Theater an der Wien: This famous Vienna theatre was built in Vienna by Schikaneder, the librettist and first Papageno for Mozart's Die Zauberflöte (The Magic Flute). It was the largest and most lavishly equipped at that time and could hold 2,200 people, larger than the Vienna Staatsoper (State Opera House) today. The main curtain could be raised and lowered with pulleys. Until then stagehands had to jump from the loft, acting as counter-weights, to lift the curtain. On the roof he erected a larger-than-life statue of himself as Papageno. The theatre was the site of the premières of many operettas including Die Fledermaus and The Merry Widow and is still in use today. There, Schikaneder commissioned the opera Fidelio from Beethoven and helped underwrite the expense of producing it.

Prater: The Prater is Vienna's most famous park and pleasure ground. The land was bought in 1560 to be used for hunting for the court but was closed to all others for fear of poaching. In 1766 Emperor Joseph II opened it to the public. Although hunting still went on until 1920, people gradually began to establish cafés and restaurants there. In 1896, during Straus's time, was constructed its the famous Ferris wheel, about 210 feet tall. This was used as a watchtower during World War I. Now there are about 200 independently owned attractions including a planetarium, a hall of mirrors, a merry-go-round, go-cart, etc., and well as a variety of eating places.

Carltheater: This was the second most important theater for musical plays after the Theater an der Wien (above).

London Version: Lyric Opera's text is adapted from that of the original German version of the book and the score of the London version prepared by Basil Hood and Adrian Ross. A translation by Lyric Opera's Leon Natker from the original German was used by Jack Montgomery to prepare the spoken dialogue and revise some of the song lyrics.

Prince Consort: This is a reference to the title of the short story on which A Waltz Dream was based: Nur der Prinzgemahl (Only the Prince Consort).

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Revised March 2009
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