Die Blume von Hawaii
Encyclopedia
The Flower of Hawaii is an operetta
in three acts by Paul Abraham
with a libretto
by Alfred Grünwald
, Fritz Löhner-Beda
, and Emmerich Földes (also Emric or Imre Foeldes). It premiered on 24 July 1931 at the Neues Theater
in Leipzig
. The work was inspired by the story of Liliuokalani.
At the end of the 19th century, the US Army had occupied Hawaii and removed the Queen from power which is now held by the Governor. The Hawaiian princess Laya has resigned herself to these new circumstances and prefers to lives in Paris
where her parents had sent her as a girl for her education. It was already arranged
when she was a child that she would once marry Prince Lilo-Taro, but he prefers a life of travel over his home land.
Many natives resent the American occupation. The Royalist Party has elected Kanako Hilo as their leader and they hope he will succeed to break the colonial yoke. Governor Harrison plans to marry his niece Bessi to Lilo-Taro to gain influence over the Hawaiian leadership. However, Harrioson's secretary, John Buffy, dislikes this plan because he is drawn to Bessi himself.
Captain Stone arrives in Honolulu. On board his ship are a pair of artists: the young man is the famous jazz singer Jom-Boy, and the lady accompanying him pretends to be the no less famous singer Susanne Provence. In fact, she is Princess Laya, intent to remain incognitohttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Incognito for a while on her return home. During the journey, Captain Stone has fallen in love with the "singer".
When Kanako Hilo discovers the singer's true identity he hopes to win her as an ally in the battle against the occupiers. The Princess is not in favour of this idea, despite her being welcomed by the people as a Queen.
It is custom to elect a young lady as the Queen of the annual flower festival, her title: "Flower of Hawaii", and Princess Laya is to be this year's Queen. Governor Harris is concerned that the people will take this event as a trigger to revolt against the occupiers. He demands that Princess Laya sign a declaration in the name of the Hawaiian people to renounce all claims of sovereignty. When she refuses, the Governor declares her an enemy of the state and commands Captain Stone to arrest her. Filled with deep admiration for the Princess, he refuses, risking his job. To save him, Laya signs the declaration. Lilo-Taro -who by now has fiercely fallen in love with his arranged bride- misinterprets this gesture and flees in desperation to the
ocean to kill himself. Now it is clear to Laya where her heart belongs.
Here, all those whose lives were connected in Hawaii meet again where the real Suzanne Provence performs. Stone and Lili-Taro have become friends since the captain saved the prince's life at the ocean. Witty and inventive, John Buffy manages to straighten out the relationships, winning Bessi for himself, and ensuring that Laya and Lilo-Taro find each other. Stone seeks consolation with Suzanne, Laya's look-alike
, which is welcomed by Jim-Boy who brought the alluring Raka from Hawaii and didn't quite know how to tell his former lover Suzanne about his intentions - four happy couples.
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
in three acts by Paul Abraham
Paul Abraham
Paul Abraham was a composer of operettas.Abraham studied at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music in Budapest from 1910 to 1916...
with a libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
by Alfred Grünwald
Alfred Grünwald (librettist)
Alfred Grünwald was an Austrian author, librettist, and lyricist. Some of his better-known works were written in conjunction with the composers Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Paul Abraham, and Robert Stolz.After the Anschluss the family emigrated to the United States in 1940 via France...
, Fritz Löhner-Beda
Fritz Löhner-Beda
Fritz Löhner-Beda , born Friedrich Löwy, was an Austrian librettist, lyricist and writer.- Life :He was born in Wildenschwert, Bohemia ....
, and Emmerich Földes (also Emric or Imre Foeldes). It premiered on 24 July 1931 at the Neues Theater
Oper Leipzig
Oper Leipzig is an opera house and opera company in Leipzig, Germany.The Leipzig Opera traces its establishment to the year 1693, making it the third oldest opera venue in Europe after La Fenice and the Hamburg State Opera...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
. The work was inspired by the story of Liliuokalani.
Roles
- Laya, princessPrincessPrincess is the feminine form of prince . Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or his daughters....
of Hawaii (sopranoSopranoA soprano is a voice type with a vocal range from approximately middle C to "high A" in choral music, or to "soprano C" or higher in operatic music. In four-part chorale style harmony, the soprano takes the highest part, which usually encompasses the melody...
) - PrincePrincePrince is a general term for a ruler, monarch or member of a monarch's or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in the nobility of some European states. The feminine equivalent is a princess...
Lilo-Taro, betrothed to Laya (tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
) - Kanako Hilo, a noble Hawaiian, leader of the royalist group (baritone)
- Reginald Harold Stone, captain in the US Marine (tenor)
- Lloyd Harrison, American governor of Hawaii (spoken)
- John Buffy, his secretary (buffo tenor)
- Bessi Worthington, the governor's niece (soubretteSoubretteA soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
) - Raka, a Hawaiian girl (Soubrette)
- Jim Boy, a black American jazz singer (buffo tenor)
- Suzanne Provence, Jim's partner (played by the role of Laya)
- Perroquet, head waiter
- Chun-chun, Chinese servant
- Admiral Makintosh (spoken)
- Kaluna, an old Hawaiian (baritoneBaritoneBaritone is a type of male singing voice that lies between the bass and tenor voices. It is the most common male voice. Originally from the Greek , meaning deep sounding, music for this voice is typically written in the range from the second F below middle C to the F above middle C Baritone (or...
) - LieutenantLieutenantA lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...
Sunny Hill (any voiceVocal rangeVocal range is the measure of the breadth of pitches that a human voice can phonate. Although the study of vocal range has little practical application in terms of speech, it is a topic of study within linguistics, phonetics, and speech and language pathology, particularly in relation to the study...
) - Cadet Bobbie Flipps (any voice)
- Marine officers, cadets, Hawaiian dancers, Hawaiians, ladies and gentlemen of society, servants
Act 1
In front of a villa in HonoluluAt the end of the 19th century, the US Army had occupied Hawaii and removed the Queen from power which is now held by the Governor. The Hawaiian princess Laya has resigned herself to these new circumstances and prefers to lives in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
where her parents had sent her as a girl for her education. It was already arranged
Arranged marriage
An arranged marriage is a practice in which someone other than the couple getting married makes the selection of the persons to be wed, meanwhile curtailing or avoiding the process of courtship. Such marriages had deep roots in royal and aristocratic families around the world...
when she was a child that she would once marry Prince Lilo-Taro, but he prefers a life of travel over his home land.
Many natives resent the American occupation. The Royalist Party has elected Kanako Hilo as their leader and they hope he will succeed to break the colonial yoke. Governor Harrison plans to marry his niece Bessi to Lilo-Taro to gain influence over the Hawaiian leadership. However, Harrioson's secretary, John Buffy, dislikes this plan because he is drawn to Bessi himself.
Captain Stone arrives in Honolulu. On board his ship are a pair of artists: the young man is the famous jazz singer Jom-Boy, and the lady accompanying him pretends to be the no less famous singer Susanne Provence. In fact, she is Princess Laya, intent to remain incognitohttp://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Incognito for a while on her return home. During the journey, Captain Stone has fallen in love with the "singer".
When Kanako Hilo discovers the singer's true identity he hopes to win her as an ally in the battle against the occupiers. The Princess is not in favour of this idea, despite her being welcomed by the people as a Queen.
Act 2
Hall of the Royal Palace in HonoluluIt is custom to elect a young lady as the Queen of the annual flower festival, her title: "Flower of Hawaii", and Princess Laya is to be this year's Queen. Governor Harris is concerned that the people will take this event as a trigger to revolt against the occupiers. He demands that Princess Laya sign a declaration in the name of the Hawaiian people to renounce all claims of sovereignty. When she refuses, the Governor declares her an enemy of the state and commands Captain Stone to arrest her. Filled with deep admiration for the Princess, he refuses, risking his job. To save him, Laya signs the declaration. Lilo-Taro -who by now has fiercely fallen in love with his arranged bride- misinterprets this gesture and flees in desperation to the
ocean to kill himself. Now it is clear to Laya where her heart belongs.
Act 3
A Chinese bar in Monte CarloHere, all those whose lives were connected in Hawaii meet again where the real Suzanne Provence performs. Stone and Lili-Taro have become friends since the captain saved the prince's life at the ocean. Witty and inventive, John Buffy manages to straighten out the relationships, winning Bessi for himself, and ensuring that Laya and Lilo-Taro find each other. Stone seeks consolation with Suzanne, Laya's look-alike
Look-alike
A look-alike is a person who closely resembles another person. In popular Western culture, a look-alike is a person who bears a close physical resemblance to a celebrity, politician or member of royalty. Many look-alikes earn a living by making guest appearances at public events or performing on...
, which is welcomed by Jim-Boy who brought the alluring Raka from Hawaii and didn't quite know how to tell his former lover Suzanne about his intentions - four happy couples.
Notable arias
- Blume von Hawaii (Slow foxtrot)
- Wo es Mädels gibt, Kameraden (MarchMarch (music)A march, as a musical genre, is a piece of music with a strong regular rhythm which in origin was expressly written for marching to and most frequently performed by a military band. In mood, marches range from the moving death march in Wagner's Götterdämmerung to the brisk military marches of John...
) - My little Boy, ich bleib dir treu (Foxtrot)
- Lautlos glitt der Dampfer (duet slow waltz)
- Will dir die Welt zu Füßen legen (Slow waltzWaltzThe waltz is a ballroom and folk dance in time, performed primarily in closed position.- History :There are several references to a sliding or gliding dance,- a waltz, from the 16th century including the representations of the printer H.S. Beheim...
) - Bin nur ein Jonny, zieh durch die Welt (Slow foxtrot)
- Du traumschöne Perle der Südsee (Slow waltz)
- Ein Paradies am Meeresstrand (Slow foxtrot)
- Wir singen zur Jazzband (Foxtrot)