Emmerich Kalman
Encyclopedia
Emmerich Kálmán (24 October 1882 30 October 1953) was a Hungarian-born
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...

 composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...

 of 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:...

s.

Biography

Kálmán was born Imre Koppstein in Siófok
Siófok
Siófok is a city in Hungary on the southern bank of Lake Balaton in Somogy County. The city is one of Hungary's most popular holiday destinations, famous for its beaches and nightlife. Siófok is one of the richest municipalities of Hungary due to tourism...

, on the southern shore of Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton
Lake Balaton is a freshwater lake in the Transdanubian region of Hungary. It is the largest lake in Central Europe, and one of its foremost tourist destinations. As Hungary is landlocked , Lake Balaton is often affectionately called the "Hungarian Sea"...

, 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...

 (formerly Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...

) in a Jewish family.

Kálmán initially intended to become a concert pianist
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...

, but because of early-onset arthritis
Arthritis
Arthritis is a form of joint disorder that involves inflammation of one or more joints....

, he focused on composition instead. He studied music theory
Music theory
Music theory is the study of how music works. It examines the language and notation of music. It seeks to identify patterns and structures in composers' techniques across or within genres, styles, or historical periods...

 and composition
Musical composition
Musical composition can refer to an original piece of music, the structure of a musical piece, or the process of creating a new piece of music. People who practice composition are called composers.- Musical compositions :...

 at the National Hungarian Royal Academy of Music
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...

 (then the Budapest Academy of Music), where he was a fellow student of Béla Bartók
Béla Bartók
Béla Viktor János Bartók was a Hungarian composer and pianist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century and is regarded, along with Liszt, as Hungary's greatest composer...

 and Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály
Zoltán Kodály was a Hungarian composer, ethnomusicologist, pedagogue, linguist, and philosopher. He is best known internationally as the creator of the Kodály Method.-Life:Born in Kecskemét, Kodály learned to play the violin as a child....

 under Hans Kössler
Hans von Koessler
Hans von Koessler was a German composer, conductor and music teacher. In Hungary, where he worked for 26 years, he was known as János Koessler....

. His early symphonic poems were well-received, although he failed to achieve publication.

However, the popularity of his humorous cabaret songs led him towards the composition of 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:...

s. His first great success was Tatárjárás - Ein Herbstmanöver in German, meaning 'Autumn Maneuver', although the English title is The Gay Hussars
The Gay Hussars
The Gay Hussars is an operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. The piece was Kalman's first operetta and a hit throughout Europe and America. The first version, in Hungarian, Tatárjárás, with libretto by Karl von Bakonyi and Andor Gábor, premiered at the Lustspieltheater in Budapest on 22...

, which was first staged at the Lustspieltheater 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...

, on 22 February 1908. Thereafter he moved 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...

 where he achieved worldwide fame by composing his operettas Der Zigeunerprimas
Der Zigeunerprimas
Der Zigeunerprimas is a three act operetta, which was composed by Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by Julius Wilhelm and Fritz Grünbaum...

, Die Csárdásfürstin
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...

, Gräfin Mariza, and Die Zirkusprinzessin
Die Zirkusprinzessin
Die Zirkusprinzessin is an operetta in three acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán to a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 26 March 1926 and went on to 344 performances there.The plot revolves around a romantic intrigue...

.

Kálmán and 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:...

 were the leading composers of what has been called the "Silver Age" of Viennese operetta during the first quarter of the 20th century. He became well-known for his fusion of Viennese waltz
Waltz
The 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...

 with Hungarian csárdás
Csárdás
Csárdás is a traditional Hungarian folk dance, the name derived from csárda . It originated in Hungary and was popularized by Roma music bands in Hungary and neighboring lands of Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Burgenland, Croatia, Ukraine, Transylvania and Moravia, as well as among the Banat...

. Even so, polyphonically and melodically, Kálmán was a devoted follower of Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Puccini
Giacomo Antonio Domenico Michele Secondo Maria Puccini was an Italian composer whose operas, including La bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly, and Turandot, are among the most frequently performed in the standard repertoire...

, while in his orchestration methods he employed principles characteristic of Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...

's music.

Despite his Jewish origins he was one of Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...

's favorite composers. After the Anschluss
Anschluss
The Anschluss , also known as the ', was the occupation and annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany in 1938....

, he rejected Hitler's offer to become an 'honorary Aryan' and was forced to move first to 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...

, then to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, settling in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 in 1940. Following his emigration, performances of his works were prohibited in Nazi Germany. He emigrated back 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...

 from New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 in 1949 before moving in 1951 to 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 he died.

Operettas with place and date of first production

  • Tatárjárás
    The Gay Hussars
    The Gay Hussars is an operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. The piece was Kalman's first operetta and a hit throughout Europe and America. The first version, in Hungarian, Tatárjárás, with libretto by Karl von Bakonyi and Andor Gábor, premiered at the Lustspieltheater in Budapest on 22...

    – Budapest, 1908
    • Ein Herbstmanöver – Vienna, 1909 (German version of Tatárjárás)
    • The Gay Hussars
      The Gay Hussars
      The Gay Hussars is an operetta in three acts by Emmerich Kálmán. The piece was Kalman's first operetta and a hit throughout Europe and America. The first version, in Hungarian, Tatárjárás, with libretto by Karl von Bakonyi and Andor Gábor, premiered at the Lustspieltheater in Budapest on 22...

      – New York, 1909 (American version of Tatárjárás)
    • Autumn Manoeuvres – London, 1912 (English version of Tatárjárás)
  • Az obsitos – Budapest, 1910
    • Der gute Kamerad – Vienna, 1911 (German revision of Az Obsitos)
    • Gold gab ich für Eisen – Vienna, 1914 (revision of Der gute Kamerad)
    • Her Soldier Boy – New York, 1916
    • Soldier Boy – London, 1918
    • A Soldier's Promise – Wooster, Ohio, 2005
  • Der Zigeunerprimas
    Der Zigeunerprimas
    Der Zigeunerprimas is a three act operetta, which was composed by Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by Julius Wilhelm and Fritz Grünbaum...

    – Vienna, 1912
    • Sari – New York, 1914
  • The Blue House – London, 1912
  • Der kleine König – Vienna, 1912
  • Zsuzsi kisasszony – Budapest, 1915
    • Miss Springtime – New York, 1916
    • Die Faschingsfee – Vienna, 1917 (German revision of Zsuzsi kisasszony)
  • Die Csárdásfürstin
    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...

    – Vienna, 1915
    • The Riviera Girl – New York, 1917
    • The Gipsy Princess – London, 1921
    • The Csárdás Princess – Cleveland, 2010
  • Das Hollandweibchen – Vienna, 1920
    • A Little Dutch Girl – London, 1920
    • The Dutch Girl – U.S., 1925
  • Die Bajadere
    Die Bajadere (operetta)
    Die Bajadere is an operetta in 3 acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman. The libretto was written by J. Brammer and A. Grunwald. The work premiered in Vienna on 23 December 1921...

    – Vienna, 1921
    • The Yankee Princess – New York, 1922
  • Gräfin Mariza – Vienna, 1924
    • Countess Maritza – New York, 1926
    • Maritza – London, 1938
  • Die Zirkusprinzessin
    Die Zirkusprinzessin
    Die Zirkusprinzessin is an operetta in three acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán to a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 26 March 1926 and went on to 344 performances there.The plot revolves around a romantic intrigue...

    – Vienna, 1926
    • The Circus Princess – New York, 1927
  • Golden Dawn – New York, 1927
  • Die Herzogin von Chicago
    Die Herzogin von Chicago
    Die Herzogin von Chicago is an operetta in two acts, a prologue, and an epilogue. The music was composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán with a libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien, on April 5, 1928 and played for 372 performances...

    – Vienna, 1928
    • The Duchess of Chicago – U.S., 1929
  • Das Veilchen vom Montmartre
    Das Veilchen vom Montmartre
    Das Veilchen vom Montmartre is an operetta in 3 acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna at the Johann Strauss Theater on 21 March, 1930....

    – Vienna, 1930
    • Paris in Spring – U.S., 1930
    • A Kiss in Spring – London, 1932
  • Der Teufelsreiter – Vienna, 1932
  • Kaiserin Josephine
    Kaiserin Josephine
    Kaiserin Josephine is an operetta in 8 scenes by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kalman. The German libretto was by Paul Knepler and Géza Herczeg. It premiered in Zurich, at the Stadt Theater, on 18 January 1936. - Roles :...

    – Zurich, 1936
  • Miss Underground – written 1942, unproduced
  • Marinka
    Marinka
    Marinka is an operetta by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán with book by George Marion, Jr. and Karl Farkas, and lyrics by George Marion, Jr. The operetta is a retelling of the story of the Mayerling incident, but with a happy ending replacing the infamous 1889 double suicide of Austrian Crown...

    – New York, 1945
  • Arizona Lady
    Arizona Lady
    Arizona Lady is an operetta in two acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán. The libretto was written by Alfred Grünwald and Gustav Beer. It premiered, as a broadcast in Munich on 1 January 1954, and on stage in Bern, at the Stadttheater, on 14 February 1954. Left unfinished at the time of...

    – Bern, 1954

Further reading

  • Nagibin, Yuri
    Yuri Nagibin
    Yuri Markovich Nagibin was a Soviet writer, screenwriter and novelist.He is best known for his screenplays, but he also has written several novels and novellas, and many short stories. He is known for his novel The Red Tent that he later adapted for the screenplay for the film of the same name...

    . Вечная музыка. Russia, ACT, 2004.(hardcover, ISBN 5-17-021655-6) (pp. 201–345)

External links

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