#somossy

Card Jugglers, Magnate Elza, Turfer Carolina,  and Frici Weiss, the  tussler champion – legends of the Somossy Orpheum of Budapest

The history of the present Operett Theatre located in  the Nagymező street starts with the name of Károly Somossy, the man, who „taught to party and marry-making” the aristocracy, the loose fishes, the „dzsentries”  and the new well-to-do citizens Budapest. as well. In 1884 under the 17th number of the street he started to run a place called „Orpheum”. In 1890 he bought the whole building, and by the help of the famous Viennese theatre designer duo, Ferdinand Felner and Herman Helmer he transformed it into an entertainment house, which opened in 1894.

Both the outside, both the interior design of the Orpheum was extravagant and unique by all accounts. It had (and still has) a two-storey main facade, and the entrance axe is surrounded at the entire height of the building by arched closed pediments. The entrance projection is articulated with two opening axes. The windows on the first floor are squared closed, while those on the second floor are arched. On the attics, complexing  this part of the building stands a lyre, just as indicating the function of the building. The unique character of  the theatre comes from the interesting features of the plot selected for the centre of the building.  The main facade and the entrance of the Budapest Operetta Theatre opens from the Nagymező Street, however the functions of the theatre are built in to the inside courtyards framed by houses between the Andrássy, Nagymező and Mozsár streets. Therefore the mass of the auditorium and the flyloft is not perceptible from the street. At the time of opening the actual show went on the main stage located in this „pothole”, surrounded by table with immaculate white damask tableclothes, covered silver and procelain tablewear. Everywhere goldened stuccos, velvet divans, marmor tables,  silk wallcarpets, crystal chandelieurs, huge venetian mirrors and enchanting painted puttos contributed to the luxurious furniture, not talking about the candelabers placed on the wought iron balustrades, filled – juts for the atmosphere – with oil instead of the electrical lightning introduced from the beginning in the Orpheum.

On the surrounding galleries and lodges were place for all kind of audience. Not only counts, barons, politicians, industrial captains, foreing diplomats as the Prince of Wales of that time, and indian maharajas were found among the everyday guests. Their names are even not written ont he walls  today. But all memoires of the Somossy’s Orpheum mentions the mysterious Magnate Elza, who was a daughter of a laundry woman, and nobody knows, how she became „millionere”, Patti, the card juggler, Turfer Carolina, the old, charming flower lady, who on the Hungarian Derbies regularly garlanded the neck of the winner horses, or Fridriech (Frici) Weiss, the that time Hungarian tussler champion,  who lifting up the gave marmor tables just as feathers to make array in minutes, when it was needed.