''Baroness Lili'' (''Lili bárónő'') is an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

Jenő Huszka Jenő Huszka (a.k.a. ; 24 April 1875, Szeged – 2 February 1960, Budapest) was a Hungarian composer of operettas. Life At the age of 5, he had his first performance – nicely played violin. He studied composition at the Academy of Music ( ...

in three acts. It premiered in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

on 7 March 1919 in the

Erkel Theatre The Erkel Theatre is a theatre in Budapest, Hungary. Being the largest public building in the city for decades (and the largest theatre in the city), it was made part of the Hungarian State Opera House in 1951. History With the idea of bri ...

.Gänzl, Kurt (2001). ''The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre''. Schirmer, p. 1205. The

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

was by Ferenc Martos. It was popular in Hungary, especially in the 1980s.

Synopsis

Act I

Baron Malomszegi bought an old castle from Count Illésházy. Upon arrival, he and his daughter Lili meet the count for the first time and believe him to be a Chamberlain. The latter does not reveal who he really is because of the opportunity of being close to the pretty young girl as a member of the castle's staff.

Act II

Illésházy falls in love with Lili and enters into a closer relationship with her than a member of the staff normally would. However, neither Frédi, Lili's fiancé, nor Clarisse, Illésházy's old love, like this situation. Clarisse takes revenge on Illésházy and tells Lili that he is not a chamberlain, but the former owner of the castle. Thus, Illésházy has to leave the castle and Lili decides to marry Frédi.

Act III

Some months later, there is a horse race. The favourite is Tündér, Lili's horse. However, her rider, Baron Sanci, arrives late. Illésházy steps in to ride in his place and wins the race. He meets Lili again and convinces her that he loves her.

Arias

The best known arias are * ''Cigaretta-keringő'' (Cigarette

Waltz The waltz ( , meaning "to roll or revolve") is a ballroom dance, ballroom and folk dance, in triple (3/4 time, time), performed primarily in closed position. Along with the ländler and allemande, the waltz was sometimes referred to by the ...

) * ''Egy férfi képe'' (The face of a man), a

love song A love song is a song about love, falling in love, heartbreak after a breakup, and the feelings that these experiences bring. Love songs can be found in a variety of different music genres. They can come in various formats, from sad and emotion ...

References

Hungarian-language operettas 1919 operas Operas set in Hungary Operas by Jenő Huszka {{opera-stub