Kálmán, Emmerich (1882 - 1953)

Works such as the Csárdásfürstin, Gräfin Maritza, the Zirkusprinzessin remain even today, many decades after his death, the basis of operetta repertory. To a greater extent than his compatriot, Franz Lehár, Kálmán imbued his operettas with a Hungarian flavor. He attempted to revive the rather petrified world of turn-of-the-century operetta and give it a new direction by including refined tonal effects and contemporary forms of musical dance. Kálmán lived in the United States in the years 1940-45, and later in Paris, where he died on October 30, 1953.