Nurturing and preserving Imre Kálmán's oeuvre

Imre Kálmán was born on 24th October 1882 in Siófok, where he lived with his family until the age of 9. From an early age he loved music and was interested in the world of the theatre, hanging around the Summer Theatre in Siofok, next to his house, every summer. His first great success was the operetta The Hussars in 1908, which was performed 144 times and was also staged in Vienna and Prague. After the world premiere, Imre Kálmán moved to Vienna, followed by performances in New York, Moscow, London and Rome. From Vienna, he later moved to Paris and then to America, from where he returned only after World War II. He died in Paris on 30 October 1953, and was buried in Vienna in accordance with his wishes. His works include many great operettas such as The Czardas Queen (1915), La Bayadère (1922), Countess Marica (1924) and The Duchess of Chicago (1928). In 1993, the town of Siófok awarded Imre Kálmán the posthumous title of honorary citizen of Siófok. His name is preserved in the Imre Kálmán Memorial House at his birthplace, where visitors can learn about his life and work, and in the Imre Kálmán Community Centre, which plays an important role in the cultural life of Siófok and in the preservation of the memory of Imre Kálmán's work. The music pavilion in Millenium Park in the heart of the town also pays tribute to the operetta composer, where Imre Kálmán's melodies are performed and a sculpture of Imre Kálmán by sculptor Imre Varga can be admired. Throughout the 140 years of Imre Kálmán, events and programmes related to the King of Operetta have been held in the town. As part of its year-long series of special events, the community centre hosted a series of talks and field events with artists awarded the Imre Kálmán Memorial Plaque: the host was Károly Peller, whose guests included Marika Oszvald, Bori Kállay, Trixi Teremi, Andrea Zsadon and Tibor Szolnoki. The talks were always accompanied by a gastro-show, during which a favourite dish of Imre Kálmán's was prepared and tasted, courtesy of Ildikó Madarász, the Housewife of the Countryside.    During the already successful summer Downtown Evenings, the city continues to treat operetta lovers to open-air operetta performances every week in 2023 and again this year, the week-long festival 'Imre Kálmán Memorial Days', which will take place at the end of October, supported by the Veszprém 2023 ECoC project, will celebrate the composer's birthday with a large-scale programme of shows featuring renowned artists and colourful events for all ages. In May, a new temporary exhibition entitled ''Written by Life - Composed by Imre Kálmán'' opened at the Imre Kálmán Memorial House, featuring the composer's most successful operettas. The exhibition included theatre posters, photographs and newspaper articles recalling the successes of the time, but also a behind-the-scenes look at the dressing room of the prima donna. From September, the Balaton Regional Historical Research Institute and Library presented an exhibition of documents related to the life and work of Imre Kálmán.