This fourteenth edition is themed around Vienna, the imperial Vienna, where music reigned as much as the Habsburgs.
“Princess Czardas” which marks the hundredth anniversary of its creation, an operetta by Emmerich Kàlmàn, premiered in Vienna on November 17, 1915, during World War I! According to Serge Manguette, Kàlmàn was the Puccini of operetta.
This production promises to be grandiose with new features and over 300 costumes. “The main difference between an operetta and an opera is the performer’s stage action. If a tenor or a diva are relatively static on stage, in operetta the characters are more mobile.”
Christian Jarniat, the artistic advisor of the festival, explains to us. We will not forget the artistic director and creator of this event, which has become a staple of the Nice cultural scene. Melcha Coder passionately unveils a rich and varied program.
After the thwarted loves of Princess Czardas, we leave Vienna and its paneled palaces for Spain, the sunny and scorching south. This operetta, “La Belle de Cadix,” is 70 years old, and it’s also the 20th anniversary of the death of its creator, Francis Lopez. Maria Luisa and her velvety eyes will have the accent of the south where bulls are the backdrop. Connoisseurs will remember the legendary couples who have interpreted this work. Another difference with opera is found in the happy endings of operettas—love is no longer impossible, honor no longer spills blood, and lovers finally marry as the curtain falls.
A festival includes conferences. The first will introduce us to the heroines of Francis Lopez’s operettas with insightful explanations from enthusiasts like André Peyrègne and Christian Jarniat.
The second will be a tribute to Fred Astaire by Hervé Casini, both a lecturer and a singer. The two conferences given at the Mediterranean University Center will be illustrated with musical excerpts. All good things must come to an end, and it is on November 29 that this festival will conclude with a medley of famous musicals. Last year, “A Night on Broadway” was presented.
This show is still in the public’s memory, so it is a logical continuation, after Broadway: it’s “A Night of Broadway in Paris,” whose program is full of surprises with both American musicals and French standards, but shh, it’s up to you to discover them.
Finally, in conclusion, the organizers of this festival invite the already captivated public to encourage the undecided and those who have never entered a concert hall to come and discover, through this festival, the art of opera, operetta, and perhaps tomorrow, opera itself. We are more than happy to relay this appeal.
Thiery Jan.
