De Falla's Hungarian Success: A háromszögletű kalap (1928)

Abstract

Abstract In this study, I examine a hitherto completely unknown subject: the Hungarian reception of Manuel de Falla's ballet pantomime, El sombrero de tres picos (The three-cornered hat). As I point out, the story of the piece began well before Falla composed his music: Alarcón's novel was published in a Hungarian translation just two decades after the Spanish original. In the first decades of the twentieth century, the Budapest Opera House (Magyar Állami Operaház) and Municipal Theatre (Városi Színház) developed intensive opera, theatre, and ballet seasons, in association with the main European capitals during the first decades of the twentieth century. De Falla's ballet was premiered in Budapest in 1927 by Diaghilev's Russian Ballet, in the Municipal Theatre under the Hungarian title A háromszögletű kalap. The piece had such success that it had to be repeated three times. What is more, a Hungarian production was premiered in the Budapest Opera House one year later and this production continued until 1963, delivering a total of 75 performances. The sources (among others the handwritten performing scores) of this latter production preserved in the National Széchényi Library and in the Archives of the Hungarian State Opera House reveal an intense work of choreographic adaptation, along with careful design of staging, costumes, lightning, and scenery effects, all accomplished by great international personalities to make this very Spanish ballet understandable to the Magyar audience. Falla's work also found a significant support in the press, highlighting both the plot's universality and the expressiveness of his music, which had made it a Hungarian success.