Editing Operetta (section)

===Austria–Hungary===
[[File:Johann Strauss II (4).jpg|thumb|upright|[[Johann Strauss II]]]]
The most significant composer of operetta in the [[German language]] was the Austrian [[Johann Strauss II]] (1825–1899). Strauss was recruited from the dance hall and introduced a distinct Viennese style to the genre.<ref name="Lamb Operetta" />  Strauss was highly influenced by the work of Offenbach, so much so that he collaborated with many of Offenbach’s librettists for his most popular works.<ref name="eno.org"/> His operetta, ''[[Die Fledermaus]]'' (1874), became the most performed operetta in the world, and remains his most popular stage work. In all, Strauss wrote 16 operettas and one opera, most with great success when first premiered.<ref name="Lamb Operetta" />

Strauss's satire was often generic, unlike Offenbach who commented on real-life matters.<ref name="eno.org"/>

Strauss's operettas, waltzes, polkas, and marches often have a strongly [[Vienna|Viennese]] style, and his popularity causes many to think of him as the national composer of Austria. The [[Theater an der Wien]] never failed to draw huge crowds when his stage works were first performed. After many of the numbers the audience would call noisily for encores.

[[Franz von Suppé]], also known as Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo, Cavaliere Suppé-Demelli, was born in 1819 and his fame rivals that of Offenbach. Suppé was a leading composer and conductor in Vienna and most known for his operetta ''Leichte Kavallerie'' (1866), ''Fatinitza'' (1876), and ''Boccaccio'' (1879).<ref>{{Cite web|title=Franz von Suppé {{!}} Austrian composer|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Franz-von-Suppe|access-date=2020-10-04|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref> Suppé was a contemporary to Strauss and composed over 30 operettas 180 farces, ballets and other stage works. Recently, though most of his works have been fallen into obscurity, many of them have been reprised within films, cartoons, advertisements and so on. Both Strauss and Suppé are considered to be the most notable composers of the Golden Age of Viennese operetta.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1017/9781316856024.004 |chapter=Viennese Golden-Age Operetta: Drinking, Dancing and Social Criticism in a Multi-Ethnic Empire |title=The Cambridge Companion to Operetta |year=2019 |last1=Feurzeig |first1=Lisa |pages=32–46 |isbn=9781316856024 |s2cid=211657809 }}</ref>

Following the death of Johann Strauss and his contemporary, [[Franz von Suppé]], [[Franz Lehár]] was the heir apparent. Lehar is widely considered the leading operetta composer of the 20th century and his most successful operetta, ''Die lustige Witwe'' (''The Merry Widow''), is one of the classic operettas still in repertory.<ref>{{cite grove |title=Franz Lehar |last=Lamb |first=Andrew |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.16318 }}</ref>
[[File:Lehar Lustige-Witwe KlA-01.jpg|thumb|[[The Merry Widow|''Die lustige Witwe'' (''The Merry Widow'')]] poster by [[Franz Lehár]]]]
Lehár assisted in leading operetta into the Silver Age of Viennese Operetta. During this time, Viennese Censorship laws were changed in 1919.<ref>{{cite book |doi=10.1017/9781316856024.014 |chapter=The Operetta Factory: Production Systems of Silver-Age Vienna |title=The Cambridge Companion to Operetta |year=2019 |last1=Baranello |first1=Micaela K. |pages=189–204 |isbn=9781316856024 |s2cid=213581729 }}</ref> Lehár is most responsible for giving the genre renewed vitality. Studying at the Prague Conservatory Lehár began as a theatre violinist and then took off as a composer in the Austro-Hungarian Empire. During this 1905, Lehár's ''Die lustige Witwe'' (''The Merry Widow'') paved a pathway for composers such as [[Leo Fall|Fall]], [[Oscar Straus (composer)|Oscar Straus]], and [[Emmerich Kálmán|Kálmán]] to continue the tradition of Operetta. Lehár was also one of the first composers who began to incorporate into film. [[#ftn2|[2]]]

The Viennese tradition was carried on by [[Oscar Straus (composer)|Oscar Straus]], [[Carl Zeller]], [[Karl Millöcker]], [[Leo Fall]], [[Richard Heuberger]], [[Edmund Eysler]], [[Ralph Benatzky]], [[Robert Stolz]], [[Leo Ascher]], [[Emmerich Kálmán]], [[Nico Dostal]], [[Fred Raymond]], [[Igo Hofstetter]], [[Paul Abraham]] and [[Ivo Tijardović]] in the 20th century.