''Wiener Blut'' ('' Viennese Blood'' or ''Viennese Spirit'') is an

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs, and dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, length of the work, and at face value, subject matter. Apart from its s ...

named after the " Wiener Blut" waltz, supposedly with music by the composer

Johann Strauss the Younger Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ove ...

, who did not live to witness the première. Such was the popularity of the original "Wiener Blut" Op. 354 waltz until the time of the composer's death that his work would be chosen as the name of the operetta with libretto by Victor Léon and

Leo Stein Leo Stein (May 11, 1872 – July 29, 1947) was an American art collector and critic. He was born in Allegheny City (now in Pittsburgh), the older brother of Gertrude Stein. He became an influential promoter of 20th-century paintings. Education ...

set around the

Vienna Congress The Congress of Vienna (, ) of 1814–1815 was a series of international diplomatic meetings to discuss and agree upon a possible new layout of the European political and constitutional order after the downfall of the French Emperor Napoleon B ...

of 1814 to 1815. Strauss did not specifically compose any music for this

, although many of his earlier compositions were incorporated for the work. He took no active part in the musical arrangement at its conception nor any production work leading up to its première. He was content to delegate these tasks to Adolf Müller Jr. as he himself was busy with his

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

Aschenbrödel ''Aschenbrödel'' (''Cinderella'') is a ballet written by Johann Strauss II. He had written all the principal parts of the ballet, and was intending to fill in the orchestration as time permitted. However, Strauss died in 1899, and it was finishe ...

'' in 1898. However, Müller did not confine himself to the music of Johann Jr., and several dance tunes by his brother Josef were also incorporated in the score.

Performance history

The new operetta premiered at the

Carltheater The Carltheater was a theatre in Vienna. It was in the suburbs in Leopoldstadt at Praterstraße 31 (at that time called Jägerzeile). It was the successor to the Leopoldstädter Theater. After a series of financial difficulties, that theater had ...

on 26 October 1899, almost five months after Strauss' demise. Franz Jauner staged the costly project. Jauner anticipated great success at its premiere but was dejected when the work only survived 30 consecutive performances before making way for Sidney Jones' critically acclaimed operetta ''

The Geisha ''The Geisha, a story of a tea house'' is an Edwardian musical comedy in two acts. The score was composed by Sidney Jones to a libretto by Owen Hall, with lyrics by Harry Greenbank. Additional songs were written by Lionel Monckton and James Ph ...

''. On 23 February 1900, Jauner fatally shot himself at his desk at the Carltheater after his financial gamble with ''Wiener Blut'' failed, effectively

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debt ...

ing him. After five years, however, the famed

Theater an der Wien The is a historic theatre in Vienna located on the Left Wienzeile in the Mariahilf district. Completed in 1801, the theatre has hosted the premieres of many celebrated works of theatre, opera, and symphonic music. Since 2006, it has served prima ...

mounted a production of the operetta. With a slightly different

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

and musical arrangement, it caught the public eye and has since retained its popularity on stages around the world. In 2007

English Touring Opera English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Ar ...

performed a new concert production of ''Wiener Blut'' at venues throughout the United Kingdom.

Roles

Adaptations

In 1942 the operetta was adapted into the film '' Vienna Blood'', which became one of the most financially successful films of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

References

Notes Sources *Mailer, Franz, ''Josef Strauss, Genius Against His Will'', Pergamon Press, 1985 * {{Authority control Operas by Johann Strauss II German-language operettas 1899 operas Operas set in Vienna Operas Operas completed by others