Joseph Beer, the composer of this operetta, was considered a compositional prodigy, allowed to skip the first four years of study at the Vienna State Academy of Music.
Composer Biography
Joseph Beer forbade performances of his prewar operettas, including Der Prinz von Schiras, after his parents and sister were murdered in Auschwitz.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Beer's music, like that of Paul Abraham, audaciously blends folklore and jazz, avoiding neither bold comedy nor sentimentality, and using vivid instrumental effects.
Critical Reception
The operetta's Viennese premiere featured a hit number, 'Du warst der selige Traum,' which received seventeen minutes of applause, including encores.
Composition History
The librettist for this operetta, Fritz Löhner-Beda, was a successful operetta librettist in Vienna who also wrote texts for Franz Lehár's Giuditta.
Cultural Impact
Joseph Beer's operetta, Der Prinz von Schiras, was performed throughout Europe, from Stockholm to Madrid, after its premiere.
Composer Biography
Joseph Beer's daughter, Suzanne Beer, discovered the complete orchestral material for the original version of Polnische Hochzeit in a suitcase under his desk after his death.
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