About the work
Operetta in a prologue and three acts by Paul Abraham to a libretto by Alfred Grünwald and Fritz Löhner-Beda, after a play by Imre Földes. It premiered on 21 February 1930 at the Fővárosi Operettszínház in Budapest, conducted by the composer himself.
Plot
Hungarian cavalry captain Stefan escapes Siberian captivity and, in Tokyo, encounters his former fiancée Viktoria, now married to an American diplomat. The plot moves between Japan, Saint Petersburg and Hungary as old love and new duty collide, before the original couples are reunited in the end.
Cultural significance
It was the catchy melodies rather than the tangled, exotic plot that secured the operetta's lasting success on German and international stages, and it was filmed several times. Together with 'The Flower of Hawaii' and 'Ball at the Savoy', it established Abraham's international fame as an operetta composer.