Der Zarewitsch

The German libretto by Heinz Reichert [de] and Bela Jenbach is based on the play of the same name by Polish author Gabriela Zapolska.

The work received its first performance at the Deutsches Künstlertheater [de] in Berlin on 16 February 1927, with Tauber and Rita Georg in the leading roles.

The plot of Der Zarewitsch is loosely based on a true story: the self-imposed exile of the son of Peter the Great, Alexei, who shirked his father's command to become a monk or take interest in the military by running away to his brother-in-law's kingdom, the Holy Roman Empire, with his Finnish mistress disguised as a page.

When the Tsarevich runs away with Sonja he believes that she is a boy adding what Richard Traubner of Opera News called an "underlying homosexual frisson" to the operetta.

[2] A 1968 complete recording with Rita Streich (soprano) and Nicolai Gedda (tenor), the Graunke Symphony Orchestra, choir of the Bavarian State Opera, and the Tchaika Balalaika Ensemble conducted by Willy Mattes [de] - German Electrola (EMI).