The famous chansonnière Sylva is not allowed to marry her noble lover Edwin. His parents arrange for him to be drafted into the army and arrange an engagement to a countess. At the engagement party, the chansonnière suddenly turns up. When it becomes clear that Edwin’s mother also used to be a varieté artist, nothing stands in the way of a marriage between the lovers.
Act 1
“When the curtain rises the performance has just ended.”
At the Budapest Orpheum, chanteuse Sylva Varescu gives her final performance before departing for America. She has captured all hearts in the Danube metropolis with her unique blend of melancholy and ecstasy. Among her admirers are Boni, Count Káncsiánu, Feri (called Feri Bácsi), and Edwin, son and heir of the noble family of Lippert-Weylersheim, who has fallen madly in love with Sylva. Though she returns his affection, she knows: a relationship between a cabaret singer and a prince has no future, even as the old social order crumbles. Edwin‘s parents, especially his mother Anhilte, are concerned about their son‘s activities in Budapest. In the midst of revelry and merriment, a disturbing telegram arrives: Edwin‘s cousin, Eugen von Rohnsdorff, delivers his draft notice. Edwin must report to the commander the next day. To everyone‘s surprise, Edwin proposes to Sylva at the Orpheum, planning to get married within eight weeks. She agrees and cancels her America tour. Unknown to Edwin, Rohnsdorff has given Boni another letter revealing that Edwin‘s parents have already printed engagement announcements for him and Countess Anastasia von Eggenberg. Upon learning this, Sylva feels used and betrayed, and decides to leave for America immediately.
Act 2
Two months later in Vienna, Edwin’s parents are determined to ensure his marriage to Stasi (Anastasia). Stasi reveals to Edwin that she knows about his unhappy love affair. Boni arrives with a woman who bears a striking resemblance to Sylva, and introduces her as his wife, Countess Káncsiánu. Boni immediately falls for Stasi. Edwin, recognizing Sylva, sees an opportunity to marry her without his parents’ objection, as she now is a divorced countess. Sylva, feeling deceived again, tears up the marriage document Edwin had offered her in Budapest.
Act 3
Feeling mistreated by Edwin and seeing no future in theatre, Sylva seeks comfort from Boni and Feri Bácsi. Edwin confronts Boni about revealing the arranged engagement to Sylva. As the princely parents try to avert a scandal, Boni expresses his intention to marry Anastasia. When Count Lippert-Weylersheim refuses to accept a chanteuse as a daughter-in-law, Feri Bácsi reveals that Edwin’s mother, Anhilte, was once a cabaret singer herself. After this revelation, there’s no longer any reason to deny Edwin and Sylva’s wedding.
Cast
- Stage direction
- Johannes Erath
- Set design
- Bernhard Hammer
- Video
- Bibi Abel
- Costume design
- Gesine Völlm
- Choreography
- Miles Hoare
- Choir director
- Roger Díaz-Cajamarca
- Choir director
- Holger Kristen
- Lighting design
- Nicol Hungsberg
- Musical direction
- Tobias Wögerer
- Sylva Varescu, Chansonette
- Annette Dasch
- Leopold Maria Fürst von und zu Lippert-Weylersheim, General der Kavallerie
- Roland Koch
- Anhilte, seine Frau
- Regula Rosin
- Edwin Ronald
- Alexandre Beuchat
- Anastasia Komtesse Eggenberg, dessen Cousine
- Theresa Dax
- Eugen Baron Rohnsdorff, Oberleutnant, dessen Cousin
- Lukas Watzl
- Bonifaz Graf Káncsiánu, genannt Boni
- Jakob Semotan
- Ferenc Ritter Kerekes, genannt "Feri Bácsi"
- Kurt Schreibmayer
- Ferenc Ritter Kerekes, genannt "Feri Bácsi"
- Johannes Deckenbach
- Ferenc Ritter Kerekes, genannt "Feri Bácsi"
- Axel Herrig
- Ferenc Ritter Kerekes, genannt "Feri Bácsi"
- Marco Di Sapia
- Ferenc Ritter Kerekes, genannt "Feri Bácsi"
- Karl-Michael Ebner
Photos and Videos
For all those who use a screen reader, a description of the visual aspects of the performance (set design, costumes...) follows here instead of the photo gallery.
The operetta takes place on the Volksoper's large, wide stage, which is not bounded by walls or set pieces - in the background, a huge metal door, which is part of the stage technology, closes off the stage. On the revolving stage in the middle of the stage area are musical instruments, such as a piano, a bass etc..., as if left over from a concert. A large light construction made of light rods hangs from the stage ceiling; this can be lowered as a wall, but the side sections can also be folded down to create a space delimited by light rods. Performances also take place through a hole in this light construction - the main character Sylva Varescu, for example, floats through this hole from the stage sky onto the stage in an opulent revue costume. In some scenes, the revolving stage is surrounded by a brown wall with viewing slits; the actors can see through these slits like in an old-fashioned peep show. In other scenes, life-size animal sculptures lie on the stage, representing dead horses and reminiscent of the First World War, during which the operetta was written. At times, opulent images are projected onto the back wall of the stage and semi-transparent curtains that can be lowered in front of the stage: Rooms of the 1910s, royal interiors, crystal chandeliers, but also galloping horses. The projections resurrect fleeting, intangible images of a vanished past. The performers wear costumes that roughly correspond to the period in which the operetta was created: Tails and cyclinders, opulent ball gowns, but also revue costumes. Some of these costumes are in a state of disintegration, as if they were from a long-gone past.
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