The Best of Operetta Vol. 1 Der Zigeunerbaron P'he Gypsy Baron) Das Land des Lachelns :The Land of Smiles) Die lustige Witwe me Merry Widow) and others The Best of Operetta Vol. 1 Operetta developed in the second half of the nineteenth century from very similar antecedents, the opQa comique of France and the more light-hearted Singspiel of German-speaking countries. In Paris Offenbach, son of a Cologne synagogue cantor, established himself with his series of operas bouffes and it was initally with performances of these in Vienna that the genre took root there, inspiring work by Supp6 and, at the earlier suggestion of Offenbach himself, Johann Strauss. Viennese operetta was inessence coterminouswith theHabsburg Empire. After 1918 Berlin assumed the position once held by Vienna in operetta, and as popular musical tastes diverged more and more with the passing of time, the genre became something of the past, displaced by the commercial produrk of Broadway and its imitators. The first volume of The Best of Operetta includes excerpts from operettas by Joham Strauss, Franz LeMr and Imre Mlmh. Strauss himself had followed his father's example, in spite of the latter's expressed desire, establishing his own dance-orchestra and later recruitinghistwo younger brothers, Josef and Eduard, into the family enterprise. The Strauss reputation extended far beyond the confines of Vienna and Straws orchestras appeared in different cities of Europe, providing an entertainment that suited very well the spirit of the time. Johann Strauss first turnedhisattention to operetta partly at the suggestionofOffenbach and more immediately at the urging of his first wife, the singer Henriette Chaputzky. The first result was Indigo and the Forty Thieves in 1871, its performance relying for its inevitable success on the great popularity of its composer and the political feelings of the time, as Vienna seemed now to prove a match for Paris. Joham Strauss was not always happy inhis librettists. Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron), however, was an undoubted success in both music and text. The libretto by Ignaz Schnitzler was derived from a novel by the Hungarian writer M6r J6kai. Set in the middle of the eighteenth century it deals with the return of SBndor Barinkay to his native TemesvAr from which his father had been exiled twenty years before. The drama concerns Barinkay's desire to regain his 8.550941 2 property, with its hidden treasure, and win the hand of the gypsy girl SiVfi, one of the gypsy company that has welcomed him as their lost leader, a true gypsy baron. Barinkay's varied earlier occupations are described in Als Potter Geist (As a cheerful spirit) [6]. In Wer uns getrr&t (Who married us) [5] hesexplains to the unimpressed Royal Commissioner how he has been married to SAffi in the msv manier, the ceremony conducted by a bullfinch and witnessed by two &;&, with music provided by a nightingale. The present release opens with the Overture [I], which, at the first performance, was interrupted by the applause of the audience at each theme. The appearance of Friihlingsstimmen [7](Voices of Spring) in the theatre was purely accidental. Written for the coloratura soprano Bianca Bianchi, with words by Richard Genbe, it was later included by her in a performance of Le Roi l'a dit by Delibes at the Vienna Court Theatre and subsequently won much greater popularity as an orchestral waltz and in a piano version. Eine Nacht in Venedig (ANight in Venice), with an indifferent libretto by Zell (Carnillo Walzel) and Genbe, was first staged in Berlin at the Friedrich-Wilhelm Stkidtischer Theater in 1883. Kornm'in die Gondole [13] (Come into the gondola) is sung by Caramello, barber to the Duke of Urbino, who thinks he is welcoming the Duke's betrothed, although the girl is, in fact, his own mistress. Franz LeMr, in operetta the true successor to Strauss, was the son of a Hungarian bandmaster and for a time followed his father's example, before winning success in Vienna with what was in fact his eighth attempt at operetta, Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow), first staged at the Theater an der Wien in January 1905. The libretto was by Victor Leon and Leo Stein, based on a French original by Meilhac, Offenbach's collaborator. The plot concerns the widow of the title, Hanna Glawari, relict of a rich Pontevedrin banker, and the endeavours of the Pontevedrin envoy to Paris, Baron Zeta, to keep her fortune for Pontevedro by compelling a junior diplomat, Danilo, to marry her, before her money goes to some French husband. Previous difficulties engendered by various intrigues are resolved in the third act Lippen schweigen [12] (Lips are silent) between Hanna and Danilo. 3 8.550941 CeMr's Giuditta realised for the composer an outstanding ambition, staged, as it was, at the Vienna Staatsoper in 1934, making use of the full resources of the house. With a libretto by Fritz LGhner and Paul Kepler, the opera-operetta deals with the love of Giuditta, a r61e taken by Jarmila Novotna, tired of her husband Manuele, for the army captain Octavio, a r81e for Richard Tauber. It is Octavio who expresses his joym lhing in Freunde, das Leben ist lebenswert [2] (Friends, life is worth living). She goes with him, when his regiment is posted to North Africa, and they livz toge&er in happiness until &taviors duties call him away. Giuditta now becomes a dancer in a night club, where she attracts many rich customers, as is clear from Meine Lippen, sie kiissen so hei$ [3] (My lips, so hot are their kisses). She prospers in her new profession, while Octavio eventually deserts from the army. By the time that they meet again he is a night-club pianist, while she continues as a successful dancer. Friederike, written in 1928, is based on the life of Goethe. 0 Wchen, mein Madchen [4] (Girl, my girl) was written for Kichard Tauber, who ensured its success. It was for the same singer that Lehtlr wrote Das hddes Uchelns (The Land of Smiles), with a libretto by Ludwig Herzer and Fritz Lohner. A revised version of the earlier DiegelbeJacke (The Yellow Jacket), with a libretto by Victor Leon. this was first mounted at the Berlin Metmoltheater in 1929. The m lot deals with the love between the Chinese prince sokhong, sung by ~auber,kd Lisa. dauehter of Count Lichtenfels. The best known of all songs is Dein ist mein H& f8] (Thine is my heart), Tauber's signature tune, in Ghich ~ou-~hon~ protests his love for Lisa, when urged by Chinese custom to take four wives. The love of Lisa and Sou-Chong, after his return to China as prime minister, is expressed in Wer hat die Liebe uns ins Herzgesenkt? [9](Who has planted this love dew in our hearts?). From the first act, set in Vienna, comes Immer nur Iilcheln [IO~(~lwa~s only smiling), a reference to Sou-Chong's alleged inscrutability, and his descrivtion of courtine customs inchima. VonAvfelbliiten ,, einen Kranz .1111 . (A garland of'apple- blossom^. The Hungarian composer Imre (Emmerich) MlmAn, once a fellow-student of Bart6k and KodAly in Budapest, gave up his more serious ambitions to achieve success after 1918 as a composer of operetta, winning particular popularity in 1924 with Grijfin Mariza (Countess Maritsa), with a libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Griinwald. Komm mit nach Varasdin [I41 (Come with me to Varasdin) is a duet between the rich Hungarian countess of the title and ZsupAn, who has turned up unexpectedly to claim her as his bride. Maritsa had tried to fend off suitors by claiming a certain Zsupdn as her betrothed, taking the name from a character in Der Zigeunerbaron. Her true love will be Count Tassilo, who has been obliged to sell up and is now employed by her. As is the way of operetta, obstacles to the love of Maritsa and Tassilo are removed, and they are left at the end to enjoy happiness together. Ingrid Kertesi The coloratura soprano Ingrid Kertesi was born in Budapest and at first studied the cello. She had her training as a singer at the Liszt Academy and in Bayreuth, joining the Hungarian State Opera in 1986. Her career later took her to Vienna, where she sang the rBle of Olympia in Les Contes de Hoffmann, and to the Komische Oper in Berlii, where she sang Blonde in a production by Harry Kupfer of Mozart's Die Entfihrung nus dem Serail. 1992 brought the Hungarian Juvmtus Prize for performances as Gilda in Rigoletto, Olympia, Juliette in Gounod's Rmto et Juliette, Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier and other r6les. Her international career has taken her to Israel, France, Switzerland and Italy, in addition to appearances in Japan. ZswaCsonka Zsuzsa Csonka completed her conservatory studies as a violinist, later turning her attention to sinein~both at the Budavest Academy and in Vienna, where her teachers included ga& Hotter and ~leiander~ollo.'She has been a member of the Hungarian State Opera since 1984, singing r8les that have included the Queen of the Night, Musetta, Oscar, Rosina, Norma, Adina, Gilda and Olympia, her coloratura r6les leadingto lyrical r6les in opera and operetta. Her successful career has taken her, as a guest performer, to Switzerland, Italy, Austria, the Czech Republic, Germany, the United States of America and Canada. Jdinos Berkes Born into a musical family in the Hungarian town of Szentes, the tenor Jhos Berkes completed his studies at the Budapest Liszt Academy in 1971,making his professional operatic dbbut asLensky inTchaikovskyls Eugene Onegin. Triumph in 1976 in the Treviso Toti dal Monte Competition was followed, in 1979, by the special prize of the International Jury in the Belgian Television Competition for his performance in opera and be1 canto.