Emmerich Kálmán, Die Csárdásfürstin (1915)

So they were going to have another operetta by Paul Abraham, The Flower of Hawaii, on Operavision, which I was very excited about it, but then--as I feared--it disappeared from the schedule after only a few days.  Damn you, COVID!  But I still wanted to see an operetta, so I chose this one, by another Hungarian composer, Abraham's very close contemporary.

The plot could really hardly be more fluffy.  Edwin, an Austrian prince, is hanging around cafes in Budapest.  He's in love with one of the singers, Silvia Varescu, the title gipsy (sic) princess, though she doesn't seem to be a Gypsy in any meaningful sense.  They're going to get married, but there's a problem: he's already engaged, to a countess Anastasia.  And a secondary problem: his parents are not going to approve this match.  But fortunately, his friend Count Boni falls in love with Anastasia, so the two of them get together, and the problem with Edwin's parents is solved when it turns out that his mother was also a cabaret singer back in the day.  So everyone (except dad) goes to America for a tour of some sort.  All this takes place with the specter of the Great War looming, but if you think that adds any gravitas to the proceedings, you are gravely mistaken.

Here's one thing--it's not a big plot point; it's just something that made me think: huh.  That's sort of interesting.  Which is that Silvia and Boni are briefly pretending to be married for reasons unexplained, and Edwin's like, awesome!  My parents will be WAY more willing to accept a divorced countess as a daughter-in-law than a showgirl!  And I thought...huh.  Again.  Do things work like that?  I don't know.  I have nothing to say about it except that it stuck with me.

Anyway.  It's a bit of fun.  Certainly nothing mind-blowing or for the ages.  Some musical numbers that are rather rousing and infectious; some that are a bit forgettable.  The subtitles very noticeably diverge from the actually singing text so as to rhyme, but I think that's fine in a weightless piece like this.  The production is done outside, interestingly enough, with a bay in the background.  Reasonably fun/colorful.  Sometimes something like this is all you need.  I'm not bowled over or anything, but I may seek out more Kálmán in the future, just for laffs.