(The Circus Princess) is an operetta in three acts by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán to a German libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 26 March 1926 and went on to 344 performances there.[1]
The plot revolves around a romantic intrigue with interpolated circus sequences. The mysterious "Mister X", a dashing circus performer, is hired by a disappointed suitor of Princess Fedora Palinska to pose as a nobleman and marry her. "Mister X" is in fact a nobleman, the disinherited nephew of a deceased prince. One of the work's most well-known arias, (Two fairy-tale eyes), has been recorded by several famous tenors, including Fritz Wunderlich,[2] Charles Kullman,[3] and Richard Tauber.[4]
The operetta was swiftly performed in Hungary, in an adaptation by Ernő Kulinyi and Imre Liptai, at the Király Színház in Budapest, on 24 September 1926. Productions in Sweden (Stockholm, Vasa-Teatern, October 6, 1926); Germany (Hamburg, Operetten-Teater, October 17, 1926), and - as Mister X - in Russia (Moscow, November 23, 1926). There were also productions during 1926 in Czechoslovakia, Italy, Finland and Poland.
An English language version, The Circus Princess, adapted by Harry B. Smith - first seen at the Apollo Theatre, Atlantic City, on April 4, 1927 - enjoyed a successful run at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City from 25 April 1927 starring Guy Robertson, Desiree Tabor, and Robert O'Connor. The circus sequences in the American production were particularly lavish, including equestrians, aerialists, and a famous clown of the day, Poodles Hanneford.[5] The show was staged by J. C. Huffman.[6]
| Role | Voice type | Premiere cast, 26 March 1926 (Conductor: –) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fedja Palinski, Mr X | tenor | Hubert Marischka | |
| Princess Fedora Palinska | soprano | Mizzi Zwerenz | |
| Miss Mabel Gibson | soprano | Elsie Altmann | |
| Toni Schlumberger | tenor | Fritz Steiner | |
| Prinz Sergius Wladimir | baritone | Richard Waldemar | |
| Count Sakusin | |||
| Lieutenant Petrovitsch | |||
| Director Stanislawski | bass | Hans Moser (actor) | |
| Carla Schlumberger, hotel manager | contralto | Betty Fischer | |
| Samuel Pressburger | |||
| Society, officers, circus people – chorus | |||
Several films have been made, including The Circus Princess in 1925, Mister X in 1958 and The Circus Princess in 1982.