Leo Fall (2 February 1873 – 16 September 1925) was an
AustrianAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of
operettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Operetta in French:...
s.
Born in
OlmützOlomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic...
(Olomouc), Leo (or Leopold) Fall was taught by his father Moritz Fall (1848–1922), a bandmaster and composer, who settled in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The younger Fall studied at the Vienna Conservatory before rejoining his father and the varied musical life of Berlin. His teachers in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
were
Robert FuchsRobert Fuchs was an Austrian composer and music teacher.As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in his lifetime.-Biography:He was born in Frauental an der Laßnitz in Styria in 1847 as the youngest...
and
Johann Nepomuk FuchsJohann Nepomuk Fuchs was an Austrian composer and conductor, and the brother of Robert Fuchs....
.
Leo Fall (2 February 1873 – 16 September 1925) was an
AustrianAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, usually by musical notation, for interpretation and performance. The level of distinction between composers and other musicians varies, which affects issues such as copyright and the deference given to individual interpretations of a particular piece of...
of
operettaOperetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Operetta in French:...
s.
Born in
OlmützOlomouc is a city in Moravia, in the east of the Czech Republic...
(Olomouc), Leo (or Leopold) Fall was taught by his father Moritz Fall (1848–1922), a bandmaster and composer, who settled in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
. The younger Fall studied at the Vienna Conservatory before rejoining his father and the varied musical life of Berlin. His teachers in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
were
Robert FuchsRobert Fuchs was an Austrian composer and music teacher.As Professor of music theory at the Vienna Conservatory, Fuchs taught many notable composers, while he was himself a highly regarded composer in his lifetime.-Biography:He was born in Frauental an der Laßnitz in Styria in 1847 as the youngest...
and
Johann Nepomuk FuchsJohann Nepomuk Fuchs was an Austrian composer and conductor, and the brother of Robert Fuchs....
. In 1895 he began a new career as an operetta conductor in
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
, also starting to compose. From 1904 onwards he devoted himself to composing. While less successful than his contemporary
Franz Lehár----Franz Lehár , known in Hungarian as Lehár Ferenc, was a Hungarian composer, mainly known for his operettas.- Biography :...
, he was nevertheless capable of producing melodious and well orchestrated work. After working in
BerlinBerlin is the capital city and one of sixteen states of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union...
,
HamburgHamburg is the second-largest city in Germany and the sixth-largest city in the European Union...
and
CologneCologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants...
he settled in
ViennaVienna is the capital of the Republic of Austria and also one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.7 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre. It is the 10th largest city by...
in 1906, where he died. He is buried at the Vienna
ZentralfriedhofThe Zentralfriedhof is situated in the district of Simmering, Simmeringer Hauptstraße 230–244, Vienna 1110, Austria, and is the largest and most famous cemetery among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries....
.
His best known operettas in the English-speaking world are
Die DollarprinzessinDie Dollarprinzessin is an operetta by Leo Fall. The German libretto was by Alfred Maria Willner and Fritz Grünbaum.-Performance history:...
and
Madame PompadourMadame Pompadour is an operetta in three acts, composed by Leo Fall with a libretto by Rudolf Schanzer and Ernst Welisch. It opened at the Berliner Theater in Berlin on September 9 1922 and the Carltheater in Vienna on March 2 1923.-English adaptations:...
, which had successful runs in London and New York and remained in the repertory in Germany and Austria throughout the 20th century.
Der liebe Augustin (1912;
Princess Caprice in London) is reported to have been given an unprecedented 3,360 performances. His opera
Der goldene Vogel, which was performed in
DresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in 1920 with
Richard TauberRichard Tauber was an Austrian tenor acclaimed as one of the greatest singers of the 20th century. Some critics commented that "his heart felt every word he sang".-Early life:...
and
Elisabeth RethbergThe German soprano Elisabeth Rethberg was an opera singer of international repute active from the period of the First World War through to the early 1940s. Some hailed her as the greatest soprano of her day...
was less successful.
Stage works
Operas:
- Paroli 1 act (1902)
- Irrlicht (1905)
- Der goldene Vogel (1920)
Operettas:
- Der Rebell (Vienna, 1905)
- Der fidele Bauer (Mannheim
Mannheim is a city in Germany. With 327,318 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart....
, 1907)
- Die Dollarprinzessin
Die Dollarprinzessin is an operetta by Leo Fall. The German libretto was by Alfred Maria Willner and Fritz Grünbaum.-Performance history:...
(Vienna, 1907; adapted into English as The Dollar PrincessThe Dollar Princess is a musical in three acts by A.M. Willner and Fritz Grünbaum , adapted into English by Basil Hood , with music by Leo Fall and lyrics by Adrian Ross. It opened in London at Daly's Theatre on 25 September 1909, running for 428 performances...
1909)
- Die geschiedene Frau (Vienna, 1908; adapted into English as The Girl in the Train 1910)
- Der Schrei nach der Ohrgeige (Vienna, 1909)
- Brüderlein fein (Vienna, 1909)
- Das Puppenmädel (Vienna, 1910)
- Die schöne Risette (Vienna, 1910)
- Die Sirene (Vienna, 1911; adapted into English as The Siren
The Siren is a Broadway musical production adapted from an operetta entitled Die Sirene by Leo Fall, based on a text by Leo Stein and A. M. Willner. This was first performed in Vienna on 5 January 1911....
1911)
- The Eternal Waltz (London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, 1911)
- Der liebe Augustin (Berlin, 1912) (Princess Caprice) (performed 3,360 times)
- Die Studentengräfin (Berlin, 1913)
- Der Nachtschnellzug (Vienna, 1913)
- Der Frau Ministerpräsident (Berlin, 1914)
- Der künstliche Mensch (Berlin, 1915)
- Die Kaiserin (Fürstenliebe) (Berlin, 1916)
- Die Rose von Stambul (Vienna, 1916)
- Die spanische Nachtigall (Berlin, 1920)
- Der heilige Ambrosius (Berlin, 1921)
- Die Strassensängerin (Vienna, 1922)
- Madame Pompadour
Madame Pompadour is an operetta in three acts, composed by Leo Fall with a libretto by Rudolf Schanzer and Ernst Welisch. It opened at the Berliner Theater in Berlin on September 9 1922 and the Carltheater in Vienna on March 2 1923.-English adaptations:...
(Berlin, 1922)
- Der süsse Kavalier (Berlin, 1923)
- Jugend im Mai (Dresden,1926)
Sources
Fall, Leo(pold) by
Andrew LambAndrew Martin Lamb is an English writer, musicologist and broadcaster, known for his expertise in light music and musical theatre.-Biography:Lamb was born in Oldham, England, on 23 September 1942, the son of Harry Lamb, a schoolmaster, and his wife Winifred, née Emmott. He was educated at Corpus...
, in 'The
New Grove Dictionary of OperaThe New Grove Dictionary of Opera is an encyclopedia of opera, considered to be one of the best general reference sources on the subject. It is the largest work on opera in English, and in its printed form, amounts to 5,448 pages in four volumes....
', ed. Stanley Sadie (London, 1992) ISBN 0-333-73432-7
External links