| Fatinitza | |
|---|---|
| Operetta by Franz von Suppé | |
 Poster, c. 1879 | |
| Librettist | |
| Language | German |
| Based on | Eugène Scribe's libretto to La circassienne |
| Premiere | 5 January 1876 Carltheater, Vienna |
Fatinitza was the first full-length, three-act operetta by Franz von Suppé.[1] The libretto by F. Zell (a pseudonym for Camillo Walzel) and Richard Genée[2] was based on the libretto to La circassienne by Eugène Scribe (which had been set to music by Daniel Auber in 1861),[1] but with the lead role of Wladimir, a young Russian lieutenant who has to disguise himself as a woman, changed to a trousers role; in other words, a woman played the part of the man who pretended to be a woman.[1][3]
It premièred on 5 January 1876, at the Carltheater Vienna,[3] and proved a huge success, running for more than a hundred performances,[4] with the march "Vorwärts mit frischem Muth", proving a particular hit.[1] The operetta as a whole is no longer in the popular repertory, but the overture is performed as a stand-alone piece.[1]
- ^ a b c d e Lamb 2000, pp. 51–52.
- ^ Crittenden 2000, pp. 47, 51
- ^ a b Traubner, Richard (2003). Operetta: A Theatrical History. Routledge. pp. 102–3. ISBN 0415966418.
- ^ Crittenden 2000, p. 51