Stage Door News

Toronto: Toronto Operetta Theatre presents “Countess Maritza” December 29 and January 3 & 4

Thursday, November 21, 2024

Imre Kálmán’s masterpiece, COUNTESS MARITZA, continues Toronto Operetta Theatre’s 40th Anniversary Season opening on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, with subsequent performances on Jan. 3 & 4 2025. TOT is the undoubted Canadian leader in presenting the masterworks of the lyric theatre in all its variety and has produced musical entertainment that includes comic operas, operettas, zarzuelas, opéra bouffe and Broadway musicals.

TOT’s Founder and General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin has chosen to highlight the Austro-Hungarian operetta tradition during the Holiday Season with COUNTESS MARITZA, Kálmán’s gem from operetta’s Silver Age. His sumptuous score rivals THE MERRY WIDOW, effectively mixing Viennese elegance with Hungarian passion. A smash hit at its premiere in Vienna in 1924, Kálmán’s tuneful confection about an impoverished nobleman and his beautiful countess plays powerfully on stage today. 

Brilliantly entertaining with waltzes and soaring melodies, COUNTESS MARITZA is a tale of social change and loss of status, coloured by the aftermath of the First World War. Conducted by Derek Bate, with stage direction by Silva-Marin, the stars are Holly Chaplin as the glamorous heiress Maritza and tenor Scott Rumble as Tassilo. Joining in the merriment are debuting Patricia Wrigglesworth as his sister Countess Lisa and Joshua Clemenger as Zsupan, the very rich pig farmer from Varasdin.

“The Kálmán masterpiece is one of my favourite operettas and it’s always a crowd pleaser,” says TOT’s Silva-Marin. “And why not with a great tale of romance and matchless melodies such as ‘Vienna Mine’, ‘Let’s go to Varasdin’, ‘Be Mine, my love, be Mine’, ‘Childhood Memories’, ‘Cork’s a-popping’ and many more.” Intrinsically Viennese, COUNTESS MARITZA is a mad mix of musical styles…the waltz, of course, but also, the tango, the foxtrot, tunes from Hungarian folklore and top-notch vocal virtuosity.

To make COUNTESS MARITZA a top Holiday Season Event, TOT offers the public:

Black Friday special deal, an amazing 25% off single ticket prices until December 2nd.

50% discount for youth 16 years of age and under on Friday and Saturday nights.

Family & Friends discount, 20% off for groups of 4 or more.

And a 30% discount on ticket prices for a group of ten or more.

In addition to support from the Canada Council for the Arts, Toronto Arts Council, and the Ontario Arts Council, the company is generously sponsored by the Jackman Foundation, the Dalglish Family Foundation, the Bedolfe Foundation, The Mary-Margaret Webb Foundation, The Estate of Sylvia McPhee, and media sponsor Classical 96.3 FM. Performances take place at the wheelchair-accessible St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, situated in the downtown theatre district, close to public transit and municipal parking. For information, call the Box Office at 416-366-7723, 1–800-708-6754, or www.TOLIVE.com.

Photo: Album cover of Countess Maritza. © 1983 That’s Entertainment Records.