Gül Baba 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:...

 by Jenő Huszka

Jeno Huszka

Jenő Huszka was a Hungarian composer of operettas. He was born in Szeged and died in Budapest.- Life :...

 in three acts. It was premiered on December 6, 1905, at Király Színház in Budapest

Budapest

Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...

, Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. The story is set in the 17th century Turkish

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 invasion of Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

. The 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...

 is by Ferenc Martos.

Act I

Gabor falls in love with a Turkish girl, Leila. With his gypsy friend Mujko they enter a sacred garden in the mosque of Gül Baba. They take a rose for Leila. The guards of the mosque arrest him, because taking the sacred rose is a crime. The pasha Ali, who wants to marry Leila, sentences him to death. Gabor's last wish is to be with Leila in the garden until darkness.

Act II

Gül Baba finds that Gabor is a very good student and wants to save his life. He intervenes on Gabor's behalf with the pasha. The pasha agrees, but only if Leila will be his wife. Leila accepts this because she wants to save Gabor, but Gabor attacks the pasha with a knife. Now everything seems lost! Gül Baba destroys his rose garden and says to the pasha that it was done by Allah, who is angry because of the strict sentence.

Act III

The pasha Ali is afraid of Allah and gives a pardon to Gabor. Gül Baba regrets his destruction of the garden. However, Leila promises him that young couples will go for hundreds of years to his tomb to give him a rose.