Lehar himself was the founder of the silver operetta era and was also one of the central artistic companions of the orchestra, which was founded in 1900. In the course of its history, the orchestra has performed more than 120 of his works at over 150 events. And Lehar himself stood at the rostrum of the symphony orchestra more than 20 times. His unforgettable melodies have become the symbol of a Viennese musical culture that is still very close to the orchestra's heart, as well as being one of its main areas of expertise. An important premiere venue for many of Lehar's operettas was the Theater an der Wien, where the Vienna Symphony Orchestra recorded this concert under the expert direction of Manfred Honeck. The recording features such illustrious singers from the Vienna State Opera ensemble as the Finnish soprano KS Camilla Nylund and the tenors KS Piotr Beczala and KS Michel Schade, performing the most popular melodies and rousing numbers from Lehar's The Merry Widow, The Land of Smiles, The Tsarevich , The Count of Luxembourg and Giuditta. The documentary skilfully combines certain periods of Lehar's life with excerpts of works recorded especially for this project by the world class Vienna Symphony Orchestra. The interview with Lehar which forms the framework of the film is fictitious, although the composer's answers were compiIed from reliable sources and are therefore authentic. This film provides an interesting insight into diverse aspects of Lehar's Iife and work based on authentic sources, while the music recordings offer a highly enjoyable experience for music lovers.
