Polish blood
| Work data | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Polish blood |
| Shape: | operetta |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Oskar Nedbal |
| Libretto : | Leo Stein |
| Literary source: | The young lady as a farmer from Alexander Pushkin |
| Premiere: | October 25, 1913 |
| Place of premiere: | Vienna |
| Place and time of the action: | Russian part of Poland before 1914 |
| people | |
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Polenblut is an operetta in three acts by Oskar Nedbal . The libretto was written by Leo Stein . The story Fräulein Bäuerin by Alexander Sergejewitsch Pushkin served as a literary model . The operetta was born on 25 October 1913 at the Carl Theater in Vienna premiered .
orchestra
Two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets, three trombones, a harp, percussion and strings
action
The operetta is set in the Russian part of Poland at the beginning of the 20th century.
Act 1 - At a big ball in Warsaw
Count Boléslaw Baranski, only called Bolo by his friends, loves the cheerful side of life more than work. No wonder he has therefore completely run down his great estate. He is currently haunted by the dancer Wanda Kwasinskaja, who is currently giving a guest performance in Warsaw. But even it only causes him costs. It is completely different with Bolo's Polish friend Jan Zarémba. He knows how to keep his property in good shape and to increase his wealth. Jan Zarémba would love to help his friend, but this required that he change his way of life. After all, he doesn't want to put his money in a bottomless pit.
Zarémba has a daughter who - if the need arises - can do a lot. She is also very energetic, a real Polish blood. Zarémba is quite sure that if Bolo took her as his wife, she would drive the nonsense out of his head. Heléna, that is the girl's name, would also be happy to marry Bolo, as she has been raving about him for a long time.
Act 2 - On the estate of Count Baranski
When Zarémba made Bolo the offer to marry his daughter and thus enjoy a generous dowry, he abruptly refused. His wife must either - like himself - be aristocratic or - like Wanda Kwasinskaja - have an artistic profession. When Heléna hears how she has been brusquely rejected by her beloved, she seeks revenge. News is spreading in the village that Bolo's housekeeper has quit her long service with him because she has grown tired of his moods. Then Heléna had an idea: She allied herself with Bolo's friend Bronio von Popiel and made sure that he recommended her to Bolo as the new housekeeper. So that she is not recognized by her new boss, she disguises herself as a simple peasant girl who goes by the name Marynia. Heléna or Marynia determines from her future master that she can have the last word in all decisions that affect the management of the estate. Of course, Bolo is anything but happy about this. But he is up to his neck and without a housekeeper he can no longer get out of his plight. So he agrees.
A different wind is now blowing on the estate. First of all, Bolo's windy friends, who so far only knew how to take advantage of him, feel this. The housekeeper Marynia shows her out of the house. So that Bolo can no longer speak to the alcohol, she hides him. He is torn by his new housekeeper. She fascinates and amazes him at the same time. When he notices that his estate is gradually improving, he discovers that he has fallen in love with her. He gradually forgets his former lotter life and works from morning to night.
3rd act - On the estate of Count Baranski
The harvest comes in in autumn and it turns out to be profuse. The maidservants celebrate the harvest festival happily. According to an old custom, the landlord has to put the harvest crown on one of his staff. Not surprisingly, he chose his housekeeper Marynia to do this. At the same time he asks her to become his wife. Marynia confesses to him that she is actually Heléna Zarémba, whom he had once rejected. Her former intention to take revenge on him has now given way to love. Both have the feeling that they complement each other magnificently.
Musical highlights
- I am a diplomate
- I know a sweet lady
- Brothers, I'm in love (marching song)
- You are a gentleman (waltz song)
- Always rural and moral
- Girl, lucky fairy brought you to me
- After hard work days (Thanksgiving scene)
Czech performance
Just two months after Vienna, the operetta was performed on December 26, 1913 at the City Theater in Pilsen . The Czech libretto was written by the tenor Zdeněk Knittl. The Czech title is Polská krev . After the First World War, the operetta became the most frequently performed operetta in young Czechoslovakia. To this day it is considered the most popular “Czech” operetta.
Polish performance
The Polish title is Polska krew , on September 14, 1915 the operetta was performed in Warsaw, then part of the Russian Empire, with which Austria-Hungary was at the time at war.
filming
- In 1934 the operetta was filmed under her title in a Czechoslovak-German coproduction. Under the direction of Karel Lamač , Anny Ondra , Hans Moser , Iván Petrovich , Margarete Kupfer , Hilde Hildebrand and Rudolf Carl played the leading roles.
- In 1966, ZDF produced a color TV production directed by Wolfgang Liebeneiner with the singers / actors Hans Joachim Worringen, Peter Garden and Ina Dressel . More information can be found in the web link.
literature
- Leo Melitz: Guide through the operettas. Globus, Berlin 1917, pp. 171–172.
- Oskar Nedbal: Polish blood. Operetta in three pictures. Doblinger, Vienna 1920.
Web links
- Information about an edited version for actors and salon orchestra ( Memento from February 25, 2005 in the Internet Archive )
- "Poland Blood"
Individual evidence
- ↑ Polská krev včera a dnes Czech
- ^ Polish blood. Retrieved February 19, 2019 .