Canadian Premiere of Der Zigeunerprimas (GYPSY VIOLINS)
By: Mark Andrew Lawrence Feb. 14, 2007
Kalman's GYPSY VIOLINS presented by Toronto Operetta Theatre.
Performances are on February 16, 17, 18 (Mat at 2 pm), 2007. Jose Hernandez conducts the orchestra, chorus and cast which include Elizabeth DeGrazia, Katerina Tchoubar, Terry Hodges and James McLennan. Co-directors are Virgina Reh and Guillermo Silva-Marin. This production is supported by The Wappel Family Foundation and The Margaret Breckner Foundation.
Though Der Zigeunerprimas was Kálmán's second operetta to be written with a German libretto, musically it is one of his most wistfully Hungarian; a wonderful sense of lyric Magyar melancholy hangs over the whole piece.
The inspiration for the story was Pali Rácz, a famous Hungarian gypsy violinist. Rácz was a real life figure, notorious not only for his violin playing but for his 36 children - in the operetta the number is reduced to 16. Kálmán's Rácz is well past his glory days and takes a Hans Sachs like role in the romantic proceedings of his children. The plot concerns the romantic entanglements of Rácz's daughter Sári as she falls in love with a nobleman, Gaston, Count Irini. There is also by-play between Rácz's son Laczi and Juliska, Rácz's niece, complicated by the fact that Rácz himself has his eye on her as his 4th wife.
Matters are made more interesting by the musical rivalry between Rácz and his son Laczi, culminating in a public contest which forms the finale to Act 2. Here Rácz refuses to play and it is Laczi's playing in the modern manner which wins the day.
Part of the work's charm is the way that, schematic though the plot is, it refuses to embalm its characters in a misty past. Not only are Rácz and his son musical rivals; their home village (the setting for Act 1) is no romantic gypsy village, but a positive factory for creating gypsy musicians.
Imre Kálmán was among the finest composers of operetta of the early/middle 20th century. The richness of his melodies and the singing parts he created have helped keep his work in the European repertory right into the new century.
Kálmán started out as a composer of serious music, but his cabaret songs proved extremely popular, and he began moving toward lighter music in 1907. He spent his most productive years in Vienna, writing an enviable string of very high-quality operettas, which were characterized not only by gorgeous melodies and delectable choruses but startlingly vivid librettos -- this was a frequent failing of many other operetta composers. His work combined the most pleasing and sophisticated elements of Viennese operetta with the richly melodic, romantic Hungarian style of writing pioneered by Franz Liszt, not authentic but very enticing to the ear. Wherever possible, he found reason to include this Hungarian and "gypsy"-style writing in his work, although in later years, he also experimented with jazz influences, as in his 1928 operetta Die Herzogin von Chicago.
Kálmán's 1912 operetta Der Zigeunerprimas elicited the critical comment from Viennese critic Richard Specht: "His music is fresh and pleasant, full of strength in its natural melodic invention and wholesome maturity. While others grope and experiment, he stands in the rich soil of folk music and hits the mark every time."
Toronto Operetta Theatre presents 3 performances of Der Zigeunerprimas – February 16 and 17 at 8:00 pm with a Sunday matinee on February 18 at 2:00 pm. The theatre, which is wheelchair accessible, is located at 27 Front Street East, close to public transit and parking facilities. Tickets are $39, $58, and $75 with a discount for groups of 20 or more. Ask about the Family Night Out - special prices for adults accompanied by children. Toronto Operetta Theatre is also supported by The Jackman Foundation, Scotiabank, RBC Dominion Securities, Canada Council for the Arts, the Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council. Media sponsor is Deutsche Presse.
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