Roses from the South

Johann Strauss (1825-1899) became known primarily as the "Waltz King", whose compositions still enjoy unbroken popularity all over the world. Jacques Offenbach, whom he met in 1864, inspired Strauß to write operettas. He himself preferred the term "comic opera". When the curtain rose for his seventh comic opera "Das Spitzentuch der Königin" at the Theater an der Wien on October 1, 1880, the audience and critics were surprised by the richness of this music, which recalls Gioachino Rossini with its tempo and wit. Funny Couplets with Offenbach embossing showed the Waltz King Ostrich in hitherto unknown colours. The libretto on this amusing history of confusion at the Portuguese court of the 16th century comes from Heinrich Bohrmann-Riegen and Richard Genée. The music of the "Lace Cloth" has remained famous above all for the popular waltz "Roses from the South" (op. 388), which is based on the romance "Where the wild rose blossoms".