An operetta gem full of esprit and musical wit: jazz and waltzes, old world and new world collide charmingly in Emmerich Kálmán's "The Duchess of Chicago".
Geertje Boeden directs the fast-paced romantic comedy with a great sense of timing and irony - musically conducted with verve by Claudio Novati in a production by the Landestheater Detmold.
Prince Sandor of Sylvaria has been forced to sell his castle in order to flush a little money into the state coffers. The new owner is the American Mary, who believes she can buy anything with money - but she meets with resistance when it comes to Sandor's heart. The two could not be more different: she is a light-hearted jazz fan, while his heart (still) dances in three-four time. In addition, there is a typical operetta confusion of the finest humor. During the musical competition, Mary and Sandor grow closer, but as expected, the two have to go through various unexpected complications before the obligatory happy ending.
With the musical balancing act from Csárdás to Charleston, Kálmán captured exactly the spirit of the times, which helped The Duchess of Chicago to great success at its premiere in 1928 at the Theater an der Wien. However, the work soon disappeared from the repertoire as "degenerate" art. It was finally rediscovered in 2003 and has since delighted audiences in Dresden, Vienna and Bonn, among other places, with its mix of pulsating Charleston and slow-fox rhythms that want to get into your ears and legs.
January 18, 2026
