Franz Lehár was born in Komáron (now in Slovakia) as eldest son of a bandmaster in the Austro-Hungarian army. He studied violin en composition but was told by Antonin Dvorak that he'd better give up playing and focus on writing music.
He died in Bad Ischl.
Operettas
Individual songs from some of these have become standards, notably "Vilja" from The Merry Widow and "You are my Heart's Delight" from The Land of Smiles.
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