# Lehar's Land of Smiles at Chicago Folks Operetta



## Cavaradossi (Aug 2, 2012)

Saw this over the weekend, presented by the Chicago Folks Operetta in English translation.

I'm guessing to most folks here, or at least to the North Americans, this work is a complete unknown except as the source of the tenor showpiece "_Dein ist mein ganzes Herz_". It sure was for me. The biggest surprises were that it was an East-meets-West clash of cultures tale, along the lines of Madame Butterfly or Turandot, and, while there are no beheadings or ritual suicides, the work has a bit of edge to it and the ending is distinctly unhappy.

The title refers not to a land of rainbows and sunshine as I always figured, but more cynically to the Chinese smiling thru the pain of their restrictive culture. Even the hit aria is not the declaration of love you think it is. Rather, it's the Chinese prince's reassurance to himself that his love for his Austrian wife will remain prime even when he is faced with a mandatory ritual marriage to four other Mandarin wives.

Synopsis from wiki:
_The operetta is set in Vienna and China in 1912. In act 1 in Vienna, the heroine Countess Lisa marries a Chinese prince and returns with him to his homeland despite the warnings of her friends and family. In act 2, in Peking, she finds that she is unable to come to terms with his culture, and especially that he must take other wives. He assures her that it is just a formality, but unhappiness is inevitable, and she is locked in the palace. Her love changes to hate. In act 3, Prince Sou-Chong is left alone while his beloved Lisa returns to her homeland. His sister, Princess Mi had also become attached to the Viennese official Gustav, and so the ending is doubly sad. But the prince respects the rule of his custom: always smile._

No surprise at all was the enchanting music, particularly the lilting melodies and waltzes of the first act set in Vienna. While the two leads, accomplished young local singers, certainly had the vocal goods to do the music justice, they fell a little flat dramatically, particularly when it came delivering the spoken lines. Luckily they were buoyed up by a little sparkplug of an actress from the musical theater world who stole the show, dramatically if not vocally, as Princess Mi. Begs the question of which approach is more appropriate, or is a true operetta performer a highly endangered if not extinct species.

The production was minimalist, likely by budgetary necessity. The producers wisely invested their funds in a 20 piece orchestra, 12 person chorus, and even a 4 member ballet, all highly professional and effective. The setting, achieved through the use of video projections, was nominally contemporary but largely irrelevant since the music itself was so evocative.


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## Roland (Mar 13, 2013)

Thanks for the interesting review, Cavaradossi. This makes me want to investigate Lehar more. Your review also makes me wish I could see the "little spark plug of an actress from the musical theater world."


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## guythegreg (Jun 15, 2012)

Great review, thanks! Makes me wish I could have gone. Or that it was coming to NYC sometime soon. What's a "true" operetta, anyway? Halfway between a musical and an opera? Never mind, I'll check the opera terms post ...


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

There are some fine recordings of this operetta; I have the one with Siegfried Jerusalem and Helen Donath, and I've had my eye on another version with Piotr Beczala and Camilla Nylund.
I suspect many people may already know this, but I discovered a number of years ago that Lapsang souchong is a variety of tea! :lol:


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## Roland (Mar 13, 2013)

I'm not sure, guythegreg, but it seems that I've heard that operettas are distinguished by spoken dialogue. I have recordings of Carmen that have spoken dialogue, the way the opera (operetta?) premiered at the Opera Comique, and also recordings with sung recitatives that were added later by a different composer (Bizet was planning on doing it himself, but he died before he could get started.) All in all, I have to say that I prefer the Carmen performances with spoken dialogue, perhaps if Bizet had written the recitatives himself I might feel differently.

MAuer, I can't say that I knew about Lapsang souchong. But I can guess at why you have a recording of this operetta, if Siegfried Jerusalem is singing in it.


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## MAuer (Feb 6, 2011)

Roland said:


> MAuer, I can't say that I knew about Lapsang souchong. But I can guess at why you have a recording of this operetta, if Siegfried Jerusalem is singing in it.


Oh yes, love the Siegfried . . .


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