About the work
Operetta in three acts by Paul Abraham to a libretto by Alfred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda, financed by the coffee magnate Julius Meinl II to provide a leading role for his wife, the singer Michiko Tanaka. It premiered on 21 December 1935 at Vienna's Theater an der Wien under its full title, "Dschainah, das Mädchen aus dem Tanzhaus" ("The Girl from the Dance Hall").
Plot
Baron Bogumil steps in as an emergency bridegroom when his friend, naval officer and novelist Pierre Claudel, fails to return in time for his own wedding to Yvonne. Posted to Vietnam, Claudel has rescued the courtesan Dschainah from a predicament by marrying her; once Yvonne's mother arrives, Dschainah ends up with a maharajah and the entanglements are resolved.
Cultural significance
Since China was already claimed musically by Lehár's "The Land of Smiles" and Japan by Puccini's "Madama Butterfly", the librettists chose Vietnam as their exotic setting. Despite 57 performances, the operetta could not save the heavily indebted Theater an der Wien from bankruptcy and was then forgotten for decades.