Franz Lehár (1870 – 1948) Austro-Hungarian composer ("Lustige Witwe" etc...) - Autograph signed photo card with dedication to singer Helene Holeczek - 1935

Franz Lehár (1870 – 1948) Austro-Hungarian composer ("Lustige Witwe" etc...)

- Autograph and signed photo card with dedication for the singer Helene Holeczek. "Dedicated to Mrs. Helene Reich-Holeczek in memory of the wonderful concert on April 6, 1935. With warmest regards. F. Lehár"

Franz Lehár (1870 – 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe).

He is most famous for his operettas – the most successful of which is The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) – but he also wrote sonatas, symphonic poems and marches. He also composed a number of waltzes (the most popular being Gold und Silber, composed for Princess Pauline von Metternich's "Gold and Silver" Ball, January 1902), some of which were drawn from his famous operettas. Individual songs from some of the operettas have become standards, notably "Vilja" from The Merry Widow and "You Are My Heart's Delight" ("Dein ist mein ganzes Herz") from The Land of Smiles (Das Land des Lächelns). His most ambitious work, Giuditta in 1934 is closer to opera than to operetta. It contains the ever popular "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß" ("My lips, they kiss so hot").

The connection between the singer Helene Holeczek and the composer Franz Lehár was primarily based on a professional acquaintance and mutual respect within the Viennese music scene of the early 1900s. There is a documented exchange between the two.

Both were central figures in Viennese musical life. While Lehár revolutionized the world of operetta, Holeczek was active as a renowned concert and oratorio singer (frequently performing with the Vienna Symphony) and as a vocal pedagogue.

The fact that a composer of Lehár's stature maintained personal contact with her underscores Holeczek's status as one of the leading "singing masters" of her time in Vienna. She taught numerous students who later performed on the major stages where Lehár’s works were staged.

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