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Fatinitza
operetta by Franz von Suppé
Poster, c. 1879
Librettist	Camillo Walzel Richard Genée
Language	German
Based on	Eugène Scribe's libretto to La circassienne
Premiere	January 5, 1876 (1876-01-05) Carltheater, Vienna

Fatinitza was the first full-length, three-act operetta by Franz von Suppé. The libretto by F. Zell (a pseudonym for Camillo Walzel) and Richard Genée was based on the libretto to the 1861 opéra comique La circassienne by Eugène Scribe (which had been set to music by Daniel Auber), but with the lead role of Wladimir, a young Russian lieutenant who has to disguise himself as a woman, changed to a trousers role; in other words, a woman played the part of the man who pretended to be a woman.

It premièred on January 5, 1876, at the Carltheater Vienna, and proved a huge success, running for over a hundred performances, with the march "Vorwärts mit frischem Muth", proving a particular hit.

The opera as a whole is no longer in the popular repertory; however, the overture is performed as a stand-alone piece.

Roles

Synopsis

Before the piece begins, Wladimir Samoiloff, a young Russian Lieutenant, had an adventure in which he ended up disguising himself as a woman (who he named Fatinitza), and met with the hot-tempered elderly General Kantschukoff, who fell in love with his disguise. Wladimir, however, is in love with the General's niece, Lydia.

The opera itself opens on a camp of Russian soldiers near Rustchuk, where Wladimir has been assigned. His friend, Julian, a special newspaper correspondent, is mistaken for a spy and dragged to the camp, but Wladimir diffuses the situation. Julian and Wladimir reminisce about his Fatinitza disguise, which eventually leads the soldiers to consider some amateur theatre, to relieve the boredom. As no women are present, Wladimir resumes his Fatinitza disguise.

The General arrives, and recognises "Fatinitza" as his lost love, and Wladimir finds himself needing to play along in order to protect his men from the general's anger at the theatrical costumes, which are not the regulation uniform. His niece Lydia soon arrives, and recognises Wladimir under the disguise. Julian tells the two that Wladimir is Fatinitza's sister. The general temporarily leaves the three to see how the other soldiers are getting on, but, as the first act ends, A band of bashi-bazouks manage to catch the camp by surprise, and take "Fatinitza", and Lydia prisoner. Julian scrambles the Russian soldiers to return the attack, but the General refuses to allow them to fire, lest they hit Fatinitza.

The second act opens in the Turkish fortress, run by Izzit Pascha. Pascha has four wives, and wishes to add Lydia to his harem. His wives are highly upset at this, and "Fatinitza" convinces them to aid in his and Lydia's escape, revealing his true identity at the end.

Julian and a Russian Sergeant, Steipann, arrive to attempt to negotiate Lydia and "Fatinitza"'s freedom, but Pascha will only release Lydia. However, Wladimir is able to pass on a message, and, while Julian distracts Pascha, Steipann arranges for the soldiers to slip into the fortress, effecting a rescue.

However, all is not well with the love triangle as the third act opens. The General sent out news of rewards should Fatinitza be found, and has now received word that she has been found (much to Julian and Wladimir's confusion). As Lydia lives with him, the General, unaware of Wladimir's love for her, but wanting to be alone with Fatinitza, has promised Lydia in marriage to an old, crippled friend of his, who had the advantage of being available for marriage. He does not want to break his word to his friend, but when Wladimir announces he has promised his "sister" to one of his friends, the General agrees to break Lydia's betrothal if Wladimir will break Fatinitza's.

The promised Fatinitza arrives, but turns out to be an old woman of the same name. Julian and Wladimir produce a letter from the "real" Fatinitza, "discovering" that she died of grief when separated from the General. In her memory, he gives his niece to "Fatinitza's brother".

Legacy

Although rarely performed today, at the time, Fatinitza was an international success. The composer, lyricists, and theatre would reunite for two more international successes in their next two productions: Boccaccio (1879), von Suppé's best-known and most popular work; and another cross-dressing army opera in Donna Juanita (1880). However, after these successes, von Suppé's later operettas proved less popular with audiences, and, according to musicologist Andrew Lamb, were also of lower quality.

The work was translated back to French by Felix Coveliers for a production at the Fantaisies-Parisiennes in Brussels. Starring Paul Ginet, Preziosi D'Aulnay, Dumas Peretti, and Mario Widmer, it opened on 28 December 1878, despite concerns from Scribe's widow. However, in Paris, she refused permission for the Gaîté to mount the work in that form, and the directors of the Théâtre des Nouveautés, Boulevard des Italiens therefore procured a much altered libretto from Alfred Delacour and Victor Wilder, and in this form the Paris premiere was produced at that theatre on 15 March 1879, with costumes by Grévin, running for 59 nights. Revived in April 1882, the production received 55 more performances, with Marguerite Ugalde in the title role.

References

1. ^ Lamb, Andrew (2000). 150 Years of Popular Musical Theatre. Chelsea, Michigan: Sheridan Books. pp. 51–52. ISBN 0-300-07538-3.
2. Crittenden, Camille. Johann Strauss and Vienna: Operetta and the Politics of Popular Culture. Cambridge University Press. pp. 47, 51. ISBN 978-0-521-77121-4.
3. ^ Traubner, Richard (2003). Operetta: A Theatrical History. Routledge. pp. 102–3. ISBN 0415966418.
4. Crittenden, Camille. Johann Strauss and Vienna: Operetta and the Politics of Popular Culture. Cambridge University Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-521-77121-4.
5. Zell, F. and Genée, Richard (1876). Fatinitza. Komische Oper in drei Akten. Franz von Suppe. Wien: L. Rosner. p. 3. Retrieved 2013-07-22.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
6. Suppé, Franz von (1879). Fatinitza. Translators: Theo. T. Barker and Sylvester Baxter. New York (et al): Oliver Ditson Company. p. 3. Retrieved 2013-07-22.
7. Suppé, Franz von (1885). Fatinitza: A Comic Opera in Three Acts. No. 111 Broadway, New York: The Theatre Ticket Office. p. 1. Retrieved 2013-07-22.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link) Alternative Link: Internet Archive version
8. Gänzl 2001, pp. 621–624.
9. ^ Suppé, Franz von (1885). Fatinitza: A Comic Opera in Three Acts. No. 111 Broadway, New York: The Theatre Ticket Office. pp. passim. Retrieved 2013-07-22.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link). Alternative Link: Internet Archive version. Names have been changed to those found in the German libretto, Zell, F. and Genée, Richard (1876). Fatinitza. Komische Oper in drei Akten. Franz von Suppe. Wien: L. Rosner. p. 3. Retrieved 2013-07-22.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link).
10. ^ Noel E and Stoullig E. Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 5ème édition, 1879. G Charpentier et Cie, Paris, 1880, p462-64.
11. de Suppé, François (c.1880). Fatinitza (PDF) (in French). Bruxelles: Schott Frères. Retrieved 2013-07-29. {{cite book}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
12. Noel E and Stoullig E. Les Annales du Théâtre et de la Musique, 8ème édition, 1882. G Charpentier et Cie, Paris, 1883, p460-1.

• Gänzl, Kurt (2001). The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre, second edition. New York: Schirmer Books. ISBN 978-0-02-864970-2.

External links

• German libretto
• English translation of the libretto
• Scores

• Operas by Franz von Suppé
• German-language operettas
• 1876 operas