Vienna Music and Film Festival

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss Jr., his operetta The Queen’s Lace Handkerchief will return to the stages of European and world theatres. The seventh operetta of the Waltz King from 1880 immediately became his greatest success. This was helped by the fact that the operetta was obviously a parody based on the rebellious Crown Prince Rudolf, whose liberal ideas caused problems for the Habsburg Monarchy. Opereta describes Portugal under the rule of an unscrupulous prime minister who wants to sell the country to the Spanish crown. Since its young king is interested neither in politics nor his queen, but exclusively devotes himself to truffle treats and extramarital adventures, Portugal is threatened with ruin. Fortunately, the poet Cervantes, fleeing from his persecutors, ends up in Lisbon, where he interferes in state affairs in a humorous way, saves the country and gets plenty of inspiration for his satirical novel Don Quixote. The work suddenly disappeared from the theatrical repertoire after the suicide of Crown Prince Rudolf in Mayerling in 1889, however, Strauss used the main musical motif of the operetta in his concert waltz Roses from the South, which is still very popular today. The operetta The Queen’s
Lace Handkerchief abounds with beautifully catchy melodies, and the fact that Strauss primarily used waltzes in it, although the action takes place in Portugal, leaves no doubt as to which monarchy is being ridiculed here...

70 years of the Austrian Cultural Forum in Zagreb
200 years of the birth of Johann Strauss Jr.

Note:
In case of unfavorable weather conditions, the event will be cancelled.