Dragonfly dance
Work data | |
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Title: | Dragonfly dance |
Original title: | Dragonfly Dance or La Danza delle Libellule |
Shape: | operetta |
Original language: | German or Italian |
Music: | Franz Lehár |
Libretto : | Alfred Maria Willner |
Premiere: | March 30, 1923 |
Place of premiere: | City Theater, Vienna |
Place and time of the action: | Nancy around 1923 |
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Libellentanz is an operetta in three acts by the composer Franz Lehár and the librettist Alfred Maria Willner . The premiere took place on March 23, 1923 in the Stadttheater in Vienna. Sometimes the work is also mentioned under the title The Three Graces . The stage work is a reworking of the operetta Der Sterngucker from 1916. As early as 1922, an Italian-language version of this work was performed in Milan under the title La Danza delle Libellule , which was quite successful in Italy for years.
action
Mr Piper bought Nancy Castle and is now inviting some friends to ice skate in the park. In addition, they are supposed to act in a play written by him in the theater of the castle. Among the guests is Charles, Count of Nancy in disguise. In addition to the Count, the young widow Helene, the Parisian actor Bouquet, former choir girls and citizens of the city, and their wives also take part in the play. From this starting point, some stories of confusion that are typical of operettas develop. In the meantime, the wives of the respected citizens also go astray. In the end, however, there is a happy ending and all couples get together again.
reception
To the displeasure of Franz Lehár, the action on the stage was determined by films, fashion shows, ice skating scenes and other revue effects. Large parts of the music were taken from the star gazer or reworked and rewritten. While the aforementioned Italian version was able to stay on the repertoire for a long time in Italy, the dragonfly dance was unsuccessful in German-speaking countries. This operetta suffered the same fate as the original version under the title of Star Gazers . Occasionally, but rarely, one or the other song number is performed at concerts. The operetta as a whole has disappeared from the repertoire of musical theaters.
Music numbers
According to the piano reduction, the operetta contains the following 17 music numbers, which also correspond to the score:
- No. 1 Introduction and chorus: Everyone who sits by the stove today is foolish
- No. 2 Terzett (dragonfly song): Whether you want it or not (Helene, Toutou, Charlotte)
- No. 3 song: Unknown Fairy (Charles)
- No. 4 Duet: Every woman is and remains a secret for me (Helene, Charles)
- No. 5 dance song: When I love, I love enormously (Totou, choir)
- No. 6 Duet: I want to be at the cinema (Toutou, Bouquet)
- No. 7 Finale I (All)
- No. 8 choir and entrance hall of Helene
- No. 9 Mythological Quartet: You outshine all the stars
- No. 10 Bambolina, go through with me (Toutou, Bouquet)
- No. 11 Duet: Please Madame, enter her dressing room (Helene, Charles)
- No. 12 Gigolette Foxtrot: (Toutou, Bouquet, Grisetten)
- No. 13 Finale II (All)
- No. 13a Intermezzo: (orchestra)
- No. 13b Terzett: Reminiscence, Whether you like it or not (Helene, Toutou, Charlotte)
- No. 14 Valse Boston: Heart, my heart (Helene)
- No. 15 Duet: Dear good moon, look away (Toutou, Bouquett)
- No. 16 Duet: Spring Wind (Helene, Charles)
- No. 17 closing song (Finale III): Bambolina, go through with me (all)
Web links
- Piano reduction of the operetta Dragon Dance
- Short summary of the operetta
- Dragonfly dance at the Franz Lehár Society
- Dragonfly Dance at The Guide to Musical Theater
- Dragonfly dance at Josef Weinberger LTD Music and Theater (engl.)
literature
- Norbert Linke : Franz Lehár . Rororo-Verlag, Reinbek bei Hamburg 2001, ISBN 3-499-50427-8 , p. 78.