Composers Datebook

On this date in 1905, the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár conducted the first performance of his new operetta, "The Merry Widow." Lehar was sure it would be a success, but others did not share his confidence. The show's librettist, lawyer in tow, urged Lehár to cancel the premiere, and the nervous theater manager banned Viennese reporters from dress rehearsals, fearing bad advance press. After a lukewarm debut at Vienna's Theater an der Wien, "The Merry Widow" moved to a smaller, suburban theater, where it suddenly caught on. Within a year it had become a sensational hit throughout Europe. Lehár's contemporary, Gustav Mahler, was a "Merry Widow" fan, although he sent his wife, Alma, to buy the music rather than risk the embarrassment of having the director of Vienna's Imperial Opera House seen buying such a shamelessly "pop" score. Ironically, another great fan of Lehár's music was Adolf Hitler. Despite the fact that Lehár's wife and many of his professional associates were Jewish, Lehár's music continued to be performed in Nazi Germany. Lehár was 68 when Austria became part of the German Reich, and continued to conduct in Vienna and Berlin. Lehár's family was spared, but many of his former associates were forced into exile. Others were not so lucky: In 1942, Louis Treumann, who first sang "The Merry Widow Waltz" at the 1905 premiere in Vienna, died in the "model" concentration camp at Theresienstadt.