Felix, Hugo

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Felix, Hugo

Felix, Hugo, Austrian composer; b. Vienna, Nov. 19, 1866; d. Los Angeles, Aug. 14, 1934. Although he earned a Ph.D. in science from the Univ. of Vienna, he opted to pursue a career as a composer of light theater scores. His first operetta, Die Katzchen, was successfully premiered in Lemberg in Jan. 23, 1890. His first Vienna success came with his fourth operetta, Rhodope (Feb. 1, 1900). He then had a substantial hit with Madame Sherry (Berlin, Nov. 1, 1902), which subsequently was played throughout Europe. His Les Merveilleuses or The Lady Dances was first performed in London on Oct. 27, 1906). After the premiere of Tantalizing Tommy (N.Y., Oct. 2, 1912), he brought out the successful score The Pearl Girl(London, Sept. 25, 1913). His subsequent theater scores were composed for N.Y., among them Pom-Pom (Feb. 28, 1916), Lassie (April 6, 1920), The Sweetheart Shop (Aug. 31, 1920), and Marjolaine (Jan. 24, 1922).

—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire