1. Southern Hungary
2. Near a ruined castle in the same area
3. Vienna

• Count Peter Homonay, tenor or high baritone
• Count Ludovico Carnero, bass-baritone
• Sándor Barinkay, tenor
• Kálmán Zsupán, bass-baritone
• Arsena, soprano
• Mirabella, contralto or mezzo-soprano
• Ottokar, tenor
• Czipra, mezzo-soprano
• Saffi, soprano

The composer spent two years’ work on this operetta, with obvious result. In close co-operation with the librettist, Johann Strauss Jr. has created a masterpiece, harmonically and melodically magnificent, wunderfully scored. Almost all its music is world-famous, for example the brilliant overture, Barinkay’s entrance-song, Zsupán’s very earthy song, Saffi’s csárdás, the free-love duet, the treasure-waltz, the gripping recruiting song and so on.

A charming rogue seeks the hand of a Hungarian swine-breeder’s daughter. The young lady, who has a secret relationship with a worthless cox-comb, tells him not to come back before he is a baron, at the least. Shortly afterwards he is made a wojwode by a troupe of gypsies, a title among them which is equal to that of baron. This does not satisfy the lady, who dislikes gypsies and gypsy-barons alike. The young man then chooses the poorest of the gypsy-girls to be his bride. When the poor girl turns out to be a Turkish princess, he feels unworthy of her and goes into the army. The third act brings a happy ending.