Lehár, Franz

(1870–1948)

   Born in Komárom, at that time in Hungary and now largely in Slovakia, where it is named Komárno, the future master of the 20th-century Viennese operetta was the son of a military bandmaster. The elder Lehár’s postings took him and his family all over the Habsburg lands. In the process his son became broadly acquainted with the many indigenous forms of music found throughout the dynasty’s lands; his own work was quite consciously embellished with Slavic tonal coloration.

   The composer himself trained as a military musician, an experience that may account for the acute sense of rhythm and orchestral sonority with which he wrote for the musical theater. But he was something of an innovator in his own right, especially in the merger of song and dance sequences that made his productions all the more captivating. The Merry Widow (1905), a worldwide success, and The Count of Luxembourg (1909), epitomized his style. Lehár aspired to writing opera as well. Deeply impressed by the voice and talents of the famous contemporary tenor Richard Tauber, he dreamed of writing a major role for the singer. He also hoped to be a musical successor to Giacomo Puccini, the preeminent Italian opera composer of the early 20th century. Lehár’s most notable attempt at opera was Giuditta, a classic conflict of duty and desire, which premiered at the Vienna State Opera in 1934. Though it was frequently performed for some time after that and contained a couple of arias that became popular songs—“My Lips Kiss Passionately” was one—it has never been established in the repertory.