The Gypsy Baron (Der Zigeunerbaron) is an operetta in three acts by Strauss II, premiered in Vienna in 1885, with libretto by Ignaz Schnitzer, in turn based on Sáffi by Mór Jókai. During the composer's lifetime, the operetta enjoyed great success, second only to the popularity of Die Fledermaus. The scoring and the nature of Strauss's music have also led many music critics to consider this work a comic opera or a lyric opera. Its genesis was rather swift and smooth, as Strauss was no stranger to the Hungarian influences apparent in the music score. Strauss' work on the operetta was interrupted in 1883 due to nicotine poisoning and his wife's sickness. Not until 1885 was the work finally completed, with Schitzer making various revisions of the libretto to suit Strauss' style of composing such as not present in the latter's previous stage works.
