Franz Lehár

Franz Lehár (30 April 1870 - 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer, mainly known for his operettas.

Lehár was born in Komárno (now in Slovakia) as the eldest son of a bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian army. He studied violin and composition but was told by Antonin Dvorak that he had better give up playing and focus on writing music. After 1899 he lived in Vienna. He was also wrote a number of waltzes, the most popular being Geld und Silber as well as waltzes drawn from some of his famous operettas. The era in which his music thrived came to be known as the Silver Age.

He died in Bad Ischl.

Operettas

• The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) (1905)
• The Count of Luxembourg (Der Graf von Luxemburg) (1909)
• Frederica (1928)
• Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns) (1929)

Individual songs from some of these have become standards, notably "Vilja" from The Merry Widow and "You are my Heart's Delight" ("Dein ist mein ganzes Herz") from The Land of Smiles.

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