Franz von Suppé

Light Cavalry

Although he was born in Split, Croatia, of Belgian descent, Franz von Suppé's nationality is defined less by his actual descendents than by the country and city where he lived and worked and had the great majority of his success, the Austrian capital, Vienna. It was here where, with assistance from the Johan Strausses and Franz Lehar, he helped to assure Vienna's reputation as the operetta capital of the world. He achieved this by pioneering operetta as a major medium for the theatre. The overture to Light Cavalry is one of his two most famous works, the other being the Poet and Peasant Overture written as incidental music for a play of the same name.