Ronny (film operetta)
Lyrics by Rudolf Schanzer and Ernst Welisch
Premiere: Gloria-Palast, Berlin, December 22, 1931
Ronny is a costume designer, working at a Paris shop. Young, attractive, skilled, and ambitious—but poor—she dreams of happiness and wonders why it has never come her way. She is currently working on a commission to design costumes for an operetta that the young Prince of Perusa has composed and will conduct. Because time is limited, Ronny herself is to deliver the costumes to Perusa. Anticipation is high in Perusa, as all await the arrival of the train carrying the show’s costumes, as well as a second train carrying the soprano who is to sing the lead role. The Perusan ministers hope that the Prince, who has not shown much long-term interest in beautiful women, will fall for the show’s star, thus diverting his attention from the business of government and leaving it in the hands of the scheming ministers. On the way to her hotel in Perusa, Ronny encounters the Prince, who mistakes her for the star soprano, unaware that the show’s prima donna has, in fact, bowed out of the engagement. He congratulates the theater’s director on his choice of a star. The director, however, fears that he will fall out of favor with the Prince when he learns of the cancellation. He convinces Ronny, who had learned the operetta in preparation for her work on the costumes, to take over the role. The Prince falls increasingly in love with his star, even more so when the operetta’s premiere is a big success. Following the opening, the ministers bring the beaming Ronny to Monbijou Castle, the Prince’s love nest. When she realizes what is expected of her, she is outraged. The Prince is equally disgusted with Ronny—he believes that she has allowed herself to be bought. When the two meet, Ronny tells the Prince that she is not available for purchase and leaves for the train station and a return trip to Paris. Realizing that he does not want to let true happiness escape him, he dashes to the station, hops on the moving train, and takes Ronny in his arms.
