Gräfin Mariza (Countess Mariza): Höre ich Zigeunergeigen (I hear gypsy fiddles)

Kálmán settled in Vienna after the encouraging reception of his first operetta – Tatárjárá in the original Hungarian, Ein Herbstmanöver in the German version – at the Theater an der Wien in 1909. He remained in Vienna until the Anschluss thirty years later, writing a string of operetta successes, including above all Die Csárdásfürstin (The Gypsy Princess or The Csárdás Princess) in 1915 and Gräfin Mariza (Countess Mariza) in 1924. Most of them are set in Hungary, like Gräfin Mariza, or include important Hungarian episodes so that Kálmán could legitimately indulge his love of Hungarian-gypsy music. Following the precedent set by Johann II in Der Zigeunerbaron, he always contrived to combine the Hungarian element with the required proportion of Viennese waltzes.

One of the attractions of the Hungarian castle owned by Countess Mariza is its gypsy band, which is the first thing she asks for when she returns to her estate after a long absence. She greets the sound of gypsy fiddles, appropriately enough, with a csárdás, most effectively alternating slow reflective music with stylishly lively dance episodes.