Leo Fall was one of the most popular operetta composers of his time, and Die Rose von Stambul was a great success when it premiered in Vienna in 1916. The character of Achmed Bey, with his secret second identity as André Léry, embodies simultaneously the traditional roles of the Ottoman Empire and the progressive, Western-oriented mindset. Meanwhile, the female Muslim protagonist Kondja Gül transitions from a veiled puppet oppressed by forced marriage to a heroine liberated from the metaphorical harem, embodying a modern image of womanhood. The central couple experiences both the public morality of marriage and the erotic adventure of romantic love. The work’s exoticism fulfilled the escapist desires of the war-weary public. As a waltz operetta in which the lovers, having absorbed Western cultural values, ultimately transition to a European setting, the exoticism also enforces the European cultural identity – a phenomenon later echoed in Franz Lehár’s The Land of Smiles. Kondja Gül, the modern “rose” was played by Fritzi Massary, a Vienna-born singer who transformed from a soubrette into a grand operetta diva. Massary found success at Berlin’s Metropol Theater, performing in numerous operettas composed by Leo Fall and Oscar Straus, reaching the peak of her stardom in the 1920s. She was praised less as a pure soprano and more as a diseuse, a performer who delivers songs with expressive, almost spoken interpretation. With her charismatic stage presence, dramatic flair, and bold sensuality, she captivated audiences and critics. This prima donna had an exceptional ability to convey erotic nuances, skillfully elevating the double meanings in her lyrics beyond mere provocation. Her artistry lay not in vocal virtuosity, but in her expressive irony.

Sawako Ogawa

The film version makes great play of the relationship with the stage show, so I have tried to use as much music from the operetta as possible. This is not straightforward as there are many changes from the stage show, including André Léry changing from a writer to a composer, which makes the film quite meta as he composes some of the music of the operetta, including the hit song Ein Walzer muss es sein, which you will hear wonderfully sung by the star of the film and operetta Fritzi Massary, in one of two recordings from 1917.

John Sweeney