Die Herzogin von Chicago (The Duchess of Chicago) is an operetta

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 two acts, a prologue, and an epilogue. The music was composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán

Emmerich Kalman

Emmerich Kálmán was a Hungarian-born composer of operettas.- Biography :Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton, Hungary in a Jewish family.Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist, but because of early-onset arthritis, he focused on composition...

 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 Julius Brammer

Julius Brammer

Julius Brammer was an Austrian librettist and lyricist. Some of his better-known works were written in conjunction with the composers Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Leo Ascher, Edmund Eysler and Robert Stolz....

 and 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...

. It premiered in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

 at the Theater an der Wien

Theater an der Wien

The Theater an der Wien is a historic theatre on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district of Vienna. Completed in 1801, it has seen the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music...

, on April 5, 1928 and played for 372 performances. The work was presented in out-of-town tryouts in Newark, New Jersey

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

 and Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield, Massachusetts

Springfield is the most populous city in Western New England, and the seat of Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers; the western Westfield River, the eastern Chicopee River, and the eastern...

 by the Shuberts in 1929, but it did not make it to Broadway

Broadway theatre

Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...

. The piece was forgotten until 1997, when the Lubo Opera Company performed it in concert in New York, after which Light Opera Works

Light Opera Works

Light Opera Works is a resident professional not-for-profit musical theatre company in Evanston, Illinois. It was founded in 1980 by Philip Kraus, Bridget McDonough , and Ellen Dubinsky....

 of Illinois performed the work in 1998 in a fully staged version with a new translation by Philip Kraus

Philip Kraus

Philip Kraus is an American operatic baritone and stage director known for his performances with the Lyric Opera of Chicago, starting in 1991, and for his co-founding of Light Opera Works, a professional light opera company in Chicago, in 1980.-Early training:Kraus was born in New York City and...

 and Gregory Opelka. In 1999, Richard Bonynge

Richard Bonynge

Richard Alan Bonynge, AO, CBE is an Australian conductor and pianist.Bonynge was born in Sydney and educated at Sydney Boys High School before studying piano at the Royal College of Music in London. He gave up his music scholarship, continuing his private piano studies, and became a coach for...

 made a recording of the work, which revived international interest in it.

The operetta mingles jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

 elements and other contemporary dance music with musical elements traditionally associated with Viennese waltz-opera and anticipates such works as White Horse Inn and Paul Abraham's Victoria and Her Hussar. The score also incorporates traditions from Kálmán's native Hungary. The libretto has a relatively modern satirical edge and draws on the political cabaret that was a feature of radical Vienna, Berlin and Munich at the time. The piece directly addresses the impact of America and its social revolution, with its commentary on current affairs as seen in the jazz scene in Chicago. The piece reveals much about early 20th century European culture and European intellectual attitudes toward Americans, and American culture. The setting and score call for 1920s flapper costumes, jazz and the Charleston.

Roles

Role	Voice type	Premiere Cast, April 5, 1928 (Conductor: - )
King Pankraz XXVII of Sylvaria	tenor Tenor The 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...
Prince Sandor Boris, heir to the throne of Sylvaria	lyric tenor
Miss Mary Lloyd, from Chicago	lyric soprano Soprano A 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...
James Bondy, Mary Lloyd's secretary	buffo tenor
Princess Rosemarie Sonjuschka, from Morenia	soprano
Mr. Benjamin Lloyd, Mary Lloyd's father	speaking role
Count Bojazowitsch, Finance minister of Sylvaria	tenor
State minister of Sylvaria	tenor
Guests, officers, girls, musicians, trumpeters, servants

Synopsis

The story revolves around Miss Mary Lloyd, who makes a bet with her fawning circle of girlfriends, the "Eccentric Young Ladies Club", as to which of them can buy the most expensive thing in Europe, because they are so wealthy that they can buy anything. Meanwhile, back in the bankrupt state of Sylvaria, Prince Sándor Boris and his Ministers are trying to keep the natives happy while the King is off to Monte Carlo. Then, as now, there’s nothing like a Royal Wedding to please the locals. The prince makes a marriage pact with his old pal, Princess Rosemarie of Morenia, but there is no love between them.

Mary arrives in Budapest, where she meets who she thinks is the Prince, while the real prince has been pretending to be an aide-de-camp. She, of course, prefers the aide, and there is chemistry between them at the nightclub, though the Prince prefers Viennese waltzes, and Mary prefers the Charleston. Later, in Sylvaria, Mary arranges to buy the royal palace, and is shocked to learn the true identity of her friend the "aide". She decides that, having bought the palace, she must also have "the prince that goes with it".

Bondy and the Prince’s promised bride fall in love and, despite themselves, Mary and the Prince do so, too, though they still debate the relative merits of their favorite dances. But when the Prince reads a letter that Mary wrote to her father, he gets the impression that she is merely buying him, and goes back to his older engagement.

Back in Budapest, we learn that Bondy and Princess Rosemarie have eloped. The King of Sylvaria arrives with two Parisian floozies and tries to romance Mary (Sylvaria needs her money), but she, though amused, is not interested. But everything is saved when an American producer announces that he wants to make a movie about Mary and the Prince, but cannot do so until the story has a genuine, American-style happy ending. The two compromise on a slow fox-trot.

Musical numbers

Prologue

• 1. Introduction (Chorus)
  • Charleston, Charleston tanzt man heut!
• 1a. Stage Music
• 1b. Stage Music (Jazz-Parody)
• 2. Song (Song of Vienna) (Prinz, Officers, Chorus)
  • Verse Das Wienerlied
    Wienerlied
    The Wienerlied or Weanaliad is a song genre which has its roots in Vienna, the capital of Austria. Traditional Viennese songs, known as Wienerlieder are centred on the theme of life in Vienna and are almost exclusively sung in Viennese...
    
    , so süß und weich ist wie ein Gruß von Himmelreich,
  • Refrain Wiener Musik, Wiener Musik konntest die Welt einst betönen!
• 2a. Stage Music
• 3. Ensemble (Mary, Chorus)
  • Verse Mary, so sprach mein Papa, Mary, wir haben es ja!
  • Refrain Wir Ladies aus Amerika sind auch verliebt so hie und da!
• 4. Finale (Mary, Prinz, Primas, Officers, Chorus)
  • Verse Bobby, jetzt spiel’ mir was auf!
  • Verse Ein Wienerlied so süβ und weich ist wie ein Gruß von Himmelreich;
  • Verse Siegreich blieb wieder der Charleston!
  • Refrain Yazz, das ist die Mode, die Methode, immer nur Yazz,
  • Verse Hör’ ich deine Geige wieder, denk’ ich an die alten Lieder,
  • Refrain Das war’n noch Zeiten!

Act I

• 4a. Entr’acte
• 5. Hymn (Chorus)
  • Machtvoll braust der Heimat Lied dir zu Ehren heut’!
• 5a. March Song (Prinz, Children)
  • Verse Herr Erbprinz, wir stellen gehorsamst uns vor!
  • Refrain Wenn die Garde schneidig durch die Stadt marschiert,
• 6. Duet (Mary, Bondy)
  • Verse Lichtreklamen, Riesenlettern abends auf-und abwärtsklettern,
  • Refrain Und in Chicago, wissen sie, was sich da tut!
• 7. Duet (Rosemarie, Prinz)
  • Verse Wärest du kein Prinzeßchen, ein Mädel aus kleinem Gäβchen,
  • Refrain O Rosmarie, o Ros’marie!
• 8. Musical Scene and Duet (Mary, Prinz)
  • Vienna Musik, Vienna Musik!
  • Verse Komm, Prinzchen, komm her, o du gefällst mir, du gefällst mir sehr!
  • Refrain Armer Prinz, armer Prinz, tust mir leid!
• 9. Duet (Rosemarie, Bondy)
  • Verse Wenn ich eine kleine Frau hätt, ach die hätt es wirklich gut.
  • Refrain Ach das wär’ fein, Mister Bondy! Das wär’ gut, Mister Bondy!
• 10. Finale I (Mary, Prinz, Bondy, Bojazowitsch, Perolin,
  • Negresco, Officers, Minister, Chorus)
  • Wie sich’s schickt von feinen Leuten,

Act II

• 10a. Entr’acte
• 11a. Introduction
• 11b. Song and Dance (Mary)
  • Verse Mary kam vom gold’nen Strande, aus dem fernen Wunderlande,
  • Refrain Ein kleiner Slowfox mit Mary bei Cocktail und Sherry, das wär so mein Ideal!
• 12. Duet (Mary, Prinz)
  • Verse Der Walzer ist des Lebens schönste Melodie,
  • Refrain Den Walzer hat der Herrgott für Verliebte nur er dacht,
• 13. Ensemble (Mary, Friends, Mister Lloyd, Chorus)
  • Refrain Wir Ladies aus der neuen Welt,
• 14. Duet (Rosemarie, Bondy)
  • Verse Warum fühl’ ich mich so kreuzfidel und so froh,
  • Refrain Ja, im Himmel spielt auch schon die Jazzband, alle Englein tanzen Fox!
• 15. Duet (Mary, Prinz)
  • Verse Wenn der Sonne Flammenschein abends am Missouri glüht,
  • Refrain Komm in mein kleines Liebesboot, du...Rose der Prairie!
• 16. Finale II (Mary, Friends, Rosemarie, Prinz,
  • Bondy, Mister Lloyd, Bojazowitsch,
  • Perolin, Officers, Chorus)
  • Seid umschlungen ihr Millionen, heute gibt’s noch Sensationen,

Epilogue

• 16a. Entr’acte
• 16b. Introduction (Chorus)
  • Charleston, Charleston tanzt die Welt,
• 16c. Reprise (Prinz)
  • Refrain Das war’n noch Zeiten!
  • Refrain Wiener Musik, Wiener Musik, konntest die Welt einst betören…
  • Refrain Komm, in mein kleines Liebesboot, du…Rose der Prairie!
• 17. Duet (Mary, Pankraz)
  • Verse Oh, Majestät, ich bin entzückt,
  • Refrain Voulez vous Hoppsassachen, voulez vous mit Papachen
• 18. Final Song (Mary, Prinz, Officers, Chorus)
  • Refrain Ein kleiner Slowfox mit Mary bei Cocktail und Sherry, das wär’ so mein Ideal!