Franz Lehár – 150th Anniversary

A gala celebrating Franz Lehár, founder of the Silver Operetta Era, with Camilla Nylund, Piotr Beczała, Michael Schade, Manfred Honeck and Wiener Symphoniker.

Franz Lehár, creator of unforgettable melodies like “You are my heart's delight” (“Dein ist mein ganzes Herz“), celebrates his 150th anniversary in 2020. The Wiener Symphoniker, for whom Lehàr has been one of the central artistic companions, have initiated a fabulous project in his honour starring tenors Piotr Beczała, Michael Schade and Finnish soprano Camilla Nylund.

The Wiener Symphoniker have performed more than 120 of his compositions in a total of more than 150 events throughout their history. Lehár himself was at the conductor’s podium of the Symphoniker over 20 times. His unforgettable melodies have become the symbol of a Viennese sound culture that is still as much a matter of the heart as the orchestra's core competence.

The concert, taking place on the stage of beautiful Theater an der Wien, with the audience boxes in the backdrop, includes his most popular melodies and catchy numbers from “The Merry Widow“, “The Land of Smiles“, “Zarewitsch“, “The Count of Luxembourg“ or “Giuditta“. Manfred Honeck is conducting.

The gala is also a centre point of a new documentary on Franz Lehár by Thomas Macho.