Abstract
With his interpretation of Emmerich Kálmán’s Csárdásfürstin, German stage director Jan Philipp Gloger wants to prove that the supposedly old-fashioned operetta genre is in fact the opposite – provided one that approach it with modern eye for dramatics and contemporary social critique. Gloger’s production is set on a luxury yacht, on which a clique of the superrich have set sail around globe, in an effort to save their collective good mood from the world’s various crises. The creation of Csárdásfürstin took place at the beginning of the 20th century, together with the outbreak of the First World War. Kálmán had to interrupt the operetta’s composition due to the war, and the premiere took place in Vienna in 1915. Cheerfulness in the face of impending disaster and dancing at the edge of the abyss are two of the piece’s central themes: «Wo man tanzt und küsst und lacht, pfeif’ ich auf der Welt Misere», or «Where we dance and kiss and smile, there I’ll laugh at the world’s misery», sing the protagonists at the beginning of the piece – and their love will become their own private lifeline in the face of destruction. Soprano Annette Dasch sings the role of Sylva Varescu, a vaudeville artist from humble beginnings, and Pavol Breslik tries to win her over with tenorial melodiousness as Edwin, the son of a prince.