Page 175 - 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
P. 175
ntity-machines: the nationalism of hungar ian oper etta between the two wor ld wars
impossible relationships is a key element of operetta performance – espe-
cially subsequent, State Socialist operetta performance.
Furthermore the very names of the characters carry traits that ap-
proach the sociological make-up of the community through operetta cli-
chés, not national identification. In addition to Count Bálint Choltay of
Cholta the landless aristocrat and Hermann Werner the merchant, we en-
counter the barons Dennewitz and Clausewitz, and ladies Juci and Amália,
representing the aristocracy, and Annchen, Trudchen, Klarchen and Ma-
rietta, the group of ladies-in-waiting who dance with the spa town’s doc-
tor and dance instructor. In these names, we witness the reality of an ethni-
cally diverse monarchy, not the increasingly powerful Hungarian identity
prevalent in subsequent analyses.
Linguistic incompetence is the embodiment of humour in the operetta
genre, and the incorrect use of language is the source of most jokes. In The
Hamburg Bride, Werner’s entire role, as the father, is based on his shoddy
knowledge of Hungarian.
Werner: And how do they say in Hungarian – to fenster?16 Do they
say, to window?
Juci: Of course not! ... Here they say, to fenster just the same.17
Werner: Sie, her Oberstkammerdiener!
Gyurka: I don’t speak Jewish, begging your pardon!
Werner: Then I will say it in Hungarian!18
The language evokes the subtle anti-Semitism of the early 1920s, one
that does not mention economic stereotypes, and remains an unobtrusive
part of general chatter.
Charlotte: ... are you that thirsty?
Kristóf: I would drink the entire Red Sea, even though way back
when, the whole Lipótváros19 used it as a public bath.20
16 The verb derived from ’window’ means to walk up and down under the window of
the beloved woman, in the hope that she will appear there, or at least look out. An in-
formal expression, and as outdated as the wooing method it refers to.
17 Kulinyi and Vincze, Hamburgi menyasszony [Libretto – prompter’s copy], 40.
18 Ibid., 45.
19 Translator’s note: Lipótváros or Leopold city was considered a stereotypically Jewish
central district of Budapest.
20 Ibid., 55.
173
impossible relationships is a key element of operetta performance – espe-
cially subsequent, State Socialist operetta performance.
Furthermore the very names of the characters carry traits that ap-
proach the sociological make-up of the community through operetta cli-
chés, not national identification. In addition to Count Bálint Choltay of
Cholta the landless aristocrat and Hermann Werner the merchant, we en-
counter the barons Dennewitz and Clausewitz, and ladies Juci and Amália,
representing the aristocracy, and Annchen, Trudchen, Klarchen and Ma-
rietta, the group of ladies-in-waiting who dance with the spa town’s doc-
tor and dance instructor. In these names, we witness the reality of an ethni-
cally diverse monarchy, not the increasingly powerful Hungarian identity
prevalent in subsequent analyses.
Linguistic incompetence is the embodiment of humour in the operetta
genre, and the incorrect use of language is the source of most jokes. In The
Hamburg Bride, Werner’s entire role, as the father, is based on his shoddy
knowledge of Hungarian.
Werner: And how do they say in Hungarian – to fenster?16 Do they
say, to window?
Juci: Of course not! ... Here they say, to fenster just the same.17
Werner: Sie, her Oberstkammerdiener!
Gyurka: I don’t speak Jewish, begging your pardon!
Werner: Then I will say it in Hungarian!18
The language evokes the subtle anti-Semitism of the early 1920s, one
that does not mention economic stereotypes, and remains an unobtrusive
part of general chatter.
Charlotte: ... are you that thirsty?
Kristóf: I would drink the entire Red Sea, even though way back
when, the whole Lipótváros19 used it as a public bath.20
16 The verb derived from ’window’ means to walk up and down under the window of
the beloved woman, in the hope that she will appear there, or at least look out. An in-
formal expression, and as outdated as the wooing method it refers to.
17 Kulinyi and Vincze, Hamburgi menyasszony [Libretto – prompter’s copy], 40.
18 Ibid., 45.
19 Translator’s note: Lipótváros or Leopold city was considered a stereotypically Jewish
central district of Budapest.
20 Ibid., 55.
173
