Willi Brokmeier

Paul Lincke's evergreen operetta tells the story of three Berlin friends, Steppke, Lämmermeier, and Pannecke, who visit the moon with their landlady Pusebach.

In the Temesvar Province, a landowner returned from exile marries a gypsy girl who is revealed to be the daughter of a Turkish Pasha and the rightful owner of a hidden treasure. Next to "Die Fledermaus", DER ZIGEUNERBARON is Johann Strauss’s most popular operetta. The libretto gave Strauss the chance to revel in such contrasting musical forms as the Csárdás and the Viennese waltz. The style of the lied forms and ensembles is so original and finely balanced that the "Gypsy Baron" can truly be called a comic opera. Among the leading names of the stellar cast in this exuberant 1975 film of the operetta are Wolfgang Brendel, Ivan Rebroff, Janet Perry, Ellen Shade, Martha Mödl and, in the role that launched his career, Siegfried Jerusalem as Sándor Barinkay.

On their hike, the two friends Hans and Richard arrive in the Black Forest village of Sankt Christoph on the eve of St. Cecilia's Day, where they find accommodation in the house of the respected cathedral choirmaster Blasius Römer. There they meet his employee Bärbele, who is in love with Blasius Römer. A little later, the attractive Malwine arrives in the village from Berlin and sets her sights on Hans. However, Malwine is rejected by Hans on the evening of the Cäcilienfest dance, who decides in favor of Bärbele, who is shunned by the locals as the niece of the 'Muhme', a woman known as a 'witch'.