| Die geschiedene Frau | |
| Genre: | Operetta |
| Composer: | Leo Fall |
| Librettist: | Victor Léon |
| Premiere Location: | Carltheater, Vienna |
Die geschiedene Frau (The Divorcée), is an operetta in three acts by Leo Fall with a libretto by Victor Léon based on Victorien Sardou's Divorçons!. Conducted by the composer, It opened to considerable success at the Carltheater in Vienna on 23 December 1908 with Hubert Marischka as Karel.[1]
It was translated into Italian and premiered at the Teatro Lirico Internationale in Milan as on 16 August 1909, then translated into English and performed at the Vaudeville Theatre in London as The Girl in the Train from 4 June 1910. Performances followed in Rome on 19 January 1911, in Paris as at the Théâtre Apollo on 18 February, and in Madrid as at the Teatro Eslava on 23 December the same year, conducted by the composer.
| Jana | soprano | Mizzi Zwerenz |
| Gonda van der Loo | soprano | Annie Dirkens |
| Martje | soprano | Mizzi Jesel |
| Lucas van Deesteldonck | tenor | Richard Waldemar |
| Karel van Lysseveghe | tenor | Hubert Marischka |
| Scroop | tenor | Josef König |
| Willem | baritone | Max Rohr |
| Pieter te Bakkenskijl | baritone | Carl Blasel |
The 1910 English adaptation, The Girl in the Train, was produced in two acts by George Edwardes at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, and ran for 340 performances. The London production starred Robert Evett, Phyllis Dare, Huntley Wright and Rutland Barrington.[2] Arthur Williams and Connie Ediss later joined the cast.[3] After closing in London this production, by then starring Daisy Burrell, went on tour until 1911.[4] In October 1911 the Gloucestershire Echo reported that "Mr. Nicholas Hannen as President Van Eyck was 'great'. Miss Daisy Burrell acts and sings delightfully as Gonda Van der Loo and Miss Millicent Field is equally good as the jealous wife Karel Van Raalte".[5]
The American production opened at the Globe Theatre in New York City (now the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre) on 3 October 1910 with a new adaptation by Harry B. Smith, which subsequently toured in Britain, America and Australia, among others.[6]
In the English version, Gonda Van Der Loo, a young actress travelling on a train in Holland at night, is unable to secure a berth. Karel Van Raalte, a young married gentleman, generously offers her his compartment, but by an accident the two become locked in the compartment together. Their cries and knocks are unheard, and they are forced to spend the night together. Raalte's wife learns of the incident and jealously brings divorce proceedings. However, after many complications and much time spent in the divorce court, Raalte and his wife are reunited, while the Judge finds romance with the actress.[7]
Act 1 – Court of Justice, Amsterdam
Act 2 – Drawing room, Karel Van Raalte's house
The 1926 silent film The Divorcée by Victor Janson and Rudolf Dworsky is based on this operetta. A musical version was made in 1953 under the original title Die geschiedene Frau, but it was released in Britain, France and the United States as The Divorcée. it was directed by Georg Jacoby, and starred Marika Rökk and Johannes Heesters.[8]