One quiet sunny morning, the calm on the border between France and Spain is disturbed in the most unusual way: not smugglers or cats in love, habitually neglecting the political interests of states, fall into the field of view of customs soldiers, but a huge balloon descends ... and Hippolyte fall into a crowd of gypsies, at the same time trying to cross the border. This is where the fatal meeting of the bored metropolitan loafer and life-burner, the handsome Arman, takes place with the proud, passionate and wayward Frasquita, a gypsy who prefers freedom and love to all the riches of the world. Then the plot develops, growing like a snowball, with unexpected and amazing adventures that lead the heroes to the Parisian music hall, where music and dance reign. It is not difficult to guess how the duel between the characters of the freedom-loving Frasquita and the self-satisfied Armand will end, because love rules everything in the operetta. But what will the heroes have to go through so that in the end they can find their happiness? ..
Bright and cheerful "Frasquita" is a free fantasy on the themes of the famous short story "Carmen" by Prosper Mérimée, which became the basis of Georges Bizet's legendary opera. The main character of the operetta, the gypsy Frasquita, is just as eccentric, ready to commit a crime for the sake of love, a “prisoner of pride” ... But the resemblance is purely external. Thanks to Lehar's charming and unforgettable music, "Frasquita" has acquired romantic features, in which there is at the same time a lot of humor, dance and genuine drama. But the tragic motives are softened.
At present, the operetta "Frasquita" is an undeservedly rare guest on the stages of musical theaters in Russia. First of all, because of the difficulty of the vocal parts and staged effects. At the same time, each meeting of vocalists with the music of Franz Lehar is not only an exam for professional training, but also the pleasure of mastering luxurious singing material. For the Theater of Musical Comedy, the new production is already the second meeting with this operetta. The performance, staged in 1984 by director Vladimir Vorobyov with the participation of Vera Vasilyeva, Valentina Sviridova, Viktor Krivonos and Valery Matveev, became a highlight in its time. And thanks to the surviving recording made on the Leningrad radio, one can still get an impression of him today.
In his work on Franz Lehár's operetta, director Gábor Miklós Kérenyi (Hungary) combined the classical approach to the implementation of a large-scale operetta project with the need to make it attractive and close to the 21st-century viewer both in terms of text and in terms of the visual component of the production. At the same time, the romantic and passionate components of this love story with a happy ending are at the forefront.
