Franz Lehár - Kurpark, Bad Ischl, Austria - Musician Statues on Waymarking.com

The operetta composer Franz Lehár (1870 - 1948) was not only a major contributor to the “silver” operetta era, but also an international celebrity who contributed significantly to the flair of Ischl in the interwar period. As early as 1912 he had acquired the villa later named after him in Ischl, which he regularly lived in and in which he also died in 1948 (today the Lehár Museum).

The monument to his honour was erected in 1958. The bust had to be replaced in 1980 for copyright reasons. The current marble bust is signed: Franz Anton Coufal 1980, the original bust came from Heinrich Zenz (Gmunden), the model from Mario Petrucci. Polished black granite pillar, on it the portrait bust of the composer made of white marble.

Franz Lehár (born April 30, 1870, Komárom, Hung., Austria-Hungary—died Oct. 24, 1948, Bad Ischl, Austria)
was Austro-Hungarian composer of operettas who achieved worldwide success with Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow).

He studied at the Prague Conservatory. Encouraged by Antonín Dvorák to follow a musical career, Lehár traveled in Austria as a bandmaster from 1890. In 1896 he produced his operetta Kukuschka. In The Merry Widow (1905), with libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, Lehár created a new style of Viennese operetta, introducing waltz tunes and imitations of the Parisian cancan dances as well as a certain satirical element. Its success was such that two years later it was played at Buenos Aires at five theatres simultaneously. Many other operettas by Lehár followed and became well known in England and the United States under their English titles. Among them were The Man with Three Wives (1908), The Count of Luxembourg (1909), Gypsy Love (1910), and The Land of Smiles (1923). Several of his works were filmed, including The Merry Widow and The Land of Smiles. He wrote a single grand opera, Giuditta (1934), which was less successful.

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Name of Musician: Franz Lehár (Lehár Ferenc)

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