Page 172 - Weiss, Jernej, ur./ed. 2021. Opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama ▪︎ Operetta between the Two World Wars. Koper/Ljubljana: Založba Univerze na Primorskem in Festival Ljubljana. Studia musicologica Labacensia, 5
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opereta med obema svetovnima vojnama
lush, green River Tisa with the Transylvanian folk hero, Prince Csaba, do-
ing who knows what? Presumably just gazing at the landscape, themselves
becoming part of a national tableau. The lack of a verb, of an action re-
minds us that we are analysing an operetta, not a political manifesto. The
lyrics do not want, or call for, anything, they merely list the not-yet-irre-
dentist, merely identity-forming tropes of 1922 popular discourse: the pride
of a thousand-year-old nation, the richness of nature, the power of beauty
and bravery. This is the landscape of having arrived, this is Hungary as it
exists in operetta.
What was the premiere like?
In order to analyse the role of a single operetta number in memory poli-
tics, it is relevant to discuss the performance’s context in theatre history.
The Hamburg Bride premiered on January 31, 1922 in one of the largest and
strongest establishments on the Budapest musical theatre scene, the Váro-
si Theatre.7 The composer, Zsigmond Vincze, being the conductor of a ri-
val institution, Király Theatre, knew the Városi’s ensemble well. It was rou-
tine practice in theatrical life to create some buzz in the press in the months
leading up to the premiere. From 1921 on there are weekly, then closer to the
premiere, almost daily news stories8 in the papers about which actors ac-
cepted a role in the show and who refused it. The diva Sári Petress is the pri-
ma donna/female lead, Imre Palló, a singer from the Opera plays the male
lead, and the most notable theatrical publication, Színházi Élet (Theatrical
Life) interviewed the entire cast.9
The theatrical promotion of the 1920s deliberately blurred the line be-
tween events in reality and on stage, between the roles and personal lives
of the stars. Headlines, and even the articles themselves presented the on-
stage lives of prima donnas in the framework of reality. This makes the arti-
cles somewhat obnoxious, but nevertheless furthers the popular identifica-
tion of the actor with the role. In our analysis, this is most noticeable when
the cast changes prima donnas. In 1923, when Petress leaves and a new Lot-
ti is found to replace her, the next run of the show advertises the second ac-
tress, Kolbay, as an object to be bought and sold: “A new bride arrived from
Hamburg. […] In two brief months, Kolbay was married for the second time
7 “Hamburg – Budapest!” Színházi Élet 7, no. 5 (1922): 22–3.
8 Uj Budapest, January 18, 1922, 4.
9 “Hat intervju A hamburgi menyasszony-ról,” Színházi Élet 7, no. 4 (1922): 18–9.
170
lush, green River Tisa with the Transylvanian folk hero, Prince Csaba, do-
ing who knows what? Presumably just gazing at the landscape, themselves
becoming part of a national tableau. The lack of a verb, of an action re-
minds us that we are analysing an operetta, not a political manifesto. The
lyrics do not want, or call for, anything, they merely list the not-yet-irre-
dentist, merely identity-forming tropes of 1922 popular discourse: the pride
of a thousand-year-old nation, the richness of nature, the power of beauty
and bravery. This is the landscape of having arrived, this is Hungary as it
exists in operetta.
What was the premiere like?
In order to analyse the role of a single operetta number in memory poli-
tics, it is relevant to discuss the performance’s context in theatre history.
The Hamburg Bride premiered on January 31, 1922 in one of the largest and
strongest establishments on the Budapest musical theatre scene, the Váro-
si Theatre.7 The composer, Zsigmond Vincze, being the conductor of a ri-
val institution, Király Theatre, knew the Városi’s ensemble well. It was rou-
tine practice in theatrical life to create some buzz in the press in the months
leading up to the premiere. From 1921 on there are weekly, then closer to the
premiere, almost daily news stories8 in the papers about which actors ac-
cepted a role in the show and who refused it. The diva Sári Petress is the pri-
ma donna/female lead, Imre Palló, a singer from the Opera plays the male
lead, and the most notable theatrical publication, Színházi Élet (Theatrical
Life) interviewed the entire cast.9
The theatrical promotion of the 1920s deliberately blurred the line be-
tween events in reality and on stage, between the roles and personal lives
of the stars. Headlines, and even the articles themselves presented the on-
stage lives of prima donnas in the framework of reality. This makes the arti-
cles somewhat obnoxious, but nevertheless furthers the popular identifica-
tion of the actor with the role. In our analysis, this is most noticeable when
the cast changes prima donnas. In 1923, when Petress leaves and a new Lot-
ti is found to replace her, the next run of the show advertises the second ac-
tress, Kolbay, as an object to be bought and sold: “A new bride arrived from
Hamburg. […] In two brief months, Kolbay was married for the second time
7 “Hamburg – Budapest!” Színházi Élet 7, no. 5 (1922): 22–3.
8 Uj Budapest, January 18, 1922, 4.
9 “Hat intervju A hamburgi menyasszony-ról,” Színházi Élet 7, no. 4 (1922): 18–9.
170
