Der Zigeunerprimás
Libretto by Julius Wilhelm and Fritz Grünbaum
Premiere: Johann-Strauss-Theater, Vienna, October 11, 1912
Act I: Celebrated, but aging, gypsy fiddler Pali Rácz is unhappy with Laczi, his violin-playing eldest son (and designated musical heir), because the youngster eschews his father’s music—Hungarian folksongs and csardases—in favor of the more classical stylings of Bach, Handel, and Wagner. Rácz’s long-time friend, Count Gaston Irini, arrives from Paris, wastes no time in making bold advances on Rácz’s daughter Sari, and tries to induce Rácz to come out of retirement, journey to Paris, and provide entertainment for the visiting King of Massillia. Rácz dismisses the idea—it was in Paris, many years before, that he had fallen in love with a beautiful baroness whose father had nixed the relationship. He cannot bring himself to revisit the city. Laczi, meanwhile, has attracted the attention of Rácz’s secretary and niece Juliska. He has no time for her at the moment, for his thoughts are focused on substituting for his father in Paris, an idea that elicits immediate outrage from the old man.
Act II: Unable to bear his father’s criticism, Laczi has left his Hungarian home and taken a job at the Palais Irini in Paris as conductor of Gaston’s house orchestra. The King of Massillia, incognito as Count Estragon, has arrived at the reception and awaits the appearance of Pali Rácz, who has decided to accept Gaston’s original offer and play his Stradivarius for the King. Sari and Juliska arrive. Gaston has fallen head over heels for Sari, but, to tease her, he pretends to favor Juliska. To punish Laczi for walking out on her back home, Juliska claims that she is in love with another. The King requests that Rácz play for him, but is bored with his old-fashioned gypsy music and much prefers Laczi’s tones. Rácz realizes that he is indeed past his prime.
Act III: Gaston’s grandmother, the strong-minded Countess Irini, is determined to sort out the matrimonial affairs of the younger generation. She brings together the previously quarrelling Sari and Gaston and, after convincing Rácz that his ambitions to marry the much younger Juliska are totally misguided, does the same for Laczi and Juliska. In the course of her conversation with Racz, it comes out that she was, in fact, the baroness with whom he had fallen in love years before. Rácz finally sees the light, acknowledges Laczi as his musical successor, and presents him with his beloved Stradivarius.
