Lehár, Franz(actually, Ferenc)
Lehár, Franz(actually, Ferenc)
Lehár, Franz(actually, Ferenc), celebrated Austrian operetta composer of Hungarian descent; b. Komárom, Hungary, April 30, 1870; d. Bad Ischl, Oct. 24, 1948. He began his music training with his father, Franz Lehár (1838–98), a military bandmaster. He then entered the Prague Cons, at 12 and studied violin with A. Bennewitz and theory with J. Foerster. In 1885 he was brought to the attention of Fibich, who gave him lessons in composition independently from his studies at the Cons. In 1887 Lehár submitted 2 piano sonatas to Dvořák, who encouraged him in his musical career. In 1888 he became a violinist in a theater orch. in Elberfeld; in 1889, entered his father’s band (50th Infantry) in Vienna, and assisted him as conductor. From 1890 to 1902 Lehár led military bands in Pola, Trieste, Budapest, and Vienna. Although his early stage workswere unsuccessful, he gained some success with his marches and waltzes. With Der Rastelbinder (Vienna, Dec. 20, 1902), he established himself as a composer for the theater. His most celebrated operetta, Die lustige Witwe, was first performed in Vienna on Dec. 30, 1905; it subsequently received innumerable performances throughout the world. From then on Vienna played host to most of his finest scores, including Der Graf von Luxemburg (Nov. 12, 1909), Zigeunerliebe (Jan. 8, 1910), and Paganini (Oct. 30, 1925). For Berlin, he wrote Der Zarewitsch (Feb. 21, 1927), Friederike (Oct. 4, 1928), and Das Land des Lächelns (Oct. 10, 1929; rev. version of Die gelbe Jacke). Lehár’s last years were made difficult by his marriage to a Jewish woman, which made him suspect to the Nazis. Ironically, Die lustige Witwe was one of Hitler’s favorite stage works. After World War II, Lehár went to Zürich (1946); thenreturned to Bad Ischi shortly before his death. Lehár’s music exemplifies the spirit of gaiety and frivolity that was the mark of Vienna early in the 20th century; his superlative gift for facile melody and infectious rhythms is combined with genuine wit and irony; a blend of nostalgia and sophisticated humor, undiminished by the upheavals of wars and revolutions, made a lasting appeal to audiences. S. Rourke ed. a thematic index of his works (London, 1985).
Works
dramatic (all first perf. in Vienna unless otherwise given): operetta:Fräulein Leutnant (1901); Arabella, die Kubamerin (1901; unfinished); Das Club-Baby (1901; unfinished); Wiener Frauen (Der Klavierstimmer) (Nov. 21, 1902; rev. as Der Schlüssel zum Paradies, Leipzig, Oct. 1906); Der Rastelbinder (Dec. 20, 1902); Der Göttergatte (Jan. 20, 1904; rev. as Die ideale Gattin, Vienna, Oct. 11, 1913; rev.as Die Tangokönigin, Vienna, Sept. 9, 1921); Die Juxheirat (Dec. 22, 1904); Die lustige Witwe (Dec. 30, 1905); Peter und Paul reisen im Schlaraffenland (Max und Moritz reisen ins Schlaraffenland) (Dec. 1, 1906); Mstislaw der Moderne (Jan. 5, 1907); Der Mann mit den drei Frauen (Jan. 21, 1908); Das Fürstenkind (Oct. 7, 1909; rev. as Der Fürst der Berge, Berlin, Sept. 23, 1932); Der Graf von Luxemburg (Nov. 12, 1909); Zigeunerliebe (Jan. 8, 1910; rev. as the opera Garabonciás diák, Budapest, Feb. 20, 1943); Die Spieluhr (Jan. 7, 1911); Eva (Nov. 24, 1911); Rosenstock und Edelweiss (Dec. 1, 1912); Endlich allein (Jan. 30, 1914; rev. as Schön ist die Welt, Berlin, Dec. 3, 1930); Komm, deutscher Bruder (Oct. 4, 1914; in collaboration with E. Eysler); Der Sterngucker (Jan. 14, 1916; rev. as La danza delle libellule, Milan, May 3, 1922; rev. as Gigolette, Milan, Oct. 30, 1926); A Pacsirta (Wo die Lerche singt) (Budapest, Jan. 1, 1918); Die blaue Mazur (May 28, 1920); Frühling (Jan. 20, 1922); Frasquita (May 12, 1922); Die gelbe Jacke (Feb. 9, 1923; rev. as Das Land des Lächelns, Berlin, Oct. 10, 1929); Cloclo (March 8, 1924); Paganini (Oct. 30, 1925); Der Zarewitsch (Berlin, Feb. 21, 1927); Friederike (Berlin, Oct. 4, 1928); Das Frühlingsmädel (Berlin, May 29, 1930); Giuditta (Jan. 20, 1934). opera:Der Kürassier (1891-92; unfinished); Rodrigo (1893; unfinished); Kukuška (Leipzig, Nov. 27, 1896; rev. as Tatjana, Brünn, Feb. 21, 1905). film:Die grosse Attraktion (1931); Es war einmal ein Walzer (1932); Grossfürstin Alexandra (1934); Die ganze Welt dreht sich um Liebe (1936); Une Nuit à Vienne (1937). other: Orch. pieces, including several symphonic poems; 2 violin concertos; about 65 waltzes, the most famous being Gold und Silber (1899); more than 50 marches; various works for piano, including sonatas; over 90 songs; etc.
Bibliography
E. Decsey, F. L. (Munich, 1924; second ed., 1930); S. Czech, F. L.: Sein Weg und sein Werk (Berlin, 1940; new ed., 1957, as Schon ist die Welt: F. L.s Leben und Werk); M. von Peteani, F. L.: Seine Musik, sein Leben (Vienna, 1950); W. Macqueen-Pope and D. Murray, Fortune’s Favourite: The Life and Times of F. L. (London, 1953); B. Grun, Gold and Silver: The Life and Times of F.L. (London, 1970); M. Schonherr, F. L.: Bibliographie zu Leben und Werk (Vienna, 1970); O. Schneidereit, F. L.: Eine Biographie in Zitaten (Innsbruck, 1984); C. Marten, Die Operette als Spiegel der Gesellschaft: F. L.s “Die lustige Witwe”: Versuch einer sozialen Theorie der Operette (Frankfurt am Main and N.Y., 1988); S. Frey, “Was sagt ihr zu diesem Erfolg:” F. L. und die Unterhaltungsmusik des 20. Jahrhunderts (Frankfurt am Main, 1999).
—Nicolas Slonimsky/Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire