Countess Maritza

Gräfin Mariza (Countess Maritza) is an operetta in three acts composed by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, with a libretto by Julius Brammer and Alfred Grünwald. It premiered in Vienna on 28 February 1924 at the Theater an der Wien.

As Countess Maritza, it made its New York City debut on 18 September 1926 at the Shubert Theatre, in an adaptation by Harry B. Smith, and with interpolated music by other composers, playing 318 performances. The show was staged by J. C. Huffman.

As Maritza, it opened in London at the Palace Theatre on 6 July 1938, with Mary Losseff in the title role.

A London revival by New Sadler's Wells Opera opened at Sadler's Wells Theatre in February 1983, with a new English book and lyrics by Nigel Douglas, starring Marilyn Hill Smith (Maritza), Ramon Remedios (Tassilo), Laureen Livingstone (Lisa), Lynn Barber (Manja) and Tudor Davies (Zsupan) conducted by Barry Wordsworth.

Manja the gypsy girl flirts with the newly appointed bailiff, Béla Törek. Unknown to anyone, Törek is in fact the impoverished Count Tassilo, who is seeking to earn a living and set aside some cash for the dowry of his sister Lisa. The Countess Maritza, a young widow, unexpectedly arrives at the estate to celebrate her engagement. This 'engagement' is however quite fictitious, an invention intended to put off her numerous followers. The name she has chosen for her suitor, based on her recollection of Strauss' operetta, The Gypsy Baron, is Baron Koloman Zsupán. However, amongst Maritza's guests, to Tassilo's horror, is Lisa, who he instructs to keep their relationship and his identity strictly secret. Maritza is also embarrassed when a genuine Koloman Zsupán materialises, having seen an announcement of his 'engagement' in the press.

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