Entertainment

Sung in Estonian with subtitles in Estonian and English (available in the Estonia Theatre Hall)
Approx. running time 3 h 25 min, two intermissions

Pál Ábrahám’s operetta in three acts
Music arranged by Mart Sander
Libretto by Alfred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda, adaptation by Mart Sander
World premiere on December 23, 1932 (Großes Schauspielhaus, Berlin)
Premiere at the Estonian National Opera on January 15, 2013

Conductors: Risto Joost, Kaspar Mänd, Lauri Sirp
Stage Director and Designer: Mart Sander
Choreographer: Ingmar Jõela
Lighting Designer: Anton Kulagin

Pál Ábrahám’s operetta reflects the hedonistic atmosphere of the 1930s and is a dazzling revue on love, piquant seduction and swing music.

Stage Director Mart Sander: “Ball im Savoy” is not just a production for me, in many ways it is life itself. This was the first production at the Estonian National Opera that I participated in – I had just turned 18 and started working in the chorus. I had seen the premiere a few years ago, what’s more, I had already fallen in love with the music of the 1930s, the affair that has lasted ever since. I knew a few songs from the operetta. I was a little disappointed that the music did not sound as it did on the old records. On many occasions, when I was on stage, I thought about how this production could be made more stylish, so that it would pass on the fragrance and atmosphere of the 1930s. Now, 25 years later, I have this opportunity. I can realise one of my dreams – to create a real-time grand Hollywood film of the 1930s.”

Presented with the permission of Josef Weinberger Limited.