Opera, operetta and dance. . . Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Franz Schubert Johann Strauss Sr. Johann Strauss Jr. Franz Lehar Emmerich Kalman Bruckner Orchestra Linz Peter Guth, conductor Edith Lienbacher, soprano Herbert Lippert, tenor The everlasting subject matters of the stage drama are, to name a few: differences of cultures, the struggle between good and evil, and of course love, jealousy and intrigue. The Viennese Operetta centers on these themes, primarily on the tension in relations between the aristocracy and commoners. Strauss playfully demonstrates this in his comedies of errors and royal festivities; Lehar on the other hand tends to stay close to the drama and tragedy between the wealthy and poor, at times even with a renunciation of love; as for Kalman, his works are full of ebullient vitality in a delirium of oblivion, set during the time when the monarchy perished, on the threshold of a new era. - Peter Guth