Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron)

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)

Der Zigeunerbaron (The Gypsy Baron)

Entrance March

The score of Der Zigeunerbaron - which begins with an overture cleverly designed in the shape of an Austro-Hungarian rhapsody - is an intriguing if sometimes incongruous mix of gypsy music and Viennese polkas and waltzes. The Entrance March in the third act, however, has nothing Hungarian or specifically Viennese in it since it is a brisk military march accompanying the triumphant return of the Imperial troops from a Spanish campaign. According to the composer’s instruction to the management of the Theatre and der Wien, where the operetta was first performed in 1885, “The Entrance March must be imposing. About 80-100 soldiers (on foot, on horse), camp-followers in Hungarian, Viennese (and Spanish) dress, common-folk, children with shrubs and flowers - which latter they strew before the returning soldiers - must appear.” Among the victorious soldiers is our hero, the “gypsy baron,” whose valour in battle entitles him to become a real baron - and to marry his beloved Saffi who is not the gypsy he once thought she was but, it has been revealed, a princess.