''Gräfin Dubarry'' is an operetta in three acts by

Carl Millöcker Carl (or Karl) Joseph Millöcker ( – ), was an Austrian composer of operettas and a conductor. __NOTOC__ He was born in Vienna, where he studied the flute at the Vienna Conservatory. While holding various conducting posts in the city, h ...

to a German libretto by F. Zell and

Richard Genée Franz Friedrich Richard Genée (7 February 1823 – 15 June 1895) was a Prussian born Austrian libretto, librettist, playwright, and composer. Life Genée was born in Gdańsk, Danzig. He died at Baden bei Wien. Works He is most famous for the ...

. The story concerns Madame du Barry, the mistress of

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (french: le Bien-Aimé), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached ...

, King of France.

Performance history

The operetta had its premiere on 31 October 1879 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 ...

, Vienna.

''Die Dubarry''

A radically new version of the work, in nine scenes under the title ''Die Dubarry'', was prepared by

Theo Mackeben Relief from Mackeben's tombstone Theo Mackeben, born 5 January 1897 in Preußisch Stargard, Westpreußen, died 10 January 1953 in Berlin, was a German pianist, conductor and composer, particularly of film music.Lamb A. Theo Mackeben. In: ''The Ne ...

with music from the original ''Gräfin Dubarry'' as well as other works, and a new text was written by , and . This was first given at the Admiralspalast in Berlin on 14 August 1931. According to Andrew Lamb, the production introduced "alien structures and orchestration" compared with the original. This was filmed as ''

The Loves of Madame Dubarry ''I Give My Heart'' (US-Title: ''The Loves of Madame Dubarry'') is a 1935 British historical film adapted from the stage operetta ''The DuBarry'' by Carl Millöcker and arranged by Theo Mackeben. Directed by Marcel Varnel, and produced by Britis ...

'' in 1935, and as ''The Dubarry'' toured the UK in 1932 starring Binnie Hale and opened at

Her Majesty's Theatre Her Majesty's Theatre is a West End theatre situated on Haymarket in the City of Westminster, London. The present building was designed by Charles J. Phipps and was constructed in 1897 for actor-manager Herbert Beerbohm Tree, who established t ...

on 14 April 1932 with

Anny Ahlers Anny Ahlers (21 December 1902 – 14 March 1933) was a German actress and singer. She was born in Hamburg. Career She was born to Wilhelm Ahlers and his wife Augusta Victoria (Lieberg). Her father was an Army officer and her maternal grandmother ...

Helen Haye Helen Haye (born Helen Hay, 28 August 1874 – 1 September 1957) was a British stage and film actress.
New York Times. 3 Septem ...

and Mimi Crawford. An EP was released by Anny Ahlers with the songs "

I Give My Heart ''I Give My Heart'' (US-Title: ''The Loves of Madame Dubarry'') is a 1935 British historical film adapted from the stage operetta ''The DuBarry'' by Carl Millöcker and arranged by Theo Mackeben. Directed by Marcel Varnel, and produced by Brit ...

", "The Dubarry", "Beauty", "Happy Little Jeanne" and "Today". An adaptation arranged by

with additional numbers by

Alan Melville Alan Melville (19 May 1910 – 18 April 1983) was a South African cricketer who played in 11 Tests from 1938 to 1949. He was born in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, South Africa and died at Sabie, Transvaal. Early life and cricket career Melville w ...

and

Charles Zwar Charles Zwar (10 April 1911 – 2 December 1989) was an Australian songwriter, composer, lyricist, pianist and music director who was largely associated with the British revue and musical comedy industries between the late-1930s and 1960s. Life a ...

opened at the Princes Theatre in London on 8 October 1947, starring

Irene Manning Irene Manning (born Inez Harvuot, July 17, 1912 – May 28, 2004) was an American actress and singer. Biography Manning was born as Inez Harvuot on July 17, 1912 in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of five siblings. Both of her parents were singers. Her fa ...

as Jeanne heading a cast which also featured Ada Reeve as Mme Sauterelle and

John Le Mesurier John Le Mesurier (, born John Elton Le Mesurier Halliley; 5 April 191215 November 1983) was an English actor. He is perhaps best remembered for his comedic role as Sergeant Arthur Wilson in the BBC television situation c ...

as Comte Lamond. This production ran for just 45 performances.

Roles

Synopsis

The story is set in Paris and Versailles in 1764.

Film versions

After the 1935 British film ''

'', a German film version ''

The Dubarry ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' was made in Germany in 1951 by

Georg Wildhagen Georg Wildhagen (15 September 1920 – 2 December 1990)Walter Habel (ed.): ''Wildhagen, Georg'', in: '' Wer ist wer? Das deutsche Who’s Who'', vol. 15, Berlin: Arani-Verlag, 1967, p. 2178 u.ö.previewat Google Books was a German screenwriter and ...

, with Sári Barabás, Mathieu Ahlersmeyer,

Willy Fritsch Willy Fritsch (27 January 1901 – 13 July 1973) was a German theater and film actor, a popular leading man and character actor from the silent-film era to the early 1960s. Biography Early life He was born Wilhelm Egon Fritz Fritsch, the only s ...

Albert Lieven Albert Lieven (born Albert Fritz Liévin; 22 June 1906 – 22 December 1971) was a German actor. Early life Lieven was born in Hohenstein, East Prussia (Olszynek, Poland). His father was the head physician of the Tuberculosis sanatorium Ho ...

and Walter Müller.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grafin Dubarry Operas by Carl Millöcker German-language operettas Operas set in France 1879 operas Operas adapted into films Cultural depictions of Louis XV Cultural depictions of Madame du Barry