When Rózsi became Susi and a Hungarian hit musical

A KIS GRÓF Operett in 3 acts by Ferenc Martos. Music by Áladár Rényi. Király Színház, Budapest, 9 September 1911.

 Produced in 1911, in a period when the blossoming Hungarian operett tradition was turning out some of the most interesting works in Europe, A kis gróf, composed to a libretto by top text-writer Ferenc Martos, was premièred on the 23rd (or, according to some sources, 26th) birthday of the hitherto untried Áladár Rényi.

Ferenc Martos

The tale was a very simple one, of the popular 'French' flavour, finding its virtue in Martos's telling. The little count of the story was Count László d'Ennery (Ernö Király), son of the Count Guidó Agárdy (Imre Szirmai), whose father has decided that he shall wed the decidedly attractive and rich American widow Dorothy Howard (Anna Lonzay, the Dudley of Budapest's San Toy). Unfortunately, László is a very inexperienced young man so, prior to marriage with a woman who has already experienced all an American millionaire has to offer, he sets out to get some practice with a lady of the stage. Rózsi (Sári Fedák) is the chosen one. Of course, the practice soon turns serious. Papa intervenes determinedly, Rózsi tries some self-sacrificing pretences, but by the end of the evening young love has had its way, especially as Dorothy, who prefers older men, has both given the `little count's' romance a helping hand, and turned her attractions, most successfully, on to her intended's father.

 The score was in the traditional mode, featuring Hungarian-flavoured waltzes and marches -- as in Rózsi's `Kettesben csókok közt ...' and her Katonasári induló,
respectively -- whilst Dorothy tra-la-laed out the refrain to a tale of `Daphnis és Chloé' in soubrette style and the fun was looked after by star comic Márton Rátkai (Roth) with such pieces as the `Csetneki Roth' couplets.

 A kis gróf ran straight through to its 50th performance at the Király Színház on 28 October and, in spite of the fact that it was succeeded in November by an even bigger success in the shape of Jacobi's Leányvásár, it maintained its popularity, was played at the Budai Színkör (25 May 1912), and reached its 250th Budapest performance in November 1913. In the meanwhile it had begun to be seen elsewhere. 

Vienna's Carltheater production (ad Julius Wilhelm), which reallotted the characters' names and rechristened the work Susi, starred Mizzi Zwerenz as Susi alongside Hubert Marischka (Stefan), Dora Keplinger (Aglaia von Rosetti), Blasel (Dr Haring) and Richard Waldemar (Szigetvary) and opened for the 1912 Christmas season. It proved a distinct hit, running right through the winter and spring -- with a slight break for the visit of the Budapest Király Színház company, during which it emigrated to Ronachers `Établissement Parisien' -- till the summer recess (143 performances). It returned again both to open the new season and as an occasional matinée during the 1913-14 hit run of Nedbal's Polenblut. It was brought out again in 1917 for further performances.

Susi was produced in Stockholm (1 April 1913) and in Munich (5 November 1913), Leipzig, in Italy (ad Carlo Vizzotto) and all round central Europe, later the same year, and Lew Fields staged a version in America with José Collins (now Suzi), Connie Ediss (Lina Blazer), Robert Evett (Stefan), Lew Hearn (Herr Horn) and Melville Stewart (Count Emmerich) starred. In spite of being greeted as `far above the average musical comedy' it was rubbished by the New York Times, bumped from the Casino to the Shubert Theater, and then out to Boston after just 55 performances. In true Broadway style, it was a version (ad Otto Harbach) which had been regularly botched, but Fields had showed a little more taste than some of his fellow producers by taking his `additional songs' from the best Continental sources. The interpolations, whose melodies at least melded stylistically with the original score, included a Lehár tune relyricked as `The Best Toast of All' and a piece of Lincke performed under the gulpful title `Teenie, Eenie, Weenie'.

Meanwhile, in Europe, the piece carried merrily on ....

Austria: Carltheater Susi 20 December 1912; Germany: Leipzig Susi May 1913; USA: Casino Theater Suzi 3 November 1914

The waltz 'Fascinating Night' was issued on a piano roll and on Columbia Records as played by Charles Prince's Band. 

The foxtrot 'Tickling Love Taps' which seems to have been by Lincke also won recordings. It is elsewhere credited to Rényi, but mostly to nobody.

RÉNYI, Aladár (b Kolozsvár, 9 September 1885; d in a concentration camp, 1944).

 Rényi studied at the Budapest Zeneakadémia and had his first operett produced at the Király Színház at the age of 26. A kis gróf had a great success and it went on to be produced the following year at the Carltheater in Vienna under the title Susi, returning to the Király Színház in its German version during the Carltheater company's visit to Budapest in 1913. Susi was successfully played in Germany and staged on Broadway (Casino Theater, 1914) before Rényi's second work, Tiszavirág, was produced in Budapest. He wrote two further operetts, as well as chamber music, songs and piano music, but without again finding the success of his first stage work.

1911 A kis gróf (Ferenc Martos) Király Színház 9 September

1915 Tiszavirág (István Bródy, László Vajda) Király Színház 27 March

1917 Vandergold kisasszony (Sándor Hevesi, Zsolt Harsányi) Városi Színház 24 October

1926 Kitty és Kató (Martos) Király Színház 30 April