Page 206 - 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
value, which served as a recurring subject in the venue’s shows. Its audience
was drawn from among the poorest and the lowest of the Budapest socie-
ty, for whom even the Operetta Theatre was too expensive; and, as a jour-
nalist wrote, “servants, burglars, seamstresses, everybody was interested in
Halló, Városliget!, and to see the local Biller and Halmai.”117 Mihály Erdélyi,
the director of the show, arranged 20 scenes framed by a folk tale told by a
grandfather:
1. Introduction of the protagonists; 2. Grandfather’s tales; 3. The ex
ploded village; 4. Protest in the Harem; 5. Constantinople; 6. Box
ing on the sea; 7. A storm is coming; 8. The ship is burning; 9. Party
in the seabed; 10. A memory from Városliget; 11. The land of Fairies;
12. The collapsed Trianon; 13. Registration office in Hell; 14. Cabaret
in Hell; 15. Harvest in Tokaj; 16. Where is the old Városliget now?;
17. On the way home; 18. Fall from the balloon; 19. The dream...; 20.
No, no, never...!118
The production was built around three main themes: exoticism (4, 5,
6, 11, 19), nostalgia (2, 10, 16, 17) and nationalism – irredentism (3,119 12, 15,
20; “No, no, never” was a widely used slogan against accepting the Treaty of
Trianon since 1920). Other scenes contained several references to the orig-
inal Halló, Amerika!: girls in the Harem scene, and even the hit melody of
the show (Katóka légy a babám) with new lyrics, entitled Nyalóka [Popsick-
le]. The Műszínkör had hardly any stage equipment, but they still attempt-
ed to create (or mimic) visual effects (7, 8, 18) and sketches, reflecting the
problems of their audience.120
The Műszínkör’s productions were usually not reviewed at all, but in
this case both Színházi Élet and Új Nemzedék wrote long columns about
Halló, Városliget!, generally praising the show. The reviewer of Új Nemzedék
put the show above the original Halló, Amerika!, adding that Mihály
Erdélyi had more ideas than Jack Haskell. Despite the fact that the cultur-
117 Új Nemzedék, July 22, 1925. This social environment served as a basis for Ferenc
Molnár’s play, Liliom (1909).
118 Alpár, A Városliget színházai, 61.
119 We suspect that this is a reference to Dezső Szabó’s 1919 roman, Az elsodort falu [The
drifted village] about rural Hungary during WWI.
120 “[...] our heroes are in love and joke merrily, until the governing powers of the seabed
chase their disturbing company to the hell. Here they are struggling with the local reg
istration office, but their good Hungarian gaiety saves them from being expelled.” Szín
házi Élet XV, no. 31 (2–8 August 1925): 13, https://epa.oszk.hu/02300/02343/00573/
pdf/.
204
value, which served as a recurring subject in the venue’s shows. Its audience
was drawn from among the poorest and the lowest of the Budapest socie-
ty, for whom even the Operetta Theatre was too expensive; and, as a jour-
nalist wrote, “servants, burglars, seamstresses, everybody was interested in
Halló, Városliget!, and to see the local Biller and Halmai.”117 Mihály Erdélyi,
the director of the show, arranged 20 scenes framed by a folk tale told by a
grandfather:
1. Introduction of the protagonists; 2. Grandfather’s tales; 3. The ex
ploded village; 4. Protest in the Harem; 5. Constantinople; 6. Box
ing on the sea; 7. A storm is coming; 8. The ship is burning; 9. Party
in the seabed; 10. A memory from Városliget; 11. The land of Fairies;
12. The collapsed Trianon; 13. Registration office in Hell; 14. Cabaret
in Hell; 15. Harvest in Tokaj; 16. Where is the old Városliget now?;
17. On the way home; 18. Fall from the balloon; 19. The dream...; 20.
No, no, never...!118
The production was built around three main themes: exoticism (4, 5,
6, 11, 19), nostalgia (2, 10, 16, 17) and nationalism – irredentism (3,119 12, 15,
20; “No, no, never” was a widely used slogan against accepting the Treaty of
Trianon since 1920). Other scenes contained several references to the orig-
inal Halló, Amerika!: girls in the Harem scene, and even the hit melody of
the show (Katóka légy a babám) with new lyrics, entitled Nyalóka [Popsick-
le]. The Műszínkör had hardly any stage equipment, but they still attempt-
ed to create (or mimic) visual effects (7, 8, 18) and sketches, reflecting the
problems of their audience.120
The Műszínkör’s productions were usually not reviewed at all, but in
this case both Színházi Élet and Új Nemzedék wrote long columns about
Halló, Városliget!, generally praising the show. The reviewer of Új Nemzedék
put the show above the original Halló, Amerika!, adding that Mihály
Erdélyi had more ideas than Jack Haskell. Despite the fact that the cultur-
117 Új Nemzedék, July 22, 1925. This social environment served as a basis for Ferenc
Molnár’s play, Liliom (1909).
118 Alpár, A Városliget színházai, 61.
119 We suspect that this is a reference to Dezső Szabó’s 1919 roman, Az elsodort falu [The
drifted village] about rural Hungary during WWI.
120 “[...] our heroes are in love and joke merrily, until the governing powers of the seabed
chase their disturbing company to the hell. Here they are struggling with the local reg
istration office, but their good Hungarian gaiety saves them from being expelled.” Szín
házi Élet XV, no. 31 (2–8 August 1925): 13, https://epa.oszk.hu/02300/02343/00573/
pdf/.
204
