"Hopsa" is the name of the first Swiss musical that launched Paul Burkhard's global career. Now Bühne Burgäschi is bringing Paul Burkhard's first work back to the stage.
A carefree exclamation becomes the starting signal for a global career: "Hopsa" is the name of the play that made the young composer Paul Burkhard famous overnight in 1935. Now his first work is returning to a place where theater smells of linden in early summer: Bühne Burgäschi is bringing the almost forgotten musical back to the open-air stage in Oekingen.
Paul Burkhard was just 22 years old, fresh from the conservatory - when, inspired by a fellow conductor, he dared to compose his own operetta. What was then premiered at Zurich Opera House was astonishing: a score full of rhythm, wit and surprising maturity. The critics were enthusiastic and his career was launched.
"Hopsa" was ahead of its time. Officially still described as a revue operetta, the work already followed the dramaturgy of a modern musical - with two acts, prologue and epilogue. This makes it the first Swiss musical ever. The decisive impetus for this was provided by the publisher Armin Robinson, who took the young composer to Paris and London - right into the heart of Europe's vibrant theater world.
The story of its creation reads almost like a fairy tale: In just six weeks, Burkhard composed his first operetta during the summer vacations of 1934 - still under the title "Helene Piesack". An audition in Zurich changed everything: Robinson and the librettist Robert Gilbert recognized the young composer's talent and commissioned him to write new works. Within a year, "Helene Piesack" became the completely revised "Hopsa".
The plot? An American orphan becomes - rather unwillingly - a Broadway star. Pace, humor and 16 colorful scenes drive the story forward, carried by Burkhard's catchy music. The big international breakthrough was planned in London or New York, and a film version with Frances Day was even on the cards. But the political tensions of the time put paid to these plans. So "Hopsa" was premiered in Zurich in 1935 - and from there began its triumphal march throughout Switzerland. But when Paul Burkhard's "Feuerwerk" actually made the leap to Broadway, London and Paris in the 1950s and he created an unmistakably Swiss work at almost the same time with the "Kleine Niederdorf-Oper", "Hopsa" gradually fell into oblivion. Until now: In summer 2026, Bühne Burgäschi is bringing the play back - in the open air, under the lime trees at the Hornusserhaus Oekingen. It will be the first performance in 35 years. And perhaps a new little "Hopsa" into the future.
Note: This text was translated by machine translation software and not by a human translator. It may contain translation errors.
