Operetta
Das Land des Lächelns
«Immer nur lächeln und immer vergnügt, immer zufrieden, wie’s immer sich fügt, lächeln trotz Weh und tausend Schmerzen» – «Always smile and always be cheerful, always satisfied, no matter what happens, smile in spite of your sorrows and a thousand aches and pains» sings Prince Sou-Chong setting the melancholic tone for this operetta, which even ends tragically. Das Land des Lächelns belongs to Lehár’s interwar works, which are stylistically distant from the frivolous Viennese operettas from the turn of the century. But Lehár still enjoyed global success with this new sound, thanks in no small part to the hit «Dein ist mein ganzes Herz».
