The Gypsy Baron (1885) as a musical monument remembering Maria Theresa? Facts, issues, controversies

Abstract

The paper shows how Maria Th eresa’s legacy was remembered and highlighted already
in the late 19th century within the realm of musical culture. Focusing on the genre of
operetta and taking The Gypsy Baron (1885) by Johann Strauss II (1825-1899) as an
example the paper touches upon the issues of propaganda and collective memory as
conjured up by musical theatre. Considered ‘a musical monument to the Austro-Hungarian
Empire’ The Gypsy Baron (originally Der Zigeunerbaron) ultimately reveals the
position the “King” Maria Th eresia cherished in the 19th century Empire, being at the
same time a fine example of the legacy of her politics. The pillars of the operetta’s plot
are wars fought by Austrians: the Austro–Turkish War and the War of the Austrian Succession
(1740-1748). The operetta is clearly the work inscribed into the specific political
situation of the late 19th century and constituted a musical response to concrete needs
stimulated by civil attitudes. Hence the situation depicted in The Gypsy Baron reflects
the multi-ethnic diversity of Habsburg Empire and the operetta’s overall message is
to glorify the cooperation between various nations as (supposedly) facilitated under
Maria Theresa’s reign.