' ( or ; ''The

Csárdás Csárdás (, ; ), often seen as Czárdás, is a traditional Hungarian folk dance, the name derived from ' (old Hungarian term for roadside tavern and restaurant). It originated in Hungary and was popularized by bands in Hungary as well as neighb ...

Princess''; translated into English as ''The Riviera Girl'' and ''The Gipsy Princess'') is an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

in 3 acts by Hungarian composer

Emmerich Kálmán Emmerich Kálmán ( ; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian composer of operettas and a prominent figure in the development of Operetta#Austria–Hungary, Viennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most p ...

, with

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) 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 th ...

Leo Stein Leo Stein (May 11, 1872 – July 29, 1947) was an American art collector and critic. He was born in Allegheny City (now in Pittsburgh), the older brother of Gertrude Stein. He became an influential promoter of 20th-century paintings. Educatio ...

and Bela Jenbach. It premiered in Vienna at the Johann Strauss Theater on 17 November 1915. Numerous film versions and recordings have been made. The operetta is widely beloved across Europe, particularly in Hungary, Austria, Germany, and the former Soviet Union, where it was adapted into a popular film. It is arguably Kálmán's most successful work.

Roles

Synopsis

:Place:

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

:Time: shortly before the outbreak of the First World War

Act 1

Sylva Varescu, a self-sufficient and professionally successful cabaret performer from Budapest, is about to embark on a tour of America. Three of her aristocratic admirers, named Edwin, Feri, and Boni, prefer her to stay. Edwin, unaware that his parents have already arranged a marriage for him back home in Vienna, orders a notary to prepare a promissory note of his expected marriage to Sylva within ten weeks. Sylva then leaves on her American tour, and Edwin leaves for peacetime military duty.

Act 2

Just at the time this promissory note is about to expire, Sylva visits Edwin's palace in Vienna, pretending to have married Boni as her entrée into his family's society. Edwin is about to be engaged to Stasi, who does not care for him and wishes only an arranged marriage. Boni falls in love with Stasi and Edwin regrets not keeping his promise to Sylva sooner. However, Edwin makes the faux pas of informing Sylva that his parents would accept Sylva only if she pretends to have been divorced from Boni and therefore already entered society via an earlier marriage. Edwin's father separately informs Sylva that if she marries Edwin without first having achieved noble rank through some other route, her role in society could be merely that of a "csárdás princess." Sylva realizes that she is better than they and has a brighter future than they have. She purposefully embarrasses Edwin and his father, turning her back on them and leaving in the presence of their assembled friends.

Act 3

The act is set in a Viennese hotel to which Feri has accompanied the cabaret troupe from Budapest, who are about to sail on another American tour with Sylva. As everyone shows up and recognizes each other, Feri recognizes Edwin's mother as a retired cabaret singer from Budapest whose star once shone prior to Sylva's time. Edwin's mother joins the two couples, Sylva/Edwin and Boni/Stasi, all unwittingly heading to safety on this American tour.

Recordings

''Key: Conductor / Stasi / Sylva / Boni / Edwin / Feri'' *

Samuil Samosud Samuil Abramovich Samosud (; , Tiflis — 6 November 1964, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian conductor and pedagogue. He started his musical career as a cellist, before becoming a conductor at the Mariinsky Theatre, Petrograd in 1917. Fro ...

/ Kazanskaya / Yakovenko / Ruban / Nelepp / Yakushev – 1956 – Melodiya * Grund / Koller / Moffo / Németh / Kollo / Mensáros – 1971 – Szinetár movie – Deutsche Grammphon DVD * Gunhard Mattes / Olivera Miljaković / Anneliese Rothenberger / Willi Brokmeier /

Nicolai Gedda Harry Gustaf Nikolai Gädda, better known as Nicolai Gedda (11 July 1925 – 8 January 2017), was a Swedish operatic tenor. Debuting in 1951, Gedda had a long and successful career in opera until the age of 77 in June 2003, when he made his final ...

/ Wolfgang Anheisser – 1971 – EMI * Bibl / Kales / Rudiferia / Poppell / Franz Wächter / Németh – 1985 – live in Tokyo – Denon * Bonynge / Hislop / Riedel / Lemke / Austin / Ewer – 1990 – Sydney – Opus Arte DVD * Bibl / Grotrian / Schoenenberg / Werba / Bothmer / Harsányi – 2002 – Mörbisch – Videoland DVD * Bibl / Grotrian / Serafin / Eröd / Bothmer / Harsányi – 2002 – Oehms * Bonynge /

Mojca Erdmann Mojca Erdmann (born 29 December 1975) is a German soprano who is particularly associated with the List of operas by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Mozart operas. She created the role of Ariadne in Rihm's ''Dionysos (opera), Dionysos'' at the Salzburg F ...

/ Yvonne Kenny / Kathol / Roider / Ebner – 2002 –

Naxos Records Naxos comprises numerous companies, divisions, imprints, and labels specializing in classical music but also audiobooks and other genres. The premier label is Naxos Records, which focuses on classical music. Naxos Musical Group encompasses about ...

Kalman: Csárdásfürstin (Die) (''The Gypsy Princess'')
details, including German and English libretto,

Film adaptations

It was made into a 1927 silent German film '' The Csardas Princess'' directed by Hanns Schwarz. In 1944 it was made into the Soviet operetta film '' Sylva'' directed by Aleksandr Ivanovsky. It was one of the most successful releases in the Soviet Union that year. Later, in 1981, it was made again into an even more successful Soviet operetta film under the , directed by Yan Frid. *', directed by Emil Leyde (Germany, 1919) *'' The Csardas Princess'', directed by Hanns Schwarz (Germany/Hungary, 1927) *'' The Csardas Princess'', directed by

Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed 1 ...

(German, 1934) **''Princesse Czardas'', directed by

Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed 1 ...

and André Beucler (French, 1934) *'' Sylva'', directed by Aleksandr Ivanovsky (Soviet Union, 1944) *'' The Csardas Princess'', directed by

Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed 1 ...

(West Germany, 1951) *', directed by Miklós Szinetár (West Germany/Hungary, 1971, TV film) *', directed by Yan Frid (Soviet Union, 1981)

References

External links

*
Recordings
at operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
Libretto for ''La principessa della czarda''
in Italian on archive.org {{DEFAULTSORT:Csardasfurstin, Die Operas by Emmerich Kálmán German-language operettas 1915 operas Operas Operas set in Hungary Operas set in Vienna Operas adapted into films