Countess Maritza (Graefin Mariza)

Composed in 1924, this immensely popular operetta exemplifies Kálmán’s ability to successfully incorporate Hungarian motifs into the traditional Viennese light opera. One of the finest examples of the genre, this work features interesting solo parts for tenor and soprano, a skillfully-crafted, colorful orchestral score, and an well as an engaging story line. SYNOPSIS: 1920, Countess Mariza’s estate near the Hungarian border. Manja, the gypsy girl, tries unsuccessfully to capture the attention of Béla Törek, the newly hired bailiff on Mariza’s estate. Törek, in reality, is Count Tassilo, who, because of his late father’s debts, has been forced to sell all his properties and take this job incognito in order to provide a dowry for his sister Lisa. Mariza is a wealthy widow who has become exhausted by the constant courting of men who are after her money. In order to escape this situation, she announces an engagement with a fictitious man. Unfortunately, the name, that she has created for her new fiancé, Baron Koloman Zsupán, actually belongs to a rich pig farmer from Varasdin. Zsupán pursues Mariza, but she has actually fallen for the bailiff….

Instrumentation
2(2 dbl picc).2.tarogato.2.2. / 4.3.3.0. / timp / perc / cel / hp / str Stage Music: 2 cl / cimb / pno / str 1.1.1.1.1.

Publisher
Octava