About the work
Giuditta is a musical comedy in five scenes with music by Franz Lehár and a libretto by Paul Knepler and Fritz Löhner-Beda. It was Lehár's final stage work and premiered on 20 January 1934 at the Vienna State Opera, conducted by the composer himself with Jarmila Novotná and Richard Tauber in the leading roles.
Plot
Giuditta leaves her older husband Manuele for the young officer Octavio and flees with him to North Africa. When Octavio is transferred, she stays behind and builds an independent life as a dancer, courted by wealthy admirers. Years later the two meet again in a European bar, but the now embittered Octavio rejects her advances.
Cultural significance
Unusually for an operetta, the work ends without reconciliation and moves formally closer to grand opera. The premiere was broadcast live by more than 120 radio stations, and the aria "Meine Lippen, sie küssen so heiß" remains one of Lehár's best-known numbers.