Marius Burkert

Nico Dostal is generally regarded as one of the last masters of the operetta – yes, it is even said that along with Paul Abraham he rang in what may somewhat grandiloquently be termed this incredible genre’s „Gattungsdämmerung”, its twilight. The operetta singer in black face in Abraham’s „Die Blume von Hawai” sings the operetta’s swan song: „Bin nur ein Jonny, zieh durch die Welt, singe für Money, tanze für Geld. Heimat, dich werd ich niemals mehr sehn!” [I’m only a Jonny, travel around the world, sing for money, dance for dollars by the roll. Home, you I’ll never see again!] By contrast, Dostal’s „Clivia“ is anything but a swan song.

Schön ist die Welt was also not an entirely new work; it was nothing other than a reworking of Endlich allein, which had been intended for the Metropol-Theater already in 1926. This operetta, which had been staged twelve years before at the Theater an der Wien, was particularly dear to Lehár’s heart and a genuine experiment, most of all in Act II. This act is one big duet for a mere pair of singers and through-composed. In ad- dition, its setting on a mountain peak high in the Alps to which a pretended mountain climber leads a rich American woman is not exactly typical of the genre.

Schön ist die Welt was also not an entirely new work; it was nothing other than a reworking of Endlich allein, which had been intended for the Metropol-Theater already in 1926. This operetta, which had been staged twelve years before at the Theater an der Wien, was particularly dear to Lehár’s heart and a genuine experiment, most of all in Act II. This act is one big duet for a mere pair of singers and through-composed. In ad- dition, its setting on a mountain peak high in the Alps to which a pretended mountain climber leads a rich American woman is not exactly typical of the genre.

Schön ist die Welt was also not an entirely new work; it was nothing other than a reworking of Endlich allein, which had been intended for the Metropol-Theater already in 1926. This operetta, which had been staged twelve years before at the Theater an der Wien, was particularly dear to Lehár’s heart and a genuine experiment, most of all in Act II. This act is one big duet for a mere pair of singers and through-composed. In ad- dition, its setting on a mountain peak high in the Alps to which a pretended mountain climber leads a rich American woman is not exactly typical of the genre.

With the production "Wiener Frauen" (Viennese Women), the Lehár Festival 2022 presented a special work by Franz Lehár, who was an honorary citizen of Bad Ischl, with a large orchestra and a star cast: "Wiener Frauen" is considered, along with "Der Rastelbinder", to be Lehár's first operetta ever.

With the production "Wiener Frauen" (Viennese Women), the Lehár Festival 2022 presented a special work by Franz Lehár, who was an honorary citizen of Bad Ischl, with a large orchestra and a star cast: "Wiener Frauen" is considered, along with "Der Rastelbinder", to be Lehár's first operetta ever. Both operettas were sensational successes and Lehár became the new operetta king overnight. "Viennese Women" captivates with its wit, passion and temperament. Even in this early work of Lehár's, his signature is unmistakable…. This man could write catchy tunes: the "Nechledil March" was soon whistled from the rooftops - and not only in Vienna. Our complete recording is once again like a salvation!

The literary scholar and »operettologist« Volker Klotz officially certifies that the operetta Gasparone is a »model operetta, « and here this distinction is largely justified by the fact that not only the music is just right but also the libretto. And yet the mention of Millöcker's name leads many to ponder: Now who was that again? If Der Bettelstudent, his most important and most popular work is named, then what one frequently hears is: Yes, we've heard of it. But, tell us, who wrote it? Even during his lifetime it was sometimes Carl Millöcker's fate to stand in the background.