Die geschiedene Frau

Die geschiedene Frau (The Divorcee), is an operetta in three acts by Leo Fall (1873-1925) with a libretto by Victor Léon, after Victorien Sardou's Divorçons!. Conducted by the composer, It opened to considerable success at the Carltheater in Vienna on December 23, 1908 with Hubert Marischka as Karel.[1]

It was translated into Italian and premiered at the Teatro Lirico Internationale in Milan as La divorziata on 16 August 1909, then translated into English and performed at the Vaudeville Theatre in London as The Girl in the Train from 4 June 1910. Performances followed in Rome on 19 January 1911, in Paris as La divorcée at the Théâtre Apollo on 18 February, and in Madrid as La mujer divorciada at the Teatro Eslava on 23 December the same year, conducted by the composer. [2]

Roles

Programme for a performance in Munich on 22 April 1910
Role Voice type Premiere Cast, 23 December 1908
(Conductor: Leo Fall)
Jana soprano Mizzi Zwerenz
Gonda van der Loo soprano Annie Dirkens
Martje soprano Mizzi Jesel
Lucas van Deesteldonck tenor Richard Waldemar
Karel van Lysseveghe tenor Hubert Marischka
Scroop tenor Josef König
Willem baritone Max Rohr
Pieter te Bakkenskijl baritone Carl Blasel

English adaptations

The 1910 English adaptation, The Girl in the Train, was produced in two acts by George Edwardes at the Vaudeville Theatre in London, with lyrics by Adrian Ross, and ran for 340 performances. The London production starred Robert Evett, Phyllis Dare, Huntley Wright, Arthur Williams and Rutland Barrington.[3] Connie Ediss later joined the cast.[4] The American production opened at the Globe Theatre in New York (where the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre stands now) on October 3, 1910 with a new adaptation by Harry B. Smith, which subsequently toured in Britain, America and Australia, among others.[5]

In the English version, Gonda van der Loo, a young actress travelling on a train in Holland at night, is unable to secure a berth. Karel van Raalte, a young gentleman, generously offers his compartment to her. The two, however, become locked in the compartment. Their cries and knocks are unheard, and they are forced to spend the night together. Van Raalte's wife learns of the incident and jealously brings divorce proceedings. After many complications and much time spent in divorce court, however, Van Raalte and his wife are reunited, and the Judge finds romance with the actress.[6]

Musical numbers (Adrian Ross version)

Act I – Court of Justice, Amsterdam.
Act II – Drawing Room, Karel Van Raalte's House.

Film version

A film version was made in 1953 under the original title Die geschiedene Frau, but released in Britain, France and the United States as The Divorcée. it was directed by Georg Jacoby, and starred Marika Rökk and Johannes Heesters. [7][8]

References

  1. ↑ Traubner, Richard. Operetta: A Theatrical History (2003) Routledge, p. 287 ISBN 0-415-96641-8
  2. ↑ Amadeus Almanac, accessed 22 February 2011
  3. ↑ Information about the London production at The Play Pictorial site
  4. ↑ Barrington, Rutland (1911). "chapters 17 and 18". More Rutland Barrington. London: Grant Richards.
  5. ↑ NY Times article on the 1910 New York production
  6. ↑ NY Times article about operettas including The Girl in the Train
  7. ↑ Information about the German 1953 film
  8. ↑ IMDB page on the film

External links

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