Alfred Maria Willner

An Austrian librettistLamb, A. (1992) 'Willner, A(lfred) M(aria)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 1161.Wikipedia (2026) Alfred Maria Willner. (Accessed: 20 September 2026)., and one of the leading names of the Viennese operetta's silver ageWikipedia (2026) Alfred Maria Willner. (Accessed: 20 September 2026).. He took a doctorate in law at ViennaWikipedia (2026) Alfred Maria Willner. (Accessed: 20 September 2026). and worked as a journalist and composer before turning to librettiWikipedia (2026) Alfred Maria Willner. (Accessed: 20 September 2026)., writing Die Göttin der Vernunft for Johann Strauss the youngerLamb, A. (1992) 'Willner, A(lfred) M(aria)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 1161.Wikipedia (2026) Alfred Maria Willner. (Accessed: 20 September 2026)., who resented the commission and refused to attend itLamb, A. (1992) 'Willner, A(lfred) M(aria)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 1161.. Willner later reworked that text for Lehár as Der Graf von LuxemburgLamb, A. (1992) 'Willner, A(lfred) M(aria)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 1161.. With Heinz Reichert he wrote Das Dreimäderlhaus and a run of Lehár operettasLamb, A. (1992) 'Willner, A(lfred) M(aria)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 1161.Wikipedia (2026) Alfred Maria Willner. (Accessed: 20 September 2026)., and the two were the contracted librettists for the Viennese operetta Puccini was engaged to write, which became La rondineLamb, A. (1992) 'Willner, A(lfred) M(aria)', in Sadie, S. (ed.) The New Grove Dictionary of Opera. London: Macmillan Reference, vol. 4, p. 1161..