About the work
Im Reiche des Indra is an operetta by Paul Lincke to a libretto by Heinrich Bolten-Baeckers and Hans Brennecke, based on a story by Leopold Ely. Its original one-act version premiered on 18 December 1899 at Berlin's Apollo-Theater; the two-act version usually performed today dates only from 1926.
Plot
In the fictional island kingdom of Muckipur, Queen Sita is unhappily married and longs for a more heroic husband. A Berlin reporter is drawn into court intrigue, secretly photographs the queen, and is sentenced to death after a battle before a magic ring saves him and reunites the royal couple.
Cultural significance
It was Lincke's second big operetta success after 'Frau Luna', combining exoticised settings with his characteristic Berlin couplet style; the overture and individual numbers were already published in 1900 by the Apollo-Verlag.