Sári Petráss
Encyclopedia
Sári Petráss was a Hungarian operetta
actress and singer. In the 1910s and 1920s she played leading soprano
parts in Budapest
, Vienna
, London
and on Broadway
. According to Richard Traubner
, Sári Petráss and Sári Fedák
remain "the two best-remembered Hungarian female operetta stars of all time."
, countess Kinsky.
Petráss debuted in as a lead singer in November 1911 in Leányvásár along with Sári Fedák. The show produced at the Király Színház (King Theater), Budapest became an international hit as was instantly picked up by Carltheater
in Vienna
and by the English impressario George Edwardes
. In 1912 Edwardes "imported" her and most of the original Budapest cast to London. Petráss quickly mastered singing in English and performed at the Daly's Theatre
in The Marriage Market (1912) and A Waltz Dream
(1913) along with Gertie Millar
and Robert Michaelis. Petráss was an expert horse rider, and rode a donkey called Jenny in the opening scenes of The Marriage Market. The show ran 299 performances.
In February 1916 the American media spread a rumour that Petráss had been executed in Budapest as a spy. Allegedly, after the outbreak of World War I
she returned from England to Hungary to spy against the Central Powers
for the British. The exact origin of the rumour is unknown; later it was confirmed that she indeed returned from England to Vienna
and starred there in The Beautiful Unknown by Oscar Straus
. William Boosey wrote that the London show of The Gipsy Princess
with Petráss failed owing to cast selection, despite a "phenomenal run everywhere".
In the second half of 1916 Petráss settled in New York City and starred at the New Amsterdam Theatre
. The New York Times
praised her performance in the September 1916 premiere of Miss Springtime by Emmerich Kálmán
and Jerome Kern
: "a prima donna
new to these shores and destined to be a reigning favorite... in addition to her other talents, she is a clever actress. Miss Petrass is pretty and graceful and her voice, while not large, has a lovely quality and is used with great discretion." A few days later Alexander Woollcott
objected: "while Sári Petráss is an ingratiating and pretty vivacious prima donna, she can scarcely take first rank as a singer." In March 1917 Petráss married Felix A. E. Soerlmerhoff, a broker from Cedarhurst, New York
. She soon withdrew from Miss Springtime and toured the United States with The Beautiful Unknown.
In 1921 Petráss reprised her role in The Gipsy Princess at the Prince of Wales Theatre
, London.
Sári Petráss and her lifelong friend Lady Horne were killed in an accident in Antwerp on September 9, 1930. Their chauffeur, attempting to drive the car onto a ferry bound for Sainte Anne, was blinded by the beam of a lighthouse and crashed the car into the Scheldt
. Both passengers drowned; the body of Petráss was not identified until the next day.
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:...
actress and singer. In the 1910s and 1920s she played leading 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...
parts 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...
, 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...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and on 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...
. According to Richard Traubner
Richard Traubner
Richard Traubner is an American journalist, author, operetta scholar and historian, and lecturer on theatre and film. His book on the history of operetta was first published in 1983 and won the 17th annual ASCAP-Deems Taylor Award. Traubner is a frequent contributor to Opera News, The New York...
, Sári Petráss and Sári Fedák
Sári Fedák
Sári Fedák was a Hungarian actress and singer, one of the most well-known prima donnas of her time...
remain "the two best-remembered Hungarian female operetta stars of all time."
Biography
Petráss was born in Budapest in 1888 and was a niece to Bertha von SuttnerBertha von Suttner
Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner was an Austrian novelist, radical pacifist, and the first woman to be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.-Biography:Suttner was born in Prague, Bohemia, the daughter of an impoverished Austrian Field Marshal,...
, countess Kinsky.
Petráss debuted in as a lead singer in November 1911 in Leányvásár along with Sári Fedák. The show produced at the Király Színház (King Theater), Budapest became an international hit as was instantly picked up by Carltheater
Carltheater
The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 .It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had been sold in 1838 to the director, Carl Carl, who continued to run it in parallel to his...
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...
and by the English impressario George Edwardes
George Edwardes
George Joseph Edwardes was an English theatre manager of Irish ancestry who brought a new era in musical theatre to the British stage and beyond....
. In 1912 Edwardes "imported" her and most of the original Budapest cast to London. Petráss quickly mastered singing in English and performed at the Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre
Daly's Theatre was a theatre in the City of Westminster. It was located at 2 Cranbourn Street, just off Leicester Square. It opened on 27 June 1893, and was demolished in 1937.-Early years:...
in The Marriage Market (1912) and A Waltz Dream
Ein Walzertraum
Ein Walzertraum is an operetta by Oscar Straus with a German libretto by Leopold Jacobson and Felix Dörmann, based on the novella Nur der Prinzgemahl by Hans Müller-Einigen from his 1905 book Buch der Abenteuer .The young Jacobson presented Straus with a libretto for Ein Walzertraum at a...
(1913) along with Gertie Millar
Gertie Millar
Gertrude "Gertie" Millar was one of the most famous English singer-actresses of the early 20th century, known for her performances in Edwardian musical comedies....
and Robert Michaelis. Petráss was an expert horse rider, and rode a donkey called Jenny in the opening scenes of The Marriage Market. The show ran 299 performances.
In February 1916 the American media spread a rumour that Petráss had been executed in Budapest as a spy. Allegedly, after the outbreak of World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
she returned from England to Hungary to spy against the Central Powers
Central Powers
The Central Powers were one of the two warring factions in World War I , composed of the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulgaria...
for the British. The exact origin of the rumour is unknown; later it was confirmed that she indeed returned from England to 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...
and starred there in The Beautiful Unknown by Oscar Straus
Oscar Straus (composer)
Oscar Nathan Straus was a Viennese composer of operettas and film scores and songs. He also wrote about 500 cabaret songs, chamber music, and orchestral and choral works...
. William Boosey wrote that the London show of The Gipsy Princess
Die Csárdásfürstin
Die Csárdásfürstin or A Csárdáskirálynő is an operetta in 3 acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman, libretto by Leo Stein and B. Jenbach. It premiered in Vienna at the Johann Strauss Theater, 17 November 1915. Numerous film versions and recordings have been made...
with Petráss failed owing to cast selection, despite a "phenomenal run everywhere".
In the second half of 1916 Petráss settled in New York City and starred at the New Amsterdam Theatre
New Amsterdam Theatre
The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theater located at 214 West 42nd Street between Seventh and Eighth Avenues in the Theatre District of Manhattan, New York City, off of Times Square...
. The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
praised her performance in the September 1916 premiere of Miss Springtime by 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...
and Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
: "a prima donna
Prima donna
Originally used in opera or Commedia dell'arte companies, "prima donna" is Italian for "first lady." The term was used to designate the leading female singer in the opera company, the person to whom the prime roles would be given. The prima donna was normally, but not necessarily, a soprano...
new to these shores and destined to be a reigning favorite... in addition to her other talents, she is a clever actress. Miss Petrass is pretty and graceful and her voice, while not large, has a lovely quality and is used with great discretion." A few days later Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Woollcott
Alexander Humphreys Woollcott was an American critic and commentator for The New Yorker magazine and a member of the Algonquin Round Table....
objected: "while Sári Petráss is an ingratiating and pretty vivacious prima donna, she can scarcely take first rank as a singer." In March 1917 Petráss married Felix A. E. Soerlmerhoff, a broker from Cedarhurst, New York
Cedarhurst, New York
Cedarhurst is a village in Nassau County, on the South Shore of Long Island, New York, in the USA. The population was 6,592 at the 2010 United States Census. The village is named after a grove of trees that once stood at the post office....
. She soon withdrew from Miss Springtime and toured the United States with The Beautiful Unknown.
In 1921 Petráss reprised her role in The Gipsy Princess at the Prince of Wales Theatre
Prince of Wales Theatre
The Prince of Wales Theatre is a West End theatre on Coventry Street, near Leicester Square in the City of Westminster. It was established in 1884 and rebuilt in 1937, and extensively refurbished in 2004 by Sir Cameron Mackintosh, its current owner...
, London.
Sári Petráss and her lifelong friend Lady Horne were killed in an accident in Antwerp on September 9, 1930. Their chauffeur, attempting to drive the car onto a ferry bound for Sainte Anne, was blinded by the beam of a lighthouse and crashed the car into the Scheldt
Scheldt
The Scheldt is a 350 km long river in northern France, western Belgium and the southwestern part of the Netherlands...
. Both passengers drowned; the body of Petráss was not identified until the next day.