Lehár's The Land of Smiles in Budapest
About the Event
Müpa Budapest presents Franz Lehár's beloved bittersweet operetta in three acts, Das Land des Lächelns.
Premièred in 1929, The Land of Smiles is one of Lehár's later works, although it is in fact a new version of his own earlier work from 1923, The Yellow Jacket. One of the key triumphs of the composer's career, this revision came decades after The Merry Widow (1905) and The Count of Luxembourg (1909). Who has not heard the operetta's irresistible hit, the song Dein ist mein ganzes Herz, which even the very greatest opera singers — ranging from Mario Lanza to Plácido Domingo — have fondly performed over the years?
The story is about love, naturally, and the thrilling relationship between a European woman and a Chinese man — the countess Lisa Lichtenfels and the Chinese ambassador Prince Sou‐Chong — is an exciting thread that, sadly, proves unviable: the generous Asian aristocrat eventually himself helps Lisa, with whom he is hopelessly smitten, flee from him with the man she has chosen: Ferenc Hatfaludy.
Cast / Production
Orchestra conductor:
Xu Zhong
In the principal roles:
Prince Sou‐Chong
Yijie Shi
Lisa Lichtenfels
Karine Babajanyan
Mi
Jenny Hou
Featuring:
Ballet Pécs
Creators:
German song lyrics — Ludwig Herzer, Fritz Löhner
Hungarian song lyrics (surtitles) — Zsolt Harsányi
Dramaturg, Hungarian text (surtitles) — György Böhm
German text — Dóra Julianna Somogyi (based on the libretto by Victor Leon, Ludwig Herzer and Fritz Löhner and the revision by György Böhm)
German dramaturg — Martin Harbauer
set designer — Éva Szendrényi
costume designer — Jianhua Pan
choreographer — Balázs Vincze
artistic assistant — Szilvia Gábor
director — Csaba Káel
