Fred Liewehr

Lehar's The Land of Smiles touches the heart as it provides unforgetable melodies from start to finish. There are no weak links in the cast. Too often, we think of operetta as musical fluff, tired cliches, and obligatory dance scenes when things start slowing down. Not so in this classic operetta. We feel the pain of loss suffered by the two main characters, who make their roles natural and believable. There is more to this work than "Yours Is My Heart Alone." There is dramatic consistency and people you find yourself caring about as much as the music, the costumes, and the colorful sets.

A politician is afraid about his reputation

The 13-year-old Ludwig is to have for every joke. At boarding school he cuts his stern teacher, Captain a. D. Semmelmaier, during the nap from the beard. The angry pedagogue then sends the spoiled flail back to his beloved Bavarian village. The long-suffering mother persuades the rector to resume her reforming boy at the Latin school. Everything seems to be working out for the better, but the upcoming marriage of his sister Ännchen with the Berlin beer brewer Karl Schultheiss presents Ludwig with new challenges.

Gustl Leubelfing, daughter of the mayor of Nuremberg adores the king of the Swedes. So she happily substitutes her brother as Gustav Adolf's page instead of marrying her fiancée Roland. Of course she has to hide that she's a woman, especially when they go into war against Wallenstein.

Vickie, short for Victoria, is crowned Queen of England and as such needs to learn the responsibilities of her new post.

A biography of the eighteenth century Habsburg Empress Maria Theresa.

Begun in Austria in 1944/45, finished and released in 1949, this is a biography of the minor Austrian composer Carl Michael Ziehrer, who overcomes hypersensitivity in competitive situations which leads initially to failures in both career and romance.

A long time-span of Austrian history (from the late 19th century to the years after world war II) is reflected in the ups and downs of a family of piano-makers in Vienna.

A drama about marriage in a small town, which takes place at the turn of the 19th into the 20th Century.

A musical comedy directed by Willi Forst.

This semi-musical stars Lenv Marenbach as Jana, a naïve farm girl who falls in love with a neighbor boy. It isn't long before she realizes that the romance is a mistake, but by now the couple is engaged. At the very last moment, Jana balks at the altar and runs off with her true love, her fiance's brother. This is the German-language version of the Czech film, JANA, starring Helena Busova.