Der Graf von Luxemburg
Encyclopedia
Der Graf von Luxemburg is an operetta
in three acts by Franz Lehár
to German libretto
by Alfred Willner
, Robert Bodanzky
, and Leo Stein
. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien
in Vienna
, on 12 November 1909 and was an immediate success. It has remained in the repertory until the present day, especially in German-speaking countries and had adaptations into French as Le comte de Luxembourg and English as The Count of Luxembourg
which were very successful in their day. A Viennese take on bohemian
life in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, the story revolves around an impoverished aristocrat and a glamorous opera singer who have entered into a sham marriage without ever seeing each other and later fall in love at first sight, unaware that they are already husband and wife.
. Between those operettas, he had composed two one-act stage works, Peter und Paul reisen ins Schlaraffenland (Peter and Paul Travel to Paradise) and Mitislaw der Moderne (Fashionable Mitislaw), followed by his indifferently received three-act operetta Der Mann mit den drei Frauen (The Man with Two Wives) in 1908 and the somewhat more successful Das Fürstenkind (Maids of Athens) which premiered in October 1909, one month before Der Graf von Luxemburg.
Like The Merry Widow, Der Graf von Luxemburg deals with themes of wealth and dubious marriages and the contrast between the gaiety of Parisian society and Slavic seriousness. The libretto was written by Alfred Willner
, Robert Bodanzky
, and Leo Stein
. Stein had previously worked with Lehár on his 1904 Der Göttergatte, and Bodanzky had co-authored the librettos for both Peter und Paul reisen ins Schlaraffenland and Mitislaw der Moderne. The libretto for Der Graf von Luxemburg was not completely new. It was a re-working of the one written by Alfred Willner and Bernard Buchbinder twelve years earlier for Johann Strauss
' unsuccessful operetta Die Göttin der Vernunft (The Goddess of Reason).
in Paris. René, the impoverished but debonair Count of Luxemburg, is sharing a garret in Montmartre
with his artist friend, Armand Brissard, who is in turn in love with Juliette Vermont, a dancer and the model for his latest painting. Meanwhile, a middle-aged Russian prince, Basil Basilowitsch, is infatuated with the young opera singer, Angèle Didier. However, he cannot marry her because she is a commoner. He offers René 500,000 francs to enter into a sham marriage with Angèle and then divorce her three months later. With title of "Countess", Angèle can then marry Prince Basilowitsch. (Attracted by the idea of eventually becoming a princess, Angèle had agreed to the plan.) The wedding takes place in Armand's studio. To ensure that no romantic complications develop, the couple are never to meet face-to-face. René promises to disappear for the next three months and a screen made from one of Armand's easels separates René and his "bride" during the ceremony. Alone after the ceremony, René looks forward to resuming his playboy lifestyle with his new-found wealth but at the same time is disturbed by the attraction he felt when he touched the unknown woman's hand through the screen.
and is deeply attracted to her. Determined to meet the singer, he and Armand attend her party, with René presenting himself as "Baron von Reval". The two fall in love, not knowing that they are already married to each other. Angèle tells René of the impossibility of their love as she is about to be divorced from one man and is engaged to marry another. Prince Basilowitsch is also at the party, and alarmed at the turn of events, publicly announces his engagement to Angèle. René and Angèle now realize the true situation, but René has no money to buy himself out of the contract, having already squandered much the 500,000 francs he had received from the prince.
, Vienna, on 12 November 1909. Otto Storm played René, and Angèle was played by Annie von Ligety who was making her stage debut. It also proved to be the only role she would play—shortly thereafter she married a wealthy financier and retired from the stage. A great success, Der Graf initially ran for 299 performances. Lehár made various changes to the work over the ensuing years, and the version now preferred, with the first act divided into two scenes and a solo song added for Countess Kokozow in Act 3, originates from the production in Berlin at the Theater des Volkes
on 4 March 1937.
Following its Vienna premiere, Der Graf von Luxemburg was soon performed internationally. It premiered in Germany at Berlin's Neues Operettenhaus on 23 December 1909 and in Hungary a month later as Luxemburg grófja with the libretto translated into Hungarian and adapted by Andor Gábor. When performed outside German-speaking countries the operetta was almost invariably performed in translation, often with the libretto significantly adapted to local theatrical tastes. It was first performed in Italy as Il conte di Lussemburgo at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Turin
in 1910, and in France as Le comte de Luxembourg (in a translation by Robert de Flers
and Gaston de Caillavet
) at the Théâtre Apollo in 1912. The Spanish version premiered at the Teatro Eslava in Madrid as El conde le Luxemburgo in 1910. However, this version was significantly altered from the original. The libretto was adapted and translated by José Juan Cadenas, and the Spanish composer Vicente Lleó not only rearranged Lehár's music but also added some music of his own. A year later, Lleó collaborated with the composer Enrique Bru and two new librettists to create a one-act zarzuela
, El conde del embudo, even more loosely based on Lehár's original. Der Graf von Luxemburg arrrived in Latin America soon after its premiere thanks to travelling operetta companies from Europe. It received its Uruguayan premiere in 1910 at the Teatro Solis in Montevideo
performed in the original German and was subsequently performed there for many years, although after the premiere always in either Italian or Spanish translation. A Portuguese company from Porto
performed the work in Portuguese translation as O conde de Luxemburgo at the Teatro Amazonas in Brazil in 1913.
One of the most successful adaptations of the operetta was The Count of Luxembourg
, an English version by Basil Hood
and Adrian Ross
who had previously adapted The Merry Widow for English audiences. The Hood and Ross version premiered in London on 20 May 1911 with Lehár conducting and King George V
and Queen Mary
in the audience. Hood and Ross had made significant alterations to the original libretto and reduced the work from three acts to two with Lehár adjusting the score accordingly. However, in 1983, the Sadler's Wells Opera Company (later to become the English National Opera
) performed the work in a new translation of the libretto by Nigel Douglas with song texts by Eric Maschwitz and Douglas. This version in three acts was much more faithful to the original and also included music from Lehár's 1937 definitive version.
The KlangBogen Wien Festival
commissioned Austrian film and theatre director Michael Schottenberg
to rewrite the operetta's book for its performance at the 2005 festival. Although Schottenberg's re-working remains faithful to the basic plot and retains most of the original dialogue, the setting was changed to Vienna in the 1950s. The Graf von Luxemburg is now René Graf, a struggling novelist whose nickname is "The Count". His bohemian friend Manfred (Armand in the original) is a student, while their beloveds, Angelika (Angèle) and Julie (Juliette), are dancers in a sleazy Hawaiian revue. Prince Basilowitsch is now Dr. Basil Basilovich-Kokosov, the Russian consul to Vienna, who is saddled with an estranged nymphomaniac wife, Anastasia. René and Angelika's sham wedding takes place in Manfred's bathroom, with René hiding behind the shower curtain. Larry L. Lash, who reviewed the live performance for Opera News
wrote that the production "zipped along with a manic 'Springtime for Hitler' fall-out-of-your-seat humor that had me laughing out loud for days after." Immediately following the festival performances at the Theater an der Wien
, Schottenberg's production transferred to the Vienna Volksoper
where it remains in repertory.
1. "Karneval! Ja du allerschönste Zeit"
2. "Mein Ahnherr war der Luxemburg"
3. "Ein Stübchen so klein"
4. "Pierre, der schreibt an klein Fleurette"
5. "Ich bin verliebt, ich muß es ja gestehen"
6. "Ein Scheck auf die englische Bank"
7. "Heut' noch werd' ich Ehefrau - Unbekannt, deshalb nicht minder interessant"
8. "Frau Gräfin, Sie erlauben wohl - Sie geht links, er geht rechts - Sah nur die kleine Hand"
Act 2
9. "Hoch, Evoe, Angèle Didier - Ich dank, meine Herren und meine Damen"
10. "Sind Sie von Sinnen, Herr Baron - Lieber Freund, man greift nicht nach den Sternen - Bist du's, lachendes Glück"
11. "Schau'n Sie freundlichst mich an - Bitte gleich, bitte sehr - Mädel klein, Mädel fein"
12. "Ach, seh'n Sie doch, er ist ganz blaß"
13. "Der Handschuh, wie pikant- Es duftet nah Trèfle incarnat"
14. "Ein Löwe war ich im Salon - Polkatänzer, Polkatänzer"
Act 3
15. "Was ist das für'ne Zeit, liebe Leute"
16. "Wärst du heut' schon mein Mann"
17. "Packt die Liebe einen Alten justament beim Schopf"
18. "Es duftet nach Trèfle incarnat - Was ich im Traum nur ersah"
19. "Wir bummeln durch's Leben Reinhören Reinhören"
released excerpts from Der Graf von Luxemburg on nine 78 rpm records, recorded by the original cast and conducted by Lehár himself. Since that time, there have been multiple recordings of the operetta (or its highlights) in its original German, as well as recordings of Russian, Spanish, Hungarian, English, and French versions. The English recording, conducted by Barry Wordsworth
and released on the That's Entertainment label, was from the 1983 Sadler's Wells Opera production and features the original cast from those performances including Marilyn Hill Smith as Angèle and Neil Jenkins as René. Amongst the recordings of the French version are Decca
's 1950s release with Gabriel Bacquier
in the title role and EMI Pathé's 1960s highlights with Michel Dens
as the Count.
Late 20th and early 21st century full length recordings of the Der Graf von Luxemburg in the original German include:
Franz Lehár: Der Graf von Luxemburg, Graunke Symphony Orchestra
and Bavarian State Opera
chorus
Franz Lehár: Der Graf von Luxemburg, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
and Festival-Chor KlangBogen Wien
Franz Lehár: Der Graf von Luxemburg, Festival Orchestra Mörbisch and Mörbisch Festival Choir
, with Gerhard Riedmann
and Renate Holm) and in again 1972 (directed by Wolfgang Glück
, with Eberhard Wächter, Lilian Sukis
and Erich Kunz
). There were also two silent film
s based on the operetta, the 1911 Brazilian film, O Conde de Luxemburgo (directed by Alberto Botelho and produced by William Auler) and the 1918 Hungarian film, Luxemburg grófja (directed by Antal Forgács and produced by the Gloria film company).
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 Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár
Franz Lehár was an Austrian-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow .-Biography:...
to German 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 Willner
A. M. Willner
Alfred Maria Willner was an Austrian writer, philosopher, musicologist, composer and librettist. He began composing mostly music for the piano before making a career writing librettos for ballets, operas and operettas...
, Robert Bodanzky
Robert Bodanzky
Robert Bodanzky, also known as Danton , was an Austrian journalist, playwright, poet and artist. While he became famous for his apolitical poems before the first World War, he turned an anarchist communist afterwards, writing political essays, plays and poems...
, and Leo Stein
Leo Stein (writer)
Leo Stein, born Leo Rosenstein was a playwright and librettist of operettas in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including works adapted for a number of Broadway productions....
. It premiered 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...
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...
, on 12 November 1909 and was an immediate success. It has remained in the repertory until the present day, especially in German-speaking countries and had adaptations into French as Le comte de Luxembourg and English as The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based loosely on the German original, entitled "Der Graf von Luxemburg", which had premiered in Vienna in 1909....
which were very successful in their day. A Viennese take on bohemian
Bohemianism
Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people, with few permanent ties, involving musical, artistic or literary pursuits...
life in Paris at the beginning of the 20th century, the story revolves around an impoverished aristocrat and a glamorous opera singer who have entered into a sham marriage without ever seeing each other and later fall in love at first sight, unaware that they are already husband and wife.
Background
Lehár composed Der Graf von Luxemburg in only three weeks and in a private remark before its premiere called it "Sloppy work, completely worthless!" However, it became his first major international success after The Merry WidowThe Merry Widow
The Merry Widow is an operetta by the Austro–Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play,...
. Between those operettas, he had composed two one-act stage works, Peter und Paul reisen ins Schlaraffenland (Peter and Paul Travel to Paradise) and Mitislaw der Moderne (Fashionable Mitislaw), followed by his indifferently received three-act operetta Der Mann mit den drei Frauen (The Man with Two Wives) in 1908 and the somewhat more successful Das Fürstenkind (Maids of Athens) which premiered in October 1909, one month before Der Graf von Luxemburg.
Like The Merry Widow, Der Graf von Luxemburg deals with themes of wealth and dubious marriages and the contrast between the gaiety of Parisian society and Slavic seriousness. The libretto was written by Alfred Willner
A. M. Willner
Alfred Maria Willner was an Austrian writer, philosopher, musicologist, composer and librettist. He began composing mostly music for the piano before making a career writing librettos for ballets, operas and operettas...
, Robert Bodanzky
Robert Bodanzky
Robert Bodanzky, also known as Danton , was an Austrian journalist, playwright, poet and artist. While he became famous for his apolitical poems before the first World War, he turned an anarchist communist afterwards, writing political essays, plays and poems...
, and Leo Stein
Leo Stein (writer)
Leo Stein, born Leo Rosenstein was a playwright and librettist of operettas in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including works adapted for a number of Broadway productions....
. Stein had previously worked with Lehár on his 1904 Der Göttergatte, and Bodanzky had co-authored the librettos for both Peter und Paul reisen ins Schlaraffenland and Mitislaw der Moderne. The libretto for Der Graf von Luxemburg was not completely new. It was a re-working of the one written by Alfred Willner and Bernard Buchbinder twelve years earlier for Johann Strauss
Johann Strauss II
Johann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
' unsuccessful operetta Die Göttin der Vernunft (The Goddess of Reason).
Roles
| Role | Voice type Voice type A voice type is a particular kind of human singing voice perceived as having certain identifying qualities or characteristics. Voice classification is the process by which human voices are evaluated and are thereby designated into voice types... |
Premiere cast, November 12, 1909 (Conductor Conducting Conducting is the art of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. The primary duties of the conductor are to unify performers, set the tempo, execute clear preparations and beats, and to listen critically and shape the sound of the ensemble... : Robert Stolz Robert Stolz Robert Elisabeth Stolz was an Austrian songwriter and conductor as well as a composer of operettas and film music.- Biography :... ) |
|---|---|---|
| Angèle Didier, a singer at the Paris Opera Paris Opera The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique... |
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... |
Annie von Ligety |
| Armand Brissard, an artist | 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... |
Bernhard Bötel Bernhard Bötel Bernhard Bötel was a German operatic tenor and actor who had an active career in Germany and Austria during the first half of the 20th century. He made recordings for several record labels during the early years of the recording industry, including His Master's Voice, Odeon Records, Polydor... |
| Juliette Vermont, a dancer and Brissard's girlfriend | soprano | Louise Kartousch |
| Prince Basil Basilowitsch, in love with Angèle | tenor | Max Pallenberg Max Pallenberg Max Pallenberg was an Austrian singer, actor and comedian.Although Pallenberg's career started in 1904 it wasn't until 1909 that he joined Theater an der Wien and Vienna's Deutsches Volkstheater. However, it was at Berlin's Deutsches Theater where he left a lasting mark on German theatrical... |
| Countess Stasa Kokozow, Prince Basil's former fiancée | mezzo-soprano Mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano is a type of classical female singing voice whose range lies between the soprano and the contralto singing voices, usually extending from the A below middle C to the A two octaves above... |
|
| Pawel von Pawlowitsch, Counsellor at the Russian embassy | tenor | |
| Pélégrin, a French registrar Recorder of deeds Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:... |
baritone Baritone Baritone 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... |
|
| René, Graf von Luxemburg | tenor or high baritone | Otto Storm |
| Sergei Mentschikoff, a Russian notary Notary A notary is a lawyer or person with legal training who is licensed by the state to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents... |
tenor | |
| Artists, grisette Grisette The word grisette may mean:*The Eurasian minnow.*The mushroom Amanita fulva.*A grisette, a female French working-class woman, or later, good-time girl.... s, party guests, hotel personnel, Parisian socialites |
||
Synopsis
Setting: Paris, around 1900Act 1
It is the height of the Mardi Gras seasonMardi Gras
The terms "Mardi Gras" , "Mardi Gras season", and "Carnival season", in English, refer to events of the Carnival celebrations, beginning on or after Epiphany and culminating on the day before Ash Wednesday...
in Paris. René, the impoverished but debonair Count of Luxemburg, is sharing a garret in Montmartre
Montmartre
Montmartre is a hill which is 130 metres high, giving its name to the surrounding district, in the north of Paris in the 18th arrondissement, a part of the Right Bank. Montmartre is primarily known for the white-domed Basilica of the Sacré Cœur on its summit and as a nightclub district...
with his artist friend, Armand Brissard, who is in turn in love with Juliette Vermont, a dancer and the model for his latest painting. Meanwhile, a middle-aged Russian prince, Basil Basilowitsch, is infatuated with the young opera singer, Angèle Didier. However, he cannot marry her because she is a commoner. He offers René 500,000 francs to enter into a sham marriage with Angèle and then divorce her three months later. With title of "Countess", Angèle can then marry Prince Basilowitsch. (Attracted by the idea of eventually becoming a princess, Angèle had agreed to the plan.) The wedding takes place in Armand's studio. To ensure that no romantic complications develop, the couple are never to meet face-to-face. René promises to disappear for the next three months and a screen made from one of Armand's easels separates René and his "bride" during the ceremony. Alone after the ceremony, René looks forward to resuming his playboy lifestyle with his new-found wealth but at the same time is disturbed by the attraction he felt when he touched the unknown woman's hand through the screen.
Act 2
A party is taking place at Angèle's house on the eve of her impending divorce from René. Three months have passed during which time René has been travelling with Armand. However, on his return René has seen Angèle perform at the Paris OperaParis Opera
The Paris Opera is the primary opera company of Paris, France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the Académie d'Opéra and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and renamed the Académie Royale de Musique...
and is deeply attracted to her. Determined to meet the singer, he and Armand attend her party, with René presenting himself as "Baron von Reval". The two fall in love, not knowing that they are already married to each other. Angèle tells René of the impossibility of their love as she is about to be divorced from one man and is engaged to marry another. Prince Basilowitsch is also at the party, and alarmed at the turn of events, publicly announces his engagement to Angèle. René and Angèle now realize the true situation, but René has no money to buy himself out of the contract, having already squandered much the 500,000 francs he had received from the prince.
Act 3
The next day in the lounge of the Grand Hotel where René has been staying since his return to Paris, he and Angèle discuss their predicament. They are joined by Countess Kokozow, Prince Basil's former fiancée. Prince Basil stumbles into her arms in a frantic search for Angèle only to hear that the Tsar has ordered him to keep his promise and marry the countess instead. René learns that his confiscated properties have been returned to him. He is now a rich man, can repay the prince, and stay married to Angèle with his honour intact. Armand and Juliette, whose relationship has often been tempestuous, arrive and announce that they too have finally decided to marry.Performance history
Der Graf von Luxemburg premiered at the Theater an der WienTheater 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...
, Vienna, on 12 November 1909. Otto Storm played René, and Angèle was played by Annie von Ligety who was making her stage debut. It also proved to be the only role she would play—shortly thereafter she married a wealthy financier and retired from the stage. A great success, Der Graf initially ran for 299 performances. Lehár made various changes to the work over the ensuing years, and the version now preferred, with the first act divided into two scenes and a solo song added for Countess Kokozow in Act 3, originates from the production in Berlin at the Theater des Volkes
Friedrichstadt Palast
The Friedrichstadt-Palast is a revue in the Berlin district of Mitte . The term Friedrichstadt-Palast designates both the building itself, and the revue theater as a body with his ensemble...
on 4 March 1937.
Following its Vienna premiere, Der Graf von Luxemburg was soon performed internationally. It premiered in Germany at Berlin's Neues Operettenhaus on 23 December 1909 and in Hungary a month later as Luxemburg grófja with the libretto translated into Hungarian and adapted by Andor Gábor. When performed outside German-speaking countries the operetta was almost invariably performed in translation, often with the libretto significantly adapted to local theatrical tastes. It was first performed in Italy as Il conte di Lussemburgo at the Teatro Vittorio Emanuele in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
in 1910, and in France as Le comte de Luxembourg (in a translation by Robert de Flers
Robert de Flers
Robert de Flers was a French playwright, opera librettist, and journalist....
and Gaston de Caillavet
Gaston Arman de Caillavet
Gaston Arman de Caillavet was a French playwright. He was the son of Albert Arman de Caillavet and Léontine Lippmann, the muse of Anatole France. In April 1893 he married Jeanne Pouquet...
) at the Théâtre Apollo in 1912. The Spanish version premiered at the Teatro Eslava in Madrid as El conde le Luxemburgo in 1910. However, this version was significantly altered from the original. The libretto was adapted and translated by José Juan Cadenas, and the Spanish composer Vicente Lleó not only rearranged Lehár's music but also added some music of his own. A year later, Lleó collaborated with the composer Enrique Bru and two new librettists to create a one-act zarzuela
Zarzuela
Zarzuela is a Spanish lyric-dramatic genre that alternates between spoken and sung scenes, the latter incorporating operatic and popular song, as well as dance...
, El conde del embudo, even more loosely based on Lehár's original. Der Graf von Luxemburg arrrived in Latin America soon after its premiere thanks to travelling operetta companies from Europe. It received its Uruguayan premiere in 1910 at the Teatro Solis in Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
performed in the original German and was subsequently performed there for many years, although after the premiere always in either Italian or Spanish translation. A Portuguese company from Porto
Porto
Porto , also known as Oporto in English, is the second largest city in Portugal and one of the major urban areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Its administrative limits include a population of 237,559 inhabitants distributed within 15 civil parishes...
performed the work in Portuguese translation as O conde de Luxemburgo at the Teatro Amazonas in Brazil in 1913.
One of the most successful adaptations of the operetta was The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg
The Count of Luxembourg is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based loosely on the German original, entitled "Der Graf von Luxemburg", which had premiered in Vienna in 1909....
, an English version by Basil Hood
Basil Hood
Basil Willett Charles Hood was a British librettist and lyricist, perhaps best known for writing the libretti of half a dozen Savoy Operas and for his English adaptations of operettas, including The Merry Widow. He embarked on a career in the British army, writing theatrical pieces in his spare...
and Adrian Ross
Adrian Ross
For the NFL player see Adrian Ross Arthur Reed Ropes , better known under the pseudonym Adrian Ross, was a prolific writer of lyrics, contributing songs to more than sixty British musical comedies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
who had previously adapted The Merry Widow for English audiences. The Hood and Ross version premiered in London on 20 May 1911 with Lehár conducting and King George V
George V of the United Kingdom
George V was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 through the First World War until his death in 1936....
and Queen Mary
Mary of Teck
Mary of Teck was the queen consort of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Empress of India, as the wife of King-Emperor George V....
in the audience. Hood and Ross had made significant alterations to the original libretto and reduced the work from three acts to two with Lehár adjusting the score accordingly. However, in 1983, the Sadler's Wells Opera Company (later to become the English National Opera
English National Opera
English National Opera is an opera company based in London, resident at the London Coliseum in St. Martin's Lane. It is one of the two principal opera companies in London, along with the Royal Opera, Covent Garden...
) performed the work in a new translation of the libretto by Nigel Douglas with song texts by Eric Maschwitz and Douglas. This version in three acts was much more faithful to the original and also included music from Lehár's 1937 definitive version.
The KlangBogen Wien Festival
KlangBogen Wien
KlangBogen Wien is an annual festival offering a month of opera productions and classical concerts at different venues in the city of Vienna. There is a range from early to contemporary operas, and from medieval chamber music to experimental 21st century compositions...
commissioned Austrian film and theatre director Michael Schottenberg
Michael Schottenberg
Michael Schottenberg is an Austrian actor, film director and screenwriter. His film The Arrival of Averill was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival.-External links:...
to rewrite the operetta's book for its performance at the 2005 festival. Although Schottenberg's re-working remains faithful to the basic plot and retains most of the original dialogue, the setting was changed to Vienna in the 1950s. The Graf von Luxemburg is now René Graf, a struggling novelist whose nickname is "The Count". His bohemian friend Manfred (Armand in the original) is a student, while their beloveds, Angelika (Angèle) and Julie (Juliette), are dancers in a sleazy Hawaiian revue. Prince Basilowitsch is now Dr. Basil Basilovich-Kokosov, the Russian consul to Vienna, who is saddled with an estranged nymphomaniac wife, Anastasia. René and Angelika's sham wedding takes place in Manfred's bathroom, with René hiding behind the shower curtain. Larry L. Lash, who reviewed the live performance for Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
wrote that the production "zipped along with a manic 'Springtime for Hitler' fall-out-of-your-seat humor that had me laughing out loud for days after." Immediately following the festival performances 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...
, Schottenberg's production transferred to the Vienna Volksoper
Vienna Volksoper
The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It gives about three hundred performances of twenty-five productions during an annual season running from September through June....
where it remains in repertory.
Musical numbers
Act 11. "Karneval! Ja du allerschönste Zeit"
2. "Mein Ahnherr war der Luxemburg"
3. "Ein Stübchen so klein"
4. "Pierre, der schreibt an klein Fleurette"
5. "Ich bin verliebt, ich muß es ja gestehen"
6. "Ein Scheck auf die englische Bank"
7. "Heut' noch werd' ich Ehefrau - Unbekannt, deshalb nicht minder interessant"
8. "Frau Gräfin, Sie erlauben wohl - Sie geht links, er geht rechts - Sah nur die kleine Hand"
Act 2
9. "Hoch, Evoe, Angèle Didier - Ich dank, meine Herren und meine Damen"
10. "Sind Sie von Sinnen, Herr Baron - Lieber Freund, man greift nicht nach den Sternen - Bist du's, lachendes Glück"
11. "Schau'n Sie freundlichst mich an - Bitte gleich, bitte sehr - Mädel klein, Mädel fein"
12. "Ach, seh'n Sie doch, er ist ganz blaß"
13. "Der Handschuh, wie pikant- Es duftet nah Trèfle incarnat"
14. "Ein Löwe war ich im Salon - Polkatänzer, Polkatänzer"
Act 3
15. "Was ist das für'ne Zeit, liebe Leute"
16. "Wärst du heut' schon mein Mann"
17. "Packt die Liebe einen Alten justament beim Schopf"
18. "Es duftet nach Trèfle incarnat - Was ich im Traum nur ersah"
19. "Wir bummeln durch's Leben Reinhören Reinhören"
Recording history
In 1909, Deutsche GrammophonDeutsche Grammophon
Deutsche Grammophon is a German classical record label which was the foundation of the future corporation to be known as PolyGram. It is now part of Universal Music Group since its acquisition and absorption of PolyGram in 1999, and it is also UMG's oldest active label...
released excerpts from Der Graf von Luxemburg on nine 78 rpm records, recorded by the original cast and conducted by Lehár himself. Since that time, there have been multiple recordings of the operetta (or its highlights) in its original German, as well as recordings of Russian, Spanish, Hungarian, English, and French versions. The English recording, conducted by Barry Wordsworth
Barry Wordsworth
Barry Wordsworth is a British conductor.From 1989 to 2006, Wordsworth was principal conductor of the BBC Concert Orchestra, and now holds the title of conductor laureate. From 1990 to 1995, Wordsworth was music director of the Royal Ballet, Covent Garden. He began his second tenure in that post in...
and released on the That's Entertainment label, was from the 1983 Sadler's Wells Opera production and features the original cast from those performances including Marilyn Hill Smith as Angèle and Neil Jenkins as René. Amongst the recordings of the French version are Decca
Decca Records
Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....
's 1950s release with Gabriel Bacquier
Gabriel Bacquier
Gabriel Bacquier is a French operatic baritone. One of the leading baritones of the 20th century and particularly associated with the French and Italian repertories, he is considered a fine singing-actor equally at home in dramatic or comic roles.-Life and career:Gabriel Bacquier was born in...
in the title role and EMI Pathé's 1960s highlights with Michel Dens
Michel Dens
Michel Dens was a French baritone, particularly associated with the French repertory, both opera and operetta....
as the Count.
Late 20th and early 21st century full length recordings of the Der Graf von Luxemburg in the original German include:
Franz Lehár: Der Graf von Luxemburg, Graunke Symphony Orchestra
Munich Symphony Orchestra
The Munich Symphony Orchestra is a German orchestra based in Munich. Kurt Graunke founded the orchestra as the Graunke Symphony Orchestra in 1945. The orchestra acquired its current name in 1990...
and Bavarian State Opera
Bavarian State Opera
The Bavarian State Opera is an opera company based in Munich, Germany.Its orchestra is the Bavarian State Orchestra.- History:The opera company which was founded under Princess Henriette Adelaide of Savoy has been in existence since 1653...
chorus
- Conductor: Willy Mattes
- Principal singers: Nicolai GeddaNicolai GeddaNicolai Gedda is a Swedish operatic tenor. Having made some two hundred recordings, Gedda is said to be the most widely recorded tenor in history...
(René), Lucia PoppLucia PoppLucia Popp was a notable Slovak operatic soprano. She began her career as a soubrette soprano, and later moved into the light-lyric and lyric coloratura soprano repertoire and then the lighter Richard Strauss and Wagner operas. Her career included performances at Vienna State Opera, the...
(Angèle), Renate Holm (Juliette), Willi Brokmeier (Armand), Kurt BöhmeKurt BöhmeKurt Böhme was a German bass.He was born in Dresden, Germany, where he studied with Adolf Kluge at the Dresden Conservatory. He made his debut in 1930 in Bautzen as Kaspar, one of his most important roles further on...
(Prince Basil), Gisela LitzGisela LitzGisela Litz was a German contralto. She sang frequently at the Bayreuth Festival. A recording is available of her singing as one of the Rhinemaidens in Der Ring des Nibelungen conducted by Clemens Krauss in 1953....
(Countess Kokozow) - Recording date: 1968
- Label: EMI 65375 (CD)
Franz Lehár: Der Graf von Luxemburg, Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra
The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is the orchestra of the Austrian national broadcaster Österreichischer Rundfunk . Founded in 1969 with the name of the ORF-Symphonieorchester , it is the only radio orchestra in the country...
and Festival-Chor KlangBogen Wien
KlangBogen Wien
KlangBogen Wien is an annual festival offering a month of opera productions and classical concerts at different venues in the city of Vienna. There is a range from early to contemporary operas, and from medieval chamber music to experimental 21st century compositions...
- Conductor: Alfred Eschwé
- Principal singers: Bo SkovhusBo SkovhusBo Skovhus is a Danish opera singer .Skovhus studied at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, at the Royal Academy for Opera of Copenhagen and in New York with Oren Brown....
(René), Juliane BanseJuliane BanseJuliane Banse is a German soprano and noted lieder singer. She received her vocal training at the Zürich Opera, and with Brigitte Fassbaender in Munich. She won First Prize in the singing competition of the Kulturforum in Munich in 1989. In 1989, she made her operatic debut as Pamina in Mozart's...
(Angèle), Gabriele Bone (Juliette), Rainer Trost (Armand), Andreas Conrad (Prince Basil), Eva Maria Marold (Countess Kokozow) - Recording date: 2005
- Label: CPO 7771942 (DVD)
Franz Lehár: Der Graf von Luxemburg, Festival Orchestra Mörbisch and Mörbisch Festival Choir
- Conductor: Rudolph Bibl
- Principal singers: Michael Suttner (René), Ruth Ingeborg Ohlmann (Angèle), Ana-Maria Labin (Juliette), Marko Kathol (Armand), Alfred Sramek (Prince Basil), Marika Lichter (Countess Kokozow)
- Recording date: 2006
- Label: Oehms, 570 (CD) ORF (DVD)
Films
Der Graf von Luxemburg was filmed in 1957 (directed by Werner JacobsWerner Jacobs
-Selected filmography:* Gitarren der Liebe * André and Ursula * San Salvatore * Santa Lucia * The Count of Luxemburg * Münchhausen in Afrika * Here I Am, Here I Stay...
, with Gerhard Riedmann
Gerhard Riedmann
Gerhard Riedmann was an Austrian film actor. He was married to the actress Eva Probst.-Selected filmography:* The Beggar Student * The Count of Luxemburg * Trees Are Blooming in Vienna * Waldrausch...
and Renate Holm) and in again 1972 (directed by Wolfgang Glück
Wolfgang Glück
Wolfgang Glück is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His film 38 – Auch das war Wien was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-External links:...
, with Eberhard Wächter, Lilian Sukis
Lilian Sukis
Lilian Sukis is a Canadian operatic soprano of Lithuanian birth. After earning diplomas from the University of Toronto and McMaster University, she made her professional opera debut in 1964 as Kate Pinkerton in Giacomo Puccini's Madama Butterfly with the Canadian Opera Company...
and Erich Kunz
Erich Kunz
Erich Kunz was an Austrian operatic bass-baritone, particularly associated with the roles of Papageno and Beckmesser....
). There were also two silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
s based on the operetta, the 1911 Brazilian film, O Conde de Luxemburgo (directed by Alberto Botelho and produced by William Auler) and the 1918 Hungarian film, Luxemburg grófja (directed by Antal Forgács and produced by the Gloria film company).
Sources
- Casaglia, Gherardo (2005). "Der Graf von Luxenburg" (sicSicSic—generally inside square brackets, [sic], and occasionally parentheses, —when added just after a quote or reprinted text, indicates the passage appears exactly as in the original source...
). Almanacco Amadeus. Accessed 13 January 2011 . - Eckstein, Richard (2006). Liner Notes: Der Graf von Luxemburg (OC 570) (English translation by Elizabeth Gahbler). Oehms Classics Musikproduktion. Accessed 15 January 2011.
- Gammond, Peter (ed.) (1991). The Oxford Companion to Popular Music. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0193113236
- Gänzl, KurtKurt GänzlKurt Gänzl is an award-winning writer, musicologist, casting director and singer best known for his books about musical theatre....
and Lamb, AndrewAndrew Lamb (writer)Andrew Martin Lamb is an English writer, musicologist and broadcaster, known for his expertise in light music and musical theatre.-Biography:Lamb was born in Oldham, Lancashire, England, on 23 September 1942, the son of Harry Lamb, a schoolmaster, and his wife Winifred, née Emmott...
(1988). "Der Graf von Luxemburg", Gänzl's Book of the Musical Theatre. Bodley Head, pp. 994–996 - Gänzl, Kurt (1994). The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, Volume 1. Schirmer Books. ISBN 0028714458
- Greene, David Mason (1985/2007). "Lehár, Franz", Greene's Biographical Encyclopedia of Composers. Reproducing Piano Roll Foundation, 2007 (originally published by Doubleday, 1985). ISBN 0385142781
- Grout, Donald Jay and Williams, Hermine Weigel (2003). A Short History of Opera (4th edition). Columbia University Press. ISBN 0231119585
- Lamb, Andrew (1983). "Lehár's 'Count of Luxembourg'". The Musical TimesThe Musical TimesThe Musical Times is an academic journal of classical music edited and produced in the United Kingdom. It is currently the oldest such journal that is still publishing in the UK, having been published continuously since 1844. It was published as The Musical Times and Singing Class Circular until...
, Vol. 124, No. 1679 (January 1983), pp. 23+25. Accessed 17 January 2011. - Lamb, Andrew (1984). http://www.gramophone.net/Issue/Page/January%201984/74/818956/KALMAN,+COUNTESS+MARITZA%E2%80%94highlights.+Marilyn+HillSmith+(sop)+Countess+Maritza+Ramon+Remedios+(ten)+Count+Tassilo+Endrbdy+VVittemborg+Lynn+Barber+(msop)+Mania+Laureen+Livingstone+(sop)+Countess+Lisa+Tudor+Davies+(ten)+Baron+Koloman+Zsupan+Julian+Moyle+(bar)+Prince+Moritz+Dragomir+PopolescuPotchescu+New+Sadlers+Wells+Opera+Chorus+and+Orchestra++Barry+Wordsworth.+Thats+Entertainment+digital+TERI+051+(%C2%A35.49)+ZCTER1051+(C549).#header-logo"Recording Review: Kálmán, Countess Maritza and Lehár, The Count of Luxembourg"], Gramophone, January 1884
- Lamb, Andrew (2001). "Lehár, Franz (Christian)", The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Stanley Sadie and John Tyrell (eds.), 2nd edition. ISBN 9780195170672. Accessed 13 January 2011 via Grove Music Online .
- Lash, Larry L. (2005). "In Review: Vienna", Opera NewsOpera NewsOpera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
, Vol. 70, No. 4, October 2005. Accessed 16 January 2011 via Highbeam Research . - Lubbock, Mark Hugh and Ewen, David (1962). "Der Graf von Luxemburg", The Complete Book of Light Opera. Appleton-Century-CroftsAppleton-Century-CroftsAppleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., was a division of the Meredith Publishing Company. It is a result of the merger of Appleton-Century Company with F.S. Crofts Co. in 1948. Prior to that, The Century Company had merged with D...
, pp. 246–249 - Salgado, Susana (2003) The Teatro Solís: 150 Years of Opera, Concert, and Ballet in Montevideo, Wesleyan University Press. ISBN 0819565946
- Stoullig, Edmond (1912). "La semaine theatrale", Le Monde Artiste, Annee 52, No. 11, 16 March 1912, p. 167
- Williams, Christopher (2007). "Der Graf von Luxemburg/Der Graf von Luxemburg". Fanfare, November 2007. Accessed 15 January 2011 via Highbeam Research .
External links
- Video excerpts from Der Graf von Luxemburg – 2011 production at the Landesbühnen Sachsen theatre in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
(Landesbühnen Sachsen official YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
channel) - Vocal score of The Count of Luxembourg (the 1911 English adaptation by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross)
- Vocal score of Le comte de Luxembourg (the 1912 French adaptation by Robert de Flers and Gaston de Caillavet)
- Film versions on the Internet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie DatabaseInternet Movie Database is an online database of information related to movies, television shows, actors, production crew personnel, video games and fictional characters featured in visual entertainment media. It is one of the most popular online entertainment destinations, with over 100 million...
: