Lehár Festival Bad Ischl - Lehár Festival in Bad Ischl

3INTRODUCTIONDear Friends!Operetta lives!—inBad Ischl. And theever-growing numberof visitors wewelcomed here at theLehár Operetta Festivalthis past summerproves it: in 2008 over20,000 operetta fansflocked here to enjoythe lilting melodies onoffer. The public ANDthe press simply raved.In 2009 we place the accent onthings Viennese: “Wiener Blut”(“Viennese Blood”) by JohannStrauss, Jr., casts an amused eye uponthe escapades waltzing around Count Zedlauset in the Biedermeyer era. (Premiere, 11th July 2009, withMarius Burkert conducting and Wolfgang Dosch directing.)Franz Lehár mit Richard Tauber als Sou-ChongIt is the enchanting pull of the Orient in Lehár’s “Das Land desLächelns” (“The Land of Smiles”) that weaves its exotic spell overLisa, daughter of a well-to-do Viennese family. Captivated by theChinese prime minister, she follows him to his homeland in the FarEast, only to discover how untenable it is for her to be a stranger ina strange land.With both productions, we stay true to our course: a cross betweenthe classic and the innovative.Last but not least, we shall present the traditional “Kaiser Gala”—this year we welcome Kammersängerin Ulrike Steinsky as our gueststar, featuring the Lehár Festival Orchestra and the Silver Age ofOperetta with the music of Emmerich Kálmán, Marius Burkertconducting.We look forward to seeing you,Dr. Michael Lakner(general manager)