The Hungarian operetta

Abstract

This article is dedicated to the Hungarian operetta which today occupies a central position in the self-perception of Hungarians and is an integral part of Hungarian national values. Making this visible to the outside world is an important goal of today's official cultural politics in Hungary. This is why the Hungarian government maintains and finances the Budapest Operetta Theatre. This operetta theatre is world-famous and enjoys a high reputation due to its unique musical, dance and acrobatic performances.

In the Habsburg Monarchy, Hungarian operetta was part of the larger Viennese operetta and present in all major cities of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Together with operettas from other regions of the monarchy, it formed an amalgam of different traditions and became a platform for international understanding. Operetta music was characterized by intense musical interaction in the Central European region.

During its “golden era” centred on Johann Strauß Jr. (1825–1899), Franz von Suppè (1819–1895) and Carl Millöcker (1842–1899), the operetta as it was realized for example in Der Zigeunerbaron (1885) by Johann Strauß Sohn, above all represented the lifestyle of the upper class and the liberal urban bourgeoisie. From around 1900, in the “silver era” of the operetta, it increasingly became an image of the urban middle classes. “Silver” was deliberately coined by the National Socialists to make clear that the operettas of this phase were influenced by Jewish composers and producers and therefore less valuable than those of the “golden era”. Nevertheless, this was the real heyday of the operetta genre. From 1933 onwards, operettas and their performances were overshadowed by National Socialism and increasing pressure on many artists to emigrate.

The target audience and at the same time the mirror image of the operetta were urban middle class-people. For a long time, educated members of this class had reservations with regard to the operetta as a less serious, light entertainment music, but with an increasing heterogenization of the bourgeois middle classes, which began in the monarchy around the middle of the 19th century and intensified over time, the musical taste of middle-class people and the role of cultural institutions gradually changed. Political events and developments were also discussed in operettas such as Die Csardasfürstin, Die lustige Witwe or Gräfin Mariza.

The chapter “On the way to the Hungarian operetta” of this paper begins with a look at the forerunner of the Hungarian operetta, the verbunkos music and its performance by Roma musicians as well as its role in the Hungarian popular folk theatre (Népszinház). A detailed description of the Hungarian operetta and its composers follows: Jenő Huszka (1875–1960) and Pongrácz Kacsóh (1873–1923) are considered the founders of an independent Hungarian operetta, which at the beginning of the 19th century became independent both from French and Austrian influences and soon developed its own musical idiom.

Since the beginning of the 20^th century, Hungarian operetta has been a core component of operetta music in the monarchy. Albert Szirmai (1880–1967), Viktor Jacobi (1883–1921), Franz/Ferenc Lehár (1870–1948) and Emmerich/Imre Kálmán (1882–1953) were the key composers of operettas from Hungarian side.

This article is dedicated to the Hungarian operetta which today occupies a central position in the self-perception of Hungarians and is an integral part of Hungarian national values. Making this visible to the outside world is an important goal of today's official cultural politics in Hungary. This is why the Hungarian government maintains and finances the Budapest Operetta Theatre. This operetta theatre is world-famous and enjoys a high reputation due to its unique musical, dance and acrobatic performances.

In the Habsburg Monarchy, Hungarian operetta was part of the larger Viennese operetta and present in all major cities of the Austro-Hungarian empire. Together with operettas from other regions of the monarchy, it formed an amalgam of different traditions and became a platform for international understanding. Operetta music was characterized by intense musical interaction in the Central European region.

During its “golden era” centred on Johann Strauß Jr. (1825–1899), Franz von Suppè (1819–1895) and Carl Millöcker (1842–1899), the operetta as it was realized for example in Der Zigeunerbaron (1885) by Johann Strauß Sohn, above all represented the lifestyle of the upper class and the liberal urban bourgeoisie. From around 1900, in the “silver era” of the operetta, it increasingly became an image of the urban middle classes. “Silver” was deliberately coined by the National Socialists to make clear that the operettas of this phase were influenced by Jewish composers and producers and therefore less valuable than those of the “golden era”. Nevertheless, this was the real heyday of the operetta genre. From 1933 onwards, operettas and their performances were overshadowed by National Socialism and increasing pressure on many artists to emigrate.

The target audience and at the same time the mirror image of the operetta were urban middle class-people. For a long time, educated members of this class had reservations with regard to the operetta as a less serious, light entertainment music, but with an increasing heterogenization of the bourgeois middle classes, which began in the monarchy around the middle of the 19th century and intensified over time, the musical taste of middle-class people and the role of cultural institutions gradually changed. Political events and developments were also discussed in operettas such as Die Csardasfürstin, Die lustige Witwe or Gräfin Mariza.

The chapter “On the way to the Hungarian operetta” of this paper begins with a look at the forerunner of the Hungarian operetta, the verbunkos music and its performance by Roma musicians as well as its role in the Hungarian popular folk theatre (Népszinház). A detailed description of the Hungarian operetta and its composers follows: Jenő Huszka (1875–1960) and Pongrácz Kacsóh (1873–1923) are considered the founders of an independent Hungarian operetta, which at the beginning of the 19th century became independent both from French and Austrian influences and soon developed its own musical idiom.

Since the beginning of the 20^th century, Hungarian operetta has been a core component of operetta music in the monarchy. Albert Szirmai (1880–1967), Viktor Jacobi (1883–1921), Franz/Ferenc Lehár (1870–1948) and Emmerich/Imre Kálmán (1882–1953) were the key composers of operettas from Hungarian side.