Leo Stein, born Leo Rosenstein (25 March 1861,

Lemberg Lviv ( or ; ; ; see #Names and symbols, below for other names) is the largest city in western Ukraine, as well as the List of cities in Ukraine, fifth-largest city in Ukraine, with a population of It serves as the administrative centre of ...

– 28 July 1921,

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austria) was a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including works adapted for a number of

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

productions. Stein wrote libretti for

Johann Strauss Jr Johann Baptist Strauss II (; ; 25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well as a violinist. He composed ...

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 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''). Life and career L ...

Emmerich Kálmán Emmerich Kálmán ( ; 24 October 1882 – 30 October 1953) was a Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian composer of operettas and a prominent figure in the development of Operetta#Austria–Hungary, Viennese operetta in the 20th century. Among his most p ...

, and

Oskar Nedbal Oskar Nedbal (26 March 1874 – 24 December 1930) was a Czech violist, composer, and conductor of classical music. Early life Nedbal was born in Tábor, in southern Bohemia. He studied the violin at the Prague Conservatory under Antonín Ben ...

. His collaboration with Viktor Léon contributed much to Lehár's success. A selection of his works includes '' Wiener Blut'' (1899), ''

Die lustige Witwe ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality ...

'' (1905), '' Der Graf von Luxemburg'' (1909) and '' Die Csárdásfürstin'' (1915). Stein is buried at the Vienna

Zentralfriedhof The Vienna Central Cemetery () is one of the largest cemeteries in the world by number of interred, and is the most well-known among Vienna's nearly 50 cemeteries. The cemetery's name is descriptive of its significance as Vienna's biggest cemet ...

Filmography

*''

The Merry Widow ''The Merry Widow'' ( ) is an operetta by the Austria-Hungary, Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár. The Libretto, librettists, Viktor Léon and Leo Stein (writer), Leo Stein, based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's ...

'', directed by

Michael Curtiz Michael Curtiz (; born Manó Kaminer; from 1905 Mihály Kertész; ; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed classic films from the silen ...

(Hungary, 1918) *', directed by Emil Leyde (Austria, 1919) *''

'', directed by

Erich von Stroheim Erich Oswald Hans Carl Maria von Stroheim (born Erich Oswald Stroheim, ; September 22, 1885 – May 12, 1957) was an Austrian-American director, screenwriter, actor, and producer, most noted as a film star and avant-garde, visionary director of ...

(1925) *''

The Count of Luxembourg ''The Count of Luxembourg'' is an operetta in two acts with English lyrics and libretto by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross, music by Franz Lehár, based on Lehár's three-act German operetta '' Der Graf von Luxemburg'' which had premiered in Vienna in ...

'', directed by

Arthur Gregor Arthur Gregor (April 9, 1890 – February 3, 1948) was an Austrian-born American playwright and film director.Goble p. 192 Selected filmography * ''The Count of Luxembourg (1926 film), The Count of Luxembourg'' (1926) * ''Say It with Diamonds (1 ...

(1926) *'' The Sweet Girl'', directed by

Manfred Noa Manfred Noa (22 March 1893 – 5 December 1930) was a German film director. Noa was described by Vilma Bánky, who he directed twice, as her "favourite director". Noa's 1924 film ''Helena (1924 film), Helena'' has been called his "masterpiece" alt ...

(Germany, 1926) *''Schützenliesel'', directed by

Rudolf Walther-Fein Rudolf Walther-Fein (20 November 1875 – 1 May 1933) was an Austrian film director and film producer, producer of the Silent era, silent and Sound film, early sound era. He directed the first full sound film to be released in Germany ''It's You I ...

and Rudolf Dworsky (Germany, 1926) *'' The Csardas Princess'', directed by

Hanns Schwarz Hanns Schwarz (11 February 1888 – 27 October 1945) was an Austrian film director. He was born in Vienna on 11 February 1888. Biography He directed twenty four films between 1924 and 1937 in both English and German. During the late silent a ...

(Germany, 1927) *'' The Csardas Princess'', directed by

Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed 1 ...

(Germany, 1934) *'' Polish Blood'', directed by

Karel Lamač Karel Lamač (27 January 1897 – 2 August 1952) was a Czech film director, actor, screenwriter, producer and singer. He directed more than 100 films in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Life Lama� ...

(Germany, 1934) *''

'', directed by

Ernst Lubitsch Ernst Lubitsch (; ; January 29, 1892November 30, 1947) was a German-born American film director, producer, writer, and actor. His urbane comedies of manners gave him the reputation of being Hollywood's most elegant and sophisticated director; a ...

(1934) *'' Kungen kommer'', directed by

Ragnar Hyltén-Cavallius Ragnar Hyltén-Cavallius (1885–1970) was a Swedish screenwriter and film director. Hyltén-Cavallius was of the screenwriters of the 1924 Greta Garbo film ''The Saga of Gosta Berling''.Kwiatkowski p.29 He directed seven films including the 1926 ...

(Sweden, 1936, based on ''Der Gauklerkönig'') *'' Vienna Blood'', directed by

Willi Forst Willi Forst, born Wilhelm Anton Frohs (7 April 1903 – 11 August 1980) was an Austrian actor, screenwriter, film director, film producer and singer. As a debonair actor he was a darling of the German language, German-speaking film audiences, as ...

(Germany, 1942) *''

Silva Silva, da Silva, and de Silva are surnames of Portuguese or Galician origin which are widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries including Brazil. The name is derived from Latin ("forest" or "woodland"). It is the family name of the Hous ...

'', directed by Aleksandr Ivanovsky (Soviet Union, 1944, based on '' The Csardas Princess'') *'' The Csardas Princess'', directed by

Georg Jacoby Georg Jacoby (23 July 1882 – 21 February 1964) was a German film director and screenwriter.Profile
, bfi.org.uk; accessed 1 ...

(West Germany, 1951) *''

'', directed by

Curtis Bernhardt Curtis Bernhardt (15 April 1899 – 22 February 1981) was a German film director born in Worms, Germany, under the name Kurt Bernhardt. Career He trained as an actor in Germany, and performed on the stage, before starting as a film director in ...

(1952) *''Schützenliesel'', directed by

Rudolf Schündler Rudolf Ernst Paul Schündler (17 April 1906, in Leipzig – 12 December 1988, in Munich) was a German actor and director. He played "Karl" in ''The Exorcist'' (1973). After finishing the film ''The Nasty Girl'', Schündler died of a heart attac ...

(West Germany, 1954) *''

'', directed by

Werner Jacobs Werner Jacobs (1909–1999) was a German film director and film editor, editor. He was born in Berlin on the 24 April 1909. He is best known for his contributions to Modebummel (1951), Der Stern von Santa Clara (1958) and André und Ursula (1955). ...

(West Germany, 1957) *''

'', directed by

(Austria, 1962) *', directed by Miklós Szinetár (West Germany, 1971) *''

'', directed by

Wolfgang Glück Wolfgang Glück (29 September 1929 – 13 December 2023) was an Austrian film director and screenwriter. His film 38 – Vienna Before the Fall'' (1987) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 59th Academy Awar ...

(West Germany, 1972) *', directed by Yan Frid (Soviet Union, 1981, based on '' The Csardas Princess'')

References

External links

* Austrian operetta librettists Austrian male writers 19th-century Austrian people Writers from Lviv Austrian Jews 1861 births 1921 deaths Burials at the Vienna Central Cemetery Writers from Austria-Hungary {{Opera-bio-stub