Abstract
«Immer nur lächeln und immer vergnügt, immer zufrieden, wie’s immer sich fügt, lächeln trotz Weh und tausend Schmerzen» – «Always smile and always be cheerful, always satisfied, no matter what happens, smile in spite of your sorrows and a thousand aches and pains» sings Prince Sou-Chong setting the melancholic tone for this operetta, which even ends tragically. The noble Viennese lady Lisa has fallen in love with Sou-Chong, the Chinese diplomat, and follows him to Peking when he’s named Chinese prime minister. But their love falls victim to circumstance and incompatibility.
Das Land des Lächelns belongs to Lehár’s interwar works, which are stylistically distant from the frivolous Viennese operettas from the turn of the century. But Lehár still enjoyed global success with this new sound, thanks in no small part to the hit «Dein ist mein ganzes Herz». The song is still beloved today, and was originally written to perfectly suit the voice of Lehár’s favorite tenor, Richard Tauber.
Here, Piotr Beczała is Tauber’s brilliant successor, and returns to sing the role of Sou-Chong in this Zurich revival, with Julia Kleiter as Lisa – two ideal interpreters for this challenging genre. For his production, Andreas Homoki was inspired by the revue. He reduced outdated dialogues in favor of concentrating entirely on the story, which is told exclusively through the music. Conductor Ann-Katrin Stöcker leads us through Lehár’s grand score, which is reminiscent of Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, and Erich Wolfgang Korngold.