Kalman: Die Zirkusprinzessin (The Circus Princess)

a rare opportunity to see this unfamiliar operetta
Although Kalman's 1924 COUNTESS MARITZA is still staged today in English-speaking countries, his 1926 CIRCUS PRINCESS is apparently not produced in these countries, hence available primarily through this recently released DVD with English subtitles. An unusual tale of a Prince, who joins a circus after being disowned for proposing to the wrong Princess, this is a 1973 film made for German television by dubbing a studio recording sound track acted during panning long shots and then edited into the movie. Despite a clumsy editing job, it is worth seeing superstars Ingeborg Hallstein as the jilted Princess who accidentally finds him in the circus, and Rudolf Schock as the protagonist Prince. The film may hold little interest to a general audience not familiar with these star names and not operetta groupies.

Once upon a time...
... a vindictive nobleman contrived the lovely Fedora's wedding to a circus performer, unaware that this was the man who had loved her before her first marriage. Since this is an operetta, we know all will end happily, but it takes three acts and assorted musical numbers to get us there. This 1969 film (one of a series made for television) opens out the settings--the circus scenes have live animals--and the final trapeze stunt is very nicely managed. Rudolf Schock, in his middle fifties here, doesn't look bad with the much younger Ingeborg Hallstein. Both are low-key performers, which is preferable to the mugging and overplaying that afflicts some operetta performances. (The comics are a little broader.) The vocal numbers have quite obviously been recorded separately, but the dubbing is mostly good. Clear subtitles make everything easy to follow. No extras on the disc, but a nice booklet. I hope Lehar's Giuditta is on their list of upcoming titles...

One of the best films ever made of an operetta
This must be one of the best films ever made of an operetta although Mr X should have had a better disguise- perhaps with a hat. Rudolf Schock is on fine form and Ingeborg Hallstein must be one of the best coloratura sopranos ever, with a beautiful and accurately pitched voice, at times hitting top E. All the supporting roles are well sung and played. Kalman's score is one of his finest with lots of good tunes idiomatically realized. The story revolves around the mysterious Mister X who is more than the sum of his parts and the Princess Fedora Palinska who has to come to terms with what he is rather than who he is.

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