Cagliostro in Wien

Cagliostro in Wien (Cagliostro in Vienna) is an operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II to a libretto by F. Zell and Richard Genée. It premiered on 27 February 1875 at the Theater an der Wien, featuring Marie Geistinger and Alexander Girardi.

Johann Strauss II
Operettas and operas

See also:

Reception

The premiere was highly successful, in no small part due to the audience favourite Alexander Girardi[1] (1850–1918) as Blasoni. Another notable performer at the premiere was Marie Geistinger (1836–1903) who had created the role of Rosalinde in Strauss's Die Fledermaus. However, weaknesses in the libretto and—by Strauss's standards—the pallid music, meant the work could not garner the level of long-term public support of the composer's other works. These shortcomings were corrected in a version with a revised libretto by Gustav Quedenfeldt and music by Karl Tutein (who included themes from the Kaiser-Walzer) which premiered on 8 May 1941 in Danzig (Gdańsk).

Roles
Roles, voice types, premiere cast
RoleVoice typePremiere cast, 27 February 1875[2]
(Conductor: Johann Strauss II)
Empress Maria TheresasopranoHenriette Wieser
Marie Luise, Infanta of Spain  
Baron Sebastian Schnucki, imperial custodian of moralsbaritoneAlfred Schreiber
Count CagliostrobaritoneCarl Adolf Friese
Lorenza, Italian street singersopranoMarie Geistinger
Feri von Lieven, Lieutenant  
Frau Adamai  
Annemarie, her niece  
Teiglein, pastry cook, Annemarie's guardian  
Blasoni, Count Cagliostro's aidetenorAlexander Girardi
Severin, owner of a funfair stall  
Innkeeper of The Turk Sconce  
The Hofmarschall  
Beppo and Barberino, Count Cagliostro's aides  
Ladies and gentlemen of the court, people, soldiers, police

Notable arias
  • "Zigeunerkind, wie glänzt dein Haar" [Gypsy child, how shiny your hair]
  • "Die Rose erblüht, wenn die Sonne sie küsst" [The rose will bloom when kissed by the sun]
  • "Könnt' ich mit Ihnen fliegen durchs Leben" (Cagliostro Waltz) [Could I but fly with you through life]

Adaptations
Giuseppe Balsamo (Cagliostro)

Johann Strauss used material from his operetta for the following works:

  • Cagliostro-Quadrille, Op. 369 (1875)
  • Cagliostro-Walzer, Op. 370 (1875), waltz
  • Hoch Österreich, Op. 371 (Hail Austria) (1875), march
  • Bitte schön!, Op. 372 (If You Please!) (1875), French polka
  • Auf der Jagd, Op. 373 (On the Hunt) (1875), quick polka
  • Licht und Schatten, Op. 374 (Light and Shadow) (1875) polka

Erich Wolfgang Korngold wrote an arrangement of the work, first performed on 13 April 1927 in Vienna.

References
  1. Elizabeth Forbes: "Girardi, Alexander", Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy
  2. Casaglia, Gherardo (2005)."Cagliostro in Wien, 27 February 1875". L'Almanacco di Gherardo Casaglia (in Italian).
  • "Johann Strauss Jun. – Cagliostro in Wien" (in German). Planet-Vienna. Retrieved 10 July 2008. Plot summary
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