were particularly lavish, including equestrians, aerialists, and a famous clown of the day,

Poodles Hanneford The Royal Hanneford Circus is an American-based touring family circus. With origins dating back to 1690, it has been called the oldest circus in the world. The family first performed as a traveling troupe in 1807. In 1903, the family began its own ...

. The show was staged by

J. C. Huffman Jesse C. Huffman (1869–1935) was an American theatrical director. Between 1906 and 1932 he directed or staged over 200 shows, mostly for the Shubert Brothers. Many of them were musical revues, musicals or operettas. He is known for ''The Passi ...

Roles

Recordings

*Emmerich Kálmán: ''Die Zirkusprinzessin'' – Margit Schramm (soprano), Guggi Löwinger (soprano), Julius Katona (tenor),

Rudolf Schock Rudolf Johann Schock (4 September 1915 – 13 November 1986) was a German tenor. Rudolf Schock was born in Duisburg, in the Prussian Rhine Province. He sang a wide repertoire from operetta to ''Lohengrin'', recording among others opera and lieder, ...

(tenor), Ferry Gruber (tenor);

Deutsche Oper Berlin The Deutsche Oper Berlin is a German opera company located in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. The resident building is the country's second largest opera house (after Munich's) and also home to the Berlin State Ballet. Since 2004, the D ...

(chorus); Berliner Symphoniker (orchestra);

Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz (25 August 188027 June 1975) was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.Stanley Sadie Ed. (2002) ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'', Oxford University Press Biogra ...

(conductor), Label: Eurodisc.

Films

Several ' films have been made, including ''

The Circus Princess ' (''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 ...

'' in 1925, '' Mister X'' in 1958 and ''

'' in 1982.

Notes and references

* * 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. * Traubner, Richard (2003
''Operetta: A Theatrical History''
Routledge. {{DEFAULTSORT:Zirkusprinzessin Operas by Emmerich Kálmán Hungarian music German-language operettas 1926 operas Operas adapted into films