imported>Moonraker: /* English adaptations */

2025-07-19T06:56:39Z

English adaptations

New page

{{Short description|Operetta}}
{{for|the films|Countess Maritza (1925 film)|Countess Mariza (1932 film)|Gräfin Mariza (1958 film)}}
{{italic title}}[[File:Kálmán_Imre_cropped_(Willinger_Vilmos,_1924).jpg|thumb|[[Emmerich Kálmán]]]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2015}}
'''''Gräfin Mariza''''' ({{IPA|de|ˈɡʁɛːfɪn ˈmaʁitsa}}; ''Countess Maritza'') is an [[operetta]] in three acts composed by Hungarian composer [[Emmerich Kálmán]], with a German [[libretto]] by [[Julius Brammer]] and [[Alfred Grünwald (librettist)|Alfred Grünwald]]. It premiered in [[Vienna]] on 28 February 1924 at the [[Theater an der Wien]].<ref name="KG">{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/encyclopediaofmu00ganz_1/page/794/mode/2up?q=%22Grafin+Mariza%22|title=The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, Second Edition|volume=II|first=Kurt|last= Gänzl|author-link=Kurt Gänzl|chapter=Gräfin Mariza|publisher=[[Schirmer Books]]|year=2001|pages=795-797}}</ref>

==English adaptations==

As ''Countess Maritza'', it made its New York City debut on 18 September 1926 at the [[Shubert Theatre (Broadway)|Shubert Theatre]], in an adaptation by [[Harry B. Smith]], and with interpolated music by other composers, playing 318 performances,<ref>[http://showsdata.stageagent.com/index.php?info_type=3&id=1607 "Countess Maritza"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141021114002/http://showsdata.stageagent.com/index.php?info_type=3&id=1607 |date=21 October 2014 }} on StageAgent website, accessed 21 October 2014.</ref> with [[Yvonne D'Arle|Yvonne d'Arle]] in the title role on opening night.<ref>{{Cite web |title=IBDB: Countess Maritza |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/countess-maritza-10120#OpeningNightCast |access-date=2022-10-20 |website=IBDB}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=1926-04-25 |title=Has a Voice Like the Nightingale |pages=67 |work=The Philadelphia Inquirer |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/18761526/yvonne-darle-1926/ |access-date=2022-10-21}}</ref> The show was staged by [[J. C. Huffman]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Hischak|first=Thomas S.|title=Enter the Playmakers: Directors and Choreographers on the New York Stage |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DCTUkTpL8V8C&pg=PA59|access-date=2014-05-30 |date=1 January 2006|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-5747-6}}</ref>

As ''Maritza'', it opened in London at the [[Palace Theatre, London|Palace Theatre]] on 6 July 1938, with [[Mary Losseff]] in the title role.

A London revival by New [[Sadler's Wells Opera]] opened at [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]] in February 1983, with a new English book and lyrics by [[Nigel Douglas (tenor)|Nigel Douglas]], starring [[Marilyn Hill Smith]] (Maritza), Ramon Remedios (Tassilo), Laureen Livingstone (Lisa), Lynn Barber (Manja) and [[Tudor Davies]] (Zsupan), with [[Osmund Bullock]] as Penizek and Baron Liebenberg, conducted by [[Barry Wordsworth]].<ref>"OPERA: Countess Maritza", ''[[The Stage]]'', Thursday 9 February 1984, p. 21</ref>

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
!Voice type
!Premiere Cast, 28 February 1924<ref>Casaglia (2005)</ref> <br>(Conductor: Anton Paulik)
|-
|Countess Mariza
|[[soprano]]
|Betty Fischer
|-
|Prince Populescu
|[[baritone]]
|Richard Waldemar
|-
|Baron Kolomán Zsupán, ''landowner of Varaždin''
|[[tenor]]
|[[Max Hansen (Danish Singer)|Max Hansen]]
|-
|Count Tassilo of Endrödy-Wittemburg
|tenor
|[[Hubert Marischka]]
|-
|Lisa, Tassilo's sister
|soprano
|[[Elsie Altmann]]
|-
|Karl Stefan Liebenberg
|[[bass (vocal range)|bass]]
|
|-
|Princess Božena Guddenstein zu Clumetz
|[[contralto]]
|Mizzi Gribl
|-
|Penižek, ''her valet''
|spoken
|[[Hans Moser (actor)|Hans Moser]]
|-
|Tschekko, ''an old butler of Mariza's''
|
|
|-
|Berko, ''a gypsy''
|
|
|-
|Manja, ''a young gypsy''
|soprano
|
|-
|colspan="3"|''Village children, guests, dancers, gypsies, peasant boys and peasant girls''
|-
|}

== Synopsis ==
[[Image:Mariza - Jon And.jpg|thumb|Poster for a 1941 Stockholm production.]]
:Place: Hungary: the manor and estate of the Countess Maritza
:Time: Around 1920.<ref>Sources for the synopsis: "[http://www.guidetomusicaltheatre.com/shows_c/countess_maritza.htm Countess Maritza]" in 'Guide to Musical Theatre' website, accessed 18 October 2014: "[http://www.josef-weinberger.com/musicals/musical/countess-maritza-douglas.html Countess Maritza]" in Josef Weinberger Ltd. website, accessed 18 October 2014.</ref>

Manja the [[Romani people|gypsy]] girl flirts with the newly appointed bailiff, Béla Törek. Unknown to anyone, Törek is in fact the impoverished Count Tassilo, who is seeking to earn a living and set aside some cash for the dowry of his sister Lisa. The Countess Maritza, a young widow, unexpectedly arrives at the estate to celebrate her engagement. This 'engagement' is however quite fictitious, an invention intended to put off her numerous followers. The name she has chosen for her suitor, based on her recollection of [[Johann Strauss II|Strauss']] operetta, ''[[The Gypsy Baron]]'', is Baron Koloman Zsupán. However, amongst Maritza's guests, to Tassilo's horror, is Lisa, whom he instructs to keep their relationship and his identity strictly secret. Maritza is also embarrassed when a genuine Koloman Zsupán materialises, having seen an announcement of his 'engagement' in the press.

Tassilo is heard by the guests singing an air "Komm, Zigány" ("Come, gypsies!"), which he ends with a [[czardas]]. Maritza orders him to repeat it; he refuses, and the angry countess announces that he is fired. Manja predicts that The Countess will be very happy in love. "One moon will pass over this Earth and Maritza will find her happiness", she sings. Maritza therefore decides to remain on her estate. She stops Tassilo from leaving and apologises.

Zsupan has meanwhile decided that he prefers Lisa to Maritza, whilst Maritza is increasingly attracted to Tassilo. However, the ageing Lothario Populescu reveals to Maritza Tassilo's identity, and moreover alleges that Lisa is his girlfriend. Maritza in a high temper insults Tassilo, who declares that he will leave. However, before he goes, the repentant Maritza writes him a 'reference' which is in fact a proposal of marriage. The operetta ends with Maritza and Tassilo, and Zsupan and Lisa, engaged.

==Recordings==
'''Kalman: ''Gräfin Mariza''''', Wiener Opernball Orch.
*Conductor: Uwe Theimer
*Principal singers: Izabela Labuda (Mariza), Martina Dorak (Lisa), Ryszard Karczykowski (Tassilo), Moritz Gogg (Zsupán)
*Recording date:
*Label: Camarata, CD CM 660-1

'''Kalman: ''Countess Maritza''''', New Sadler's Wells Opera
*Conductor: Barry Wordsworth
*Principal singers: Marilyn Hill Smith (Maritza), Ramon Remedios (Tassilo), Laureen Livingstone (Lisa), Tudor Davies (Zsupán)
*Recording date: 3 & 4 March 1983 (EMI Abbey Road Studios, London)
*Label: That's Entertainment Records TER 1051

==Films==
[[File:Countess Maritza (1925 film).jpg|thumb|upright|''[[Countess Maritza (1925 film)|Countess Maritza]]'' (1925)]]
There are a number of film versions of the operetta:

* A [[Countess Maritza (1925 film)|silent version in 1925]], directed by [[Hans Steinhoff]] with [[Harry Liedtke]] as Tassilo, [[Vivian Gibson]] as Mariza and [[Ernő Verebes]] as Zsupán.
*''[[Gräfin Mariza (1932 film)|Gräfin Mariza]]'' (1932), directed by [[Richard Oswald]] with [[Dorothea Wieck]], [[Hubert Marischka]], [[Charlotte Ander]] (Lisa), [[Ferdinand von Alten]] (Fürst Popoff), [[Anton Pointner]] (Baron Liebenberg) and [[Ernő Verebes]] (Baron Kolomán Zsupán)
* ''[[Gräfin Mariza (1958 film)|Gräfin Mariza]]'' (1958), directed by [[Rudolf Schündler]] with [[Christine Görner]] and [[Rudolf Schock]], [[Gunther Philipp]], [[Hans Moser (actor)|Hans Moser]], [[Lucie Englisch]], [[Renate Ewert]] and the [[Kessler Twins]]
*''Gräfin Mariza'' (1974), directed by Eugen York with [[Ljuba Welitsch]] and [[René Kollo]].
*''Maritsa'' (1985 television film), directed by Alexander Belinsky with [[Natalya Andrejchenko]], Timofey Spivak, [[Vera Sotnikova]] and [[Igor Sklyar]].

== Notes ==
<references />

==Other sources==
{{commons category|Gräfin Mariza}}
* {{Almanacco|dmy=28 February 1924|match=Mariza|label=Gräfin Mariza, 28 February 1928}}
* [[Andrew Lamb (writer)|Lamb, Andrew]] (1992), 'Gräfin Mariza' in ''The [[New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]'', ed. [[Stanley Sadie]] (London), {{ISBN|0-333-73432-7}}

{{Emmerich Kálmán}}
{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Countess Maritza}}
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:Operas by Emmerich Kálmán]]
[[Category:Music of Hungary]]
[[Category:1924 operas]]
[[Category:German-language operettas]]
[[Category:Operas set in Hungary]]
[[Category:Fictional representations of Romani people]]
[[Category:Operas adapted into films]]

Countess Maritza - Revision history

imported>Moonraker: /* English adaptations */