About the work
Operetta in three acts by Oscar Straus, with a libretto by Felix Dörmann and Leopold Jacobson based on the story "Nux, the Prince Consort" from Hans Müller's collection "Das Buch der Abenteuer". It premiered on 2 March 1907 at Vienna's Carltheater.
Plot
Austrian lieutenant Niki marries Princess Helene of the fictional German principality of Flausenthurn for reasons of state, but misses the Viennese waltz music of home and escapes to a music pavilion, where the violinist and bandleader Franzi comforts him. To keep her husband, Helene secretly has Franzi's all-female orchestra brought into the palace so the "Viennese atmosphere" that makes Niki happy can take hold there too. When he realises his wife arranged this herself, the two are reconciled.
Cultural significance
"Ein Walzertraum" became Straus's greatest stage success; none of his later operettas matched its popularity, which at times even outran the run of Franz Lehár's "Die lustige Witwe". The story was filmed several times, including the 1931 Hollywood version "The Smiling Lieutenant", starring Maurice Chevalier.