About the work
Edmund Eysler composed the three-act "singspiel-style" operetta "Bruder Straubinger" to a libretto by Moritz West and Ignaz Schnitzer. It premiered on 20 February 1903 at the Theater an der Wien, with Alexander Girardi in the title role.
Plot
In a fictional town on the Rhine in the late 18th century, a showman disguises the young craftsman Straubinger as a 114-year-old war veteran. Unrecognised, he meets his former love Oculi, who only recognises him as her lost lover through a shared song, while a persistent Landgrave courts her.
Cultural significance
The waltz "Küssen ist keine Sünd'" became the operetta's biggest hit and made Eysler famous overnight; it was filmed in 1950 and recorded for radio in 1951. The work remains one of his most frequently performed operettas.