EINE FRAU VON FORMAT

In the organizer's words:

The Principality of Silistria is coveted. Two European states are competing for a trade agreement: Hungary and Turkey. But Silistria will only choose one partner. While the Hungarian ambassador Count Géza von Tököli is already courting the favor of the Silistrian princess Petra, everyone is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Turkish ambassador. His appearance finally exceeds all expectations, as it turns out that Turkey's diplomat is a woman: Dschilli Bey! Gender stereotypes and cultural prejudices are now turned upside down and turned upside down. A competitive battle full of intrigue, mistaken identities and surprising twists and turns takes its course. Who will win in the end? See for yourself!
Michael Krasznay-Krausz's "A Woman of Quality" was a sensational success at the Theater des Westens in Berlin in 1927. The female lead role was played by none other than operetta queen Fritzi Massary. A short time later, the work disappeared in the turmoil between the seizure of power and the Second World War and is now returning to the stage at the Cologne Opera. The Jewish composer Michael Krasznay-Krausz, who is also forgotten today, was born in 1897 in Austria-Hungary and lived in Budapest, Vienna and Berlin. As a pupil of Zoltán Kodály, he initially composed symphonic music and operas before turning to the operetta genre from 1923 and also composing numerous pop songs. When the National Socialists seized power in 1933, he left Berlin and finally Vienna in 1938 after the annexation of Austria and moved back to Budapest, where he died in 1940. The director and three-time winner of the coveted BR Operetta Frog, Christian von Götz, is already considered an expert in the excavation of operettas by once ostracized composers. He recently staged Ralph Benatzky's "The Richest Man in the World" and Hugo Hirsch's "The Prince of Pappenheim" at the Erzgebirgisches Theater Annaberg with great success. He has also worked as a director at the Hamburg State Opera, the Komische Oper Berlin and the Leipzig Opera. He is now staging the operetta rediscovery "Eine Frau von Format" at the Cologne Opera as a playful and gender-fluid show spectacle. The operetta specialist Adam Benzwi is a congenial partner on the podium who brings the melodic richness of this Berlin operetta to life with the fashionable dances typical of the Golden Twenties. In addition to the classic waltz step, you will also hear snappy foxtrot and Boston, tango and flamenco rhythms. Look forward to an evening full of catchy tunes, tempo, wickedness, diversity and glamor!