| Gräfin Mariza |
| by |
| Emmerich Kálmán |
| (1882–1953) |
|
| Gräfin Mariza | . . . . . . | Ursula Pfitzner |
| Populescu | . . . . . . | Gerhard Ernst |
| Baron Koloman Zsupán | . . . . . . | Marko Kathol |
| Graf Tassilo | . . . . . . | Nikolai Schukoff |
| Lisa | . . . . . . | Julia Bauer |
| Manja, Zigeunerin | . . . . . . | Natela Nicoli |
Festival Orchestra Mörbisch
Mörbisch Festival Choir
Harald Serafin, Intendant
Rudolf Bibl, Dirigent / conductor
Winfried Bauernfeind, Inszenierung / staging
Rolf Langenfass, Bühnenbild / stage design
Timeless Joy –
„Countess Mariza“ by Emmerich Kálmán“
Vienna 1924. By this time, there was no
more Habsburg ceremonial in the imperial
palace; the rose-edged beauty had
gone from Schönbrunn castle; the once-
.ourishing upper middle class had left the
royal and imperial kingdom’s former realms
on the Danube, there were no more pastoral
village idylls around wells and vineyards;
there were even no more shameful
secret affairs between uniformed men of
standing and milliners or “kept women”.
Whether in Vienna, Munich, Berlin or
anywhere else – new forms and .gures
were becoming visible in the glow of the
historical furnace which forged the 1920s.
The only certainty seemed to be: “Nothing
is as it once was”.
When looking back, the fact that these
years were one of the golden ages of operetta
– in view of the wide-spread need
to escape from worldly affairs, it probably
even reached its prime during this period
– seems to be one of the particular curiosities
of this contradictory epoch; operetta
of all genres, to whose popular strains
the people of imperial Vienna and Berlin
had danced, swayed, fallen in love – and
marched.
However, the public had now changed,
and the texts and music of the operettas
took account of this: people just wanted to
enjoy themselves. The music had to be light
and sparkling, frivolity or even straightforwardness
lewdness were applauded, sultry
eroticism and sentimentality were preferred.
Jobbers sat in the circle along with
war pro.teers and swindlers. They set the
tone to a large extent. People revelled and
showed off what they had – as long as they
still had it. The aristocracy had lost its lustre.
In the Austrian republic, it had even
been abolished by decree. Money paid for
luxury, or even better – for relationships.
With the subject of “Countess Mariza”,
Emmerich Kálmán plunged head.rst into
this melange and achieved his ambition –
after the “Csárdásfürstin” (Csárdás Princess,
1915) – of enjoying another sensational
success. Two new momentous cooperations
contributed to the creation of
this work: Kálmán’s .rst contact with the librettists
Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald
and the collaboration with the multitalented
operetta stager Hubert Marischka,
who directed the Theater an der Wien in his
role as star singer and impresario. Kálmán
wrote most of his remaining works, which
appeared regularly every two years, with
Brammer/Grünwald and for Marischka and
his stage.
Meanwhile, work on “Countess Mariza”
was more laboured than earlier. Kálmán
had already had parts of the libretto for
several years, but it did not appeal to him at
.rst, with the result that he .rst collaborated
with the librettists to produce the strictly
ironic, socially critical and clever “Bayadere”
(1921).
It is true that people like the impoverished
Count Tassilo in “Mariza”, who was
suddenly forced to work for his daily bread,
could be met in thousands on the streets after
having lost the .rst World War. It was
not necessary to use allegory when dealing
with such a subject; it was starkly true
to life, and at the same time was an ideal
medium for conjuring up nostalgic yearning
and memories of the glorious past. “Grüß
mir mein Wien” (“Greet my Vienna for me”)
and “Komm, Zigány” (“Come, Zigány”) are
two of the most beautiful songs which
Kálmán created for his Tassilo.
The plot, spiced with love, jealousy and
pride, brought forth such moments of musical
suspense that the composer’s inspiration
took .re from them and blazed .ercely.
Although bound to the events of those
times, the result was a timeless work of
art. Therefore, “Countess Mariza” has
remained in public favour since its premiere
on February 28, 1924.
Richard Eckstein
Plot
Act 1: While the young Countess Mariza
is globe-trotting, an industrious steward is
taking care of her property. This steward,
the former Count Tassilo Endrödy-Wittemburg,
who now calls himself Török, had
previously suffered great .nancial dif.culties,
with the result that he had to mortgage
his property and give up his of.cer’s commission.
In this way, he hopes to earn the
necessary dowry for his sister Lisa, who
must not learn of the family’s impoverished
condition. Mariza makes a surprise return
to the estate with a swarm of guests and
admirers, and announces that she today intends
to celebrate her engagement to Baron
Koloman Zsupán. However, the Countess
is only pretending to become engaged
in order to throw off her countless suitors.
“Koloman Zsupán” is a name borrowed
from Johann Strauss’ “Gypsy Baron”, and
Countess Mariza believes that he is a successful
invention. Her astonishment is all
the greater when a Baron Koloman Zsupán
actually turns up at the estate. The stricken
Mariza cannot repudiate the joyful suitor
without further ado. Tassilo, who has been
in love with the Countess for some weeks,
does not want this to be noticed, and sings
a melancholy song, “Auch ich war einst ein
feiner Csárdáskavalier!” (“I too was once
a .ne Csárdás cavalier!”). When Mariza
asks him to sing this song to her guests, he
refuses. The Countess is offended.
Act 2: Lisa, Tassilo’s sister, is also one of
the guests. Her brother also wants her to
remain incognito. Meanwhile, Zsupán has
realised that he has no chance with Mariza,
and takes up with Lisa. However, Tassilo
and Mariza again become involved in a disagreement.
Tassilo, who would like to dance
with the Countess, makes her a declaration
of love and is dismissed. Full of pain, he embraces
his sister, which annoys the Countess
and also makes her jealous. However,
she then .nally learns that her steward is a
Count and that Lisa is his sister.
Act 3: On the morning after these events,
Tassilo arrives to say farewell to Mariza.
She believes him to be a fortune hunter and
his affection to be feigned, as she has misinterpreted
a letter of Tassilo’s which has
fallen into her hands. However, both her
contrariness and his pride prevent them
from clearing the matter up. The
appearance
of Tassilo’s aunt, the Princess Guddenstein,
brings about a happy transformation:
she has heard of her nephew’s .nancially
straitened circumstances and secretly
bought back his mortgaged property. Now
he may feel himself to be a worthy partner
for Mariza. The two dif.cult lovers can at
last become a couple, just like Zsupán, who
may at last embrace his Lisa.