The White Horse Inn (operetta): History and Key Facts

The White Horse Inn (or White Horse Inn) (German title: Im weißen Rößl) is an operetta or musical comedy by Ralph Benatzky and Robert Stolz in collaboration with a number of other composers and writers, set in the picturesque Salzkammergut region of Upper Austria. It is about the head waiter of the White Horse Inn in St. Wolfgang who is desperately in love with the owner of the inn, a resolute young woman who at first only has eyes for one of her regular guests.

Sometimes classified as an operetta, the show enjoyed huge successes in London's West End (651 performances at the Coliseum starting 8 April 1931) and as a Broadway version; it was filmed several times. Like The Sound of Music and the three Sissi movies, the operetta and its several film adaptations have contributed to the popular image of Austria as an Alpine idyll for tourists. Today, Im weißen Rößl is mainly remembered for its songs, many of which have become popular classics.

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