Der Zigeunerbaron is Strauss's second most popular operetta after Die Fledermaus. Its 1885 premiere had political resonance; the plot popularized the Dual (Austro-Hungarian) Monarchy which was to come to an end with the First World War. The aria Ja, das Schreiben und das Lesen is sung in the first act by Kálmán Zsupán, a wealthy pig farmer.