OPERETTA BY EMMERICH KÁLMÁN
LIBRETTO BY LEO STEIN ANS BELA JENBACH
Stage Direction and Choreography Giorgio Madia
Text adaptation Rasmus Kull and Giorgio Madia (Lyrics: Kulno Süvalep)
Set and Costume Design Domenico Franchi
Light Design Giorgio Madia
Head of Choir Kristi Jagodin
Music Director and Conductor Aleksandr Bražnik
CAST
Silva Varescu: Annely Peebo (Wiener Volksoper) or Karmen Puis
Edwin Roland: Tamar Nugis (Estonian National Opera) or Rasmus Kull,
Boni: Simo Breede or Rasmus Kull
Stasi: Pirjo Jonas or Marta Paklar or Ursula Roomere
Baron Ferencz: Oliver Kuusik or Aare Saal
Prince Leopold: Väino Puura or Märt Jakobson
Fürstin: Katrin Karisma or Merle Jalakas
Soloists, Choir, Ballet Company and Symphony Orchestra of Vanemuine Opera
PREMIERE
22. November 2025
Teater Vanemuine Tartu
DIE CSARDASFÜRSTIN
Notes by Giorgio Madia
There is a certain perfume of a past era that emanates from SILVA or DIE CSARDASFÜRSTIN – the intoxicating scent of a world poised between two ages. One can almost feel the last dance before the lights go out on the glittering Austro-Hungarian Empire, as the cabaret’s laughter mingles with the distant echo of marching boots. Yet beyond its historical fragrance, this operetta speaks timelessly of love, class, and the masks we wear in the name of propriety.
At its heart, DIE CSARDASFÜRSTIN exposes the clash between two worlds: the rigid, classconscious aristocracy and the vibrant, free-spirited realm of the cabaret. It is a story of social hypocrisy and human desire – of people torn between duty and emotion, convention and freedom. In its melodies and dances resides the longing for authenticity, the courage to live truthfully, and the bittersweet awareness that beauty often blooms just before it fades.
To respect the librettist’s and composer’s intent is, for me, an ethical matter. To resist the easy temptation to over-intellectualize, modernize, or comment upon this work is to understand that a good operetta is already an ironic comment on life. It does not need reinterpretation – it needs interpretation with integrity.
The courage to be „out of time“ is vital. This work was already, in its original context, escapist – a celebration of beauty and desire in defiance of the world’s harshness. Perhaps that is why they remain relevant: because beauty calls people to a higher being. It is one of life’s mysteries that makes it worth living.
I believe that staging operetta today requires sensitivity to its original intent – not to historicize or „update“ it, but to allow its musical and theatrical truth to breathe anew.
I also believe that taking operetta seriously means not being serious and to embrace its contradictions. It is not about solemnity, but about precision in playfulness – an understanding that silliness, irony, and emotional truth can coexist. Comedy, even the most nonsensical, has dignity when executed with craft and heart.
Coming from a German-Austrian operetta environment, I have often encountered the motto: „If I am serious, I will be taken seriously.“ I, however, claim the opposite: only when we dare to be joyfully absurd can we touch the essence of this art form.
In this operetta, Kálmán’s music is the true dramaturgical compass. Music gives life, rhythm, and emotional pulse; it dictates tempo, atmosphere, and truth.
Equally essential is the role of dance as non-verbal dramaturgy. The dance passages that Kálmán composed are not decorative interruptions; they are integral to the storytelling. Cutting them, as sometimes happens, means removing the very heartbeat of the genre. Through dance, the unspoken becomes visible: when words are not enough, then dance. «Those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.» (Friedrich Nietzsche)That seamless flow between spoken word, song, and movement is most effectively achieved when one vision unites them. In my case, being both stage director and choreographer, like my inspirational artists like Erik Charell, Bob Fosse, and Jerome Robbins, who understood that narrative rhythm and physical expression must coexist as one, allows me to weave these elements together – creating not separate disciplines, but a single, breathing form.
My staging of DIE CSARDASFÜRSTIN seeks to honor this beauty – to preserve its essence while letting it breathe. Through the unity of music, word, and dance, I hope to evoke not nostalgia, but emotional resonance – something that lingers in the heart long after the curtain has fallen.
