Tara Surasului

The Theatre National De Opereta si Musical "Ion Dacian" presents:

LAND OF SMILES

"Ion Dacian" National Operetta and Musical Theatre Hall

(Bd. Octavian Goga, nr. 1)

June 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM

The artists of the "Ion Dacian" National Operetta and Musical Theatre invite you to the operetta "Land of Smiles" by Franz Lehár. Based on a libretto by Ludwig Herzer and Fritz Löhner-Beda, we are presented with an impossible love story between two completely different worlds. It is a bittersweet story "crushed" by the cultural differences between European education and Chinese tradition.

While serving as ambassador in Vienna, Prince Sou-Chong meets Lisa, the daughter of Field Marshal Ferdinand Lichtenfels. Feeling strongly attracted to the young woman's beauty, Sou-Chong discreetly courts Lisa. Lisa, fascinated by the oriental world, by the mystery hidden in the prince's permanent and amiable smile, embarks on a great adventure, following Sou-Chong to China.

 „If I were to invent a subtitle for the operetta „The Land of Smiles” by Franz Lehár, it would be … „The Story of an Illusion”. The love of the European Liza for the Chinese prince Sou Chong is a superb illusion that every woman has the right to dream of.

Today, the barrier of distance, of worldviews and life, almost no longer exists except in corners of the world where we talk about extremism. In the last century, the barrier existed.

Therefore, a love story between a European woman emancipated like Liza and a Chinese man subject to the rigors of his position but, above all, to the millennial tradition like Prince Sou Chong, cannot have a happy ending.

I am convinced that Liza was attracted from childhood by the fascination of the distant East from the stories of the 1001 nights. Growing up, this fascination intensified. She met "the prince from the story" and believed she had found ideal happiness. When she went to his world, she realized that she saw the harsh reality of differences in mentality, education, customs, experiencing the most terrible disillusionment.

Symbolically, I wanted to materialize Liza's sensitivity and soul through the embodiment of the fascinating Luan bird from Chinese mythology. This bird takes on, throughout the events, the successive states of happiness, sadness, turmoil, and disappointment of Liza. In contrast to the grace of this bird is the rigidity of MÄ‚ȘTII from the "Land of Smiles". As Prince Sou Chong himself says, "he hides his feelings under the mask of a smile". The mask augments, becoming far too oppressive for Liza. The millennial mask does not know and does not accept tolerance. Liza's soul does not accept compromise. Hence, the sad, inevitable ending.

Together with conductor Lucian Vlădescu, set designer Cătălin Ionescu Arbore, and choreographer Mălina Andrei, we imagined a show in which a burning love and the coexistence of two strongly defined civilizations would awaken poetry, romanticism, even drama at times, in the audience, in a cinematic flow of the action. Anca Albani's projections also contribute to the poetry of the images, being designed to emphasize a state, an idea, an...illusion.

Lehár's enchanting music was our main guide on this wonderful journey to the "Èšara of Smiles". The consistency of the score brings this creation closer to opera music. Certainly, Lehar was influenced in his dramaturgical-musical conception by his friend Giacomo Puccini in their long discussions about the art of sounds.

Thank you to the "Ion Dacian" National Operetta and Musical Theater collective for this collaboration, especially as it materializes in the year in which I celebrate 30 years of activity in the service of the art of musical performance."

Note: Ticketstore.ro reserves the right to cancel unpaid reservations 48 hours before the show.

For further details regarding the above event, please contact the organizing company:  Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre,  CIF 4340099, BUCHAREST