Mask in blue (operetta)
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Mask in blue |
| Shape: | operetta |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Fred Raymond |
| Libretto : | Heinz Hentschke and Günther Schwenn |
| Premiere: | September 27, 1937 |
| Place of premiere: | Berlin |
| Place and time of the action: | San Remo (Italy) and on the Rio Negro (South America) |
| people | |
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Mask in Blue is a major operetta in two parts (six images) with music by Fred Raymond , the libretto by Heinz Hentschke and the lyrics by Günther Schwenn . The work had its world premiere on September 27, 1937 at the Metropol Theater in Berlin.
orchestra
Flute (picc.), Oboe, Reed I (clear in Bb, Asax), Reed II (clear in Bb, Tensax), Reed III (clear in Bb, Asax, flute) Reed IV (barisax, bass clear) , Bass clarinet, 3 trumpets in Bb, 2 trombones, harp, guitar, accordion, piano, percussion and strings
action
place and time
The first part of the operetta (pictures 1 to 3) takes place in San Remo in Italy and the second part (pictures 4 to 6) on the Rio Negro in Argentina at the time of the premiere, i.e. in the 1930s.
part One
Armando Cellini is a celebrated artist. With his painting “Mask in Blue” he was able to win first prize in a competition and thus achieve a breakthrough on the art market. The painting was created exactly a year ago when he was a guest at a ball and portrayed a beautiful woman whom he did not know. Since then, this woman has haunted him again and again. Because she promised to come back in a year exactly to the day, he hopes to see her today. So that he could recognize her without her blue mask, he had given her a ring after completing the picture and asked her to wear it when she returned.
Evelyne Valera, a wealthy plantation owner from Argentina, arrives at the Grand Hotel with her entourage. Every operetta visitor suspects that this must be the "mask in blue" and is correct. The lady intends to visit the painter in his studio.
Armando Cellini is longingly waiting for the visit of the unknown beauty. When the doorbell rings, he thinks he has already reached his destination, but is immediately bitterly disappointed. A strange gentleman enters his studio and pretends to be Pedro dal Vegas. The only thing that interests him is the painting “Mask in Blue”. His request that the painter sell this to him remains unfulfilled.
Shortly after Pedro dal Vegas has left the painter's workshop, a new guest is announced. This time it is the longed-for "mask in blue". The painter recognizes her by her ring. Immediately it starts to spark between the two and they confess their love.
The next day there is a street festival in San Remo. This is the second meeting between Armando Cellini and Pedro dal Vegas. He wants to win the favor of the rich plantation owner by all means in order to be able to reorganize his finances. Because he noticed that their heart beats for the painter Cellini, he has a sinister plan: He managed to steal the ring from Evelyne's handbag. He is now giving it back to the giver, allegedly on behalf of the owner. Armando Cellini, who had just been cheering sky high, is now sad to death. He had never imagined such a rapid change of heart on the part of his loved one.
The Marchese Cavalotti gave a reception in honor of his protégé Armando Cellini in the ballroom of his palazzo. Gonzala, Evelyne Valera's majordomo, and Franz Kilian, Armando's best friend, start a conversation. Gonzala would like to see his boss take the painter as husband. But he fears that the windy Pedro dal Vegas could dispute his rank. The two therefore decide to play fate. As the festival approaches its climax, they announce in front of all the guests that Evelyne Valera and Armando Cellini have just got engaged. The latter is horrified because he feels that the rich plantation owner has abused him as a plaything. But there is no other way. She leaves the palazzo furious.
Part II
Evelyne has meanwhile returned to her hacienda on the Rio Grande and tries to forget Armando Cellini, but fails. In the meantime, her majordomo maintains a lively correspondence with Armando's friend Franz Kilian. The two don't give up trying to bring the couple together. But Pedro dal Vegas also stubbornly sticks to conquering Evelyne. However, she is undecided whether she should give in to his wooing.
Suddenly a mail rider approaches with a telegram for the landowner. The scheming Vegas manages to intercept and read the dispatch. In it Armando Cellini announced that he had landed with a few friends in the nearby provincial capital and that he would soon visit her property; because in the meantime he had learned how the identification ring had come into the possession of dal Vegas. The Argentine immediately grabs the next best horse to ride to the provincial capital. However, he missed the fact that one of the gauchos noticed how he withheld the telegram. No sooner has the gaucho informed the majordomo than he does not hesitate long and rides after the crook.
After Armondo Cellini dropped the telegram in the provincial capital, he heard rumors that Evelyne's engagement to Pedro dal Vegas was imminent. Without thinking long, he went straight to the hacienda. The fraudulent Argentine comes towards him halfway through. The painter knows how to finish him off in such a way that he finally gives up his plans to marry Evelyne.
When the majordomo arrives a little later with Armando's friends at the hacienda, everyone celebrates a happy party, which of course leads to the expected engagement.
Musical highlights
- The Juliska, the Juliska from Buda-, Budapest, has a heart made of paprika
- Do not look too deeply into a beautiful woman's eyes, because what her look promises, she does not keep
- At the Rio Negro, there is a small dreamy house (duet)
- Sassa, Sassa! (The title became very well-known primarily through the performance of the Mainz court singers at numerous carnival meetings.)
- Yes, the Temp'rament, yes, the Temp'rament, yes that's in my blood
- I found my happiness in you (duet)
- Mask in blue - mask in blue
Film adaptations
- 1943: Mask in Blue , directed by Paul Martin
- 1953: Mask in Blue , Director: Georg Jacoby
Sound carrier
Large cross-section at EURODISC with Marika Rökk , Rudolf Schock , Margit Schramm and the Berliner Symphoniker under the direction of Werner Schmidt-Boelcke