Szibill
Encyclopedia
Szibill is an operetta
by Hungarian
composer
Victor Jacobi
. The first performance was February 27, 1914, at the Király Színház (King's Theatre) in Budapest
. The libretto
was written by Ferenc Martos and Miksa Bródy. An English language version, entitled Sybil, with lyrics by Harry Graham, premiered on January 10, 1916 at the Liberty Theatre in New York City.
. She meets Russian officier Petrov, who falls in love with her and deserts his regiment. He begs Szibill to run away with him back to Paris. However, a governor arrives to arrest Petrov. Szibill protests so strongly that the governor thinks she must be the wife of an earl, who is expected to arrive in the city that day. Szibill knows that the earl and his wife will not arrive until the evening and therefore she can deceive the governor until then.
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
by Hungarian
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
Victor Jacobi
Victor Jacobi
Victor Jacobi, Jakobi Viktor was a Hungarian operetta composer.He studied at Zeneakadémia in Budapest at the same time as the noted Hungarian composers Imre Kálmán and Albert Szirmai...
. The first performance was February 27, 1914, at the Király Színház (King's Theatre) in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. The libretto
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
was written by Ferenc Martos and Miksa Bródy. An English language version, entitled Sybil, with lyrics by Harry Graham, premiered on January 10, 1916 at the Liberty Theatre in New York City.
Act 1
Szibill (or "Cybil") is a young French singer recently arrived in TomskTomsk
Tomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
. She meets Russian officier Petrov, who falls in love with her and deserts his regiment. He begs Szibill to run away with him back to Paris. However, a governor arrives to arrest Petrov. Szibill protests so strongly that the governor thinks she must be the wife of an earl, who is expected to arrive in the city that day. Szibill knows that the earl and his wife will not arrive until the evening and therefore she can deceive the governor until then.
Act 2
In the evening there is a ball at the governor's palace. The genuine earl arrives, but decides to play along with Szibill's deception and pretend that she is his wife. Szibill becomes very nervous and sends Petrov to find the real wife of the earl, who is at the Grand Hotel. She is very attracted to Petrov and agrees to impersonate the singer Szibill at the ball. The earl becomes jealous and tries to attack Petrov with his sabre. Fortunately Szibill stops him and everybody returns to the Grand Hotel.Act 3
After more chaos and confusion at the Grand Hotel, all is revealed and forgiven and the operetta finishes happily.Sources
- Gänzl, Kurt and Lamb, Andrew (1989). Gänzl's Book of the Musical Theatre . Schirmer Books, p. 1036. ISBN 0028719417
- Kemp, Peter (1987). Liner Notes: Treasures of Operetta II. Chandos RecordsChandos RecordsChandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...
- New York Times (January 11, 1916). "'Sybil Presented with Three Stars"
- Traubner, Richard (1984). Operetta: A theatrical history. Gollancz, p. 331. ISBN 057503338X