Show Synopsis:
The Crown Prince Prince Karl Franz grows up as lonely child in his grandfather?s castle in Karlsberg before being sent to study at the University of Heidelberg. King Ferdinand wants Prince Karl to improve his social skills, so Karl attends the university incognito, but sends his favorite tutor Doctor Engel, his valet Lutz, and Lutz?s assistant Hubert to Heidelberg with Prince Karl. Karl falls in love with the waitress Kathie and becomes friends with Detleft, Lucas, and von Asterberg. Karl?s fiancee Princess Margaret, who he has never met, arrives in Heidelberg with her mother to tell Karl that his grandfather is ill and they must return to the castle for a betrothal ceremony. Karl knows he has a duty to his family but promises Kathie and his friends he will return soon. Karl becomes king, but he is very unhappy, and Margaret is having an affair with Captain Tarnitz, despite their betrothal. Karl returns to Heidelberg for Doctor Engel?s funeral, but before he gets there, Margaret persuades Kathie to tell Karl she is engaged to another man, because Margaret has come to love Karl. Kathie tells Karl that she has given up on his love, though he vows to always consider her his one and only.
Character:
Prince Karl Franz, an intelligent and socially awkward crown prince.
Song Context:
Karl has found new friends at the University of Heidelberg and they drink and sing together to celebrate their youth.
Fun Facts:
1. This operetta was based on Wilhelm Meyer-Forster?s play Old Heidelberg.
2. This operetta was the basis of MGM?s 1954 film The Student Prince, and in this adaptation of the story, this song became a love song that Karl sings to Kathie.
3. This musical was the longest running Broadway musical of the 1920s, with 608 performances.
"Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough.
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird,
Filling all the air with dreaming
Would my heart be still it's beating
Only you can tell it how, beloved
From your window, give me greeting,
Hear my eternal vow.
Soft in the trees lies the echo of my longing
While all around you my dreams of rapture throng.
My soul, my joy, my hope, my fear,
Your heart must tell you that I am near
List from above while I pour out my love.
For you know through my life you are love?d.
Oh, hear my longing cry, oh, love me or I die,
Overhead, the moon is beaming
White as blossoms on the bough.
Nothing is heard but the song of a bird
Filling all the air with dreaming.
Would my heart be still it's beating.
Only you can tell it how, beloved,
From your window give me greeting.
I swear my eternal love."