MIXED SUCCESSES

GEORGE COLERICK writes about
the operettas of Franz Lehár

Before the broadcasting era, the most performed and popular musical world-wide had been The Merry Widow (1905). From its Vilya idyll, witty Cavalier song, the best known of all sung waltzes, the male knees-up in tribute to the ladies and the night club finale, its vivaciousness, colour and contrasts excelled. It was first taken as following the mild satire in the manner of nineteenth century classical operetta ('golden'). Curiously, its motivating theme reminds us today of the siphoning of billions of dollars to the West by oligarchs...

FRANZ LEHAR

THE MERRY WIDOW

HUNGARY