Die Zirkusprinzessin

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Emmerich Kálmán
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]

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

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.

Notes and references

  1. ↑ Traubner, Richard (2003) p. 271.
  2. ↑ The Very Best of Fritz Wunderlich (EMI Classics 75915)
  3. ↑ Charles Kullman - European Columbia Recordings (Nimbus Prima Voce NI7939)
  4. ↑ Richard Tauber - Pardon, Madame! (Dutton CDBP9783)
  5. ↑ Smith, Cecil (1981) p. 159.
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