Viennese (and German) Operetta in America

Viennese [and German] Operetta in America. There have been two basic schools of Middle‐European operetta that have enjoyed popularity in America. The earliest was exemplified by the works of such composers as von Suppé, Millöcker, and Strauss. The success of Suppé's Fatinitza in 1879 inaugurated the era, although it reached its peak as far as most Americans were concerned with the great Strauss operettas. Curiously, most of what today are perceived as Strauss's masterpieces—works such as Die Fledermaus and The Gypsy Baron—were not the most popular with contemporary audiences, for whom such pieces as The Merry War, The Queen's Lace Handkerchief, and Prince Methusalem had more appeal. Despite their success their influence on American lyric theatre styles was minimal. Die Fledermaus has since been revived on Broadway under a number of titles such as The Merry Countess (1912), A Wonderful Night (1929), Champagne, Sec (1933), and Rosalinda (1942); but for the most part revivals of these works have been confined to the repertories of opera companies. By the turn of the century the initial vogue had died along with its creators. However, in 1907 the widespread success of Lehar's The Merry Widow resurrected the demand for Viennese‐like operetta, albeit for a less pyrotechnic style given over to eminently danceable ballroom waltzes. Oscar Straus's A Waltz Dream and The Chocolate Soldier, Lehar's The Count of Luxembourg, and Emmerich Kalman's Sari were among the notable works from this period, which flourished from 1907 to 1914, when ill feelings stemming from World War I put a sharp but temporary end to it, and which was alive again briefly in the 1920s. Before the war these works were considered the best on the modern musical stage and were copied in such American pieces as The Pink Lady. Victor Herbert's great works sometimes betrayed a small debt to these examples as well, although he displayed French, Irish, and other influences alongside the Germanic ones. Victor Jacobi and Fritz Kreisler's Apple Blossoms played a large part in reviving interest after the war, as did the works of two naturalized Americans, Sigmund Romberg and Rudolf Friml. The most successful importation of the era was Kalman's Countess Maritza. Thereafter, despite occasional revivals, the genre went through a period of disdain, although The White Horse Inn, with music by Benatsky and Stolz, was a hit in the 1930s. Recently, especially with some opera companies' addition of operetta to their repertories, interest has again begun to wax, albeit very slowly.