Die Kaiserin

Conspiratorial plots, intrigues, and affairs at the court of the legendary Austrian Empress Maria Theresa dominate the scenario of this marvelous musical love story featuring the Habsburg sovereign. However, the true focus of this wrongly forgotten operetta by Leo Fall is formed by the steadfast love between the empress and her prince consort Francis Stephen of Lorraine. Although the librettists Brammer and Grünwald accurately captured the work's historical background, in some passages they ignored the historical facts while developing the action. The reason behind this practice is to be found in the requirements of the operetta genre around 1915. The operetta was supposed to keep abreast of the times both in its music and content while avoiding all-too-obvious references to current political events. Fall's Empress celebrated its acclaimed premiere at Berlin's Metropoltheater on 16 October 1915. His work not only met all the requirements of up-to-date music and content but also won the hearts of audience members. Fritzi Massary once commented as follows on the function of the operetta genre: "The operetta, I believe, will long endure as an art genre because it satisfies a wish that is deeply rooted in the human heart - the wish to see life as mirthful play."