- Der Zarewitsch
-
Franz Lehár 
Operas- Der Göttergatte (1904)
- The Merry Widow (1905)
- Der Graf von Luxemburg (1909)
- Die ideale Gattin (1913)
- Endlich allein (1914)
- Die Tangokönigin (1921)
- Paganini (1925)
- Der Zarewitsch (1927)
- The Land of Smiles (1929)
- Schön ist die Welt (1930)
- Giuditta (1934)
Der Zarewitsch (The Tsarevich) is an operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German libretto by Heinz Reichert and Béla Jenbach is based on the play of the same name by Polish author Gabriela Zapolska. One his later operettas, Lehár composed the work as a vehicle for Richard Tauber, the acclaimed Austrian tenor. The work received its first performance at the Deutsches Künstlertheater in Berlin on 21 February 1927, with Tauber and Rita Georg in the leading roles.
Contents
Roles
Role Voice type Premiere Cast,
21 February, 1927[1].
(Conductor: - )Tsarevich tenor Richard Tauber Iwan, a valet baritone Paul Heidemann Mascha, Iwan's wife soprano Charlotte Ander Sonja soprano Rita Georg Lina soprano The First Minister bass Master of ceremonies bass Grand Duke spoken Synopsis
The plot of Der Zarewitsch is loosely based on a true story: the self imposed exile of the son of Peter the Great, Alexei, who shirked his father's command by running away to Naples with his Finnish mistress disguised as a page. The couple spent two years galavanting around until Alexei was compelled by his father to return. His father was paranoid that Alexei was conspiring against him and ultimately Alexei ended up being imprisoned and tortured. The Russian senate convicted him of conspiring against his father and he was sentenced to death. He died due to ill health before he could be executed, most likely resulting from the poor treatment he received while imprisoned.
Reichert's libretto differs on several points from the life of Alexei. First, he changed the story so that the young girl, Sonja, is first seen disguised as a male Circassian dancer. When the Tsarevich runs away with Sonja he believes that she is a boy adding what Richard Traubner of Opera News called an "underlying homosexual frisson" to the operetta. Eventually the young prince discovers that Sonja is in fact a girl disguised as a boy. The two fall in love and escape to Naples. A further major difference is that the operetta does not have such a tragic ending, though it is not exactly happy either. Eventually the Zarewitsch learns that his father has died and he knows his relationship can not continue with Sonja as he is now the Tsar. The operetta ends with a "bittersweet royal–commoner parting".
Famous arias
Poster for a French performance
- Es steht ein Soldat am Wolgastrand (A soldier stands on the bank of the Volga)
- Duet: Dich nur allein, nenn' ich mein (You alone take I for mine)
- Einer wird kommen (Someone will come)
- Volga song: Allein, wieder allein (Alone, again alone)
- Willst du? (Do you want to?)
- Duet: Warum hat jeder Frühling, ach, nur einen Mai (Why does every spring have only one May?)
Recordings
A 1973 television production of the operetta was produced by Unitel under the direction of Austrian film director Arthur Maria Rabenalt. The production starred Wieslaw Ochman in the title role and Teresa Stratas as Sonja and was recently issued on DVD for the first time in 2009 in a Deutsche Grammophon and Unitel collaboration. Rabenalt had previously directed a television version of the operetta in 1954.
References
- Amadeus Almanac, accessed 26 October 2008
- Zarewitsch, Der by Andrew Lamb, in 'The New Grove Dictionary of Opera', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
External links
Categories:- Operas by Franz Lehár
- German-language operettas
- 1927 operas
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