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Ralph Benatzky (5 June 1884 – 16 October 1957) was a Czech-Austriancomposer. He composedoperas andoperettas, such asCasanova (1928), Die drei Musketiere (1929),The White Horse Inn (1930) andMeine Schwester und ich (1930).
He was born Rudolf Josef František (Rudolph Josef Franz) Benatzky on 5 June 1884 inMoravské Budějovice,Moravia, Austria-Hungary. He was born to a Czech mother and ethnically German father, who taught at a German school. From 1899, he studied at areal school inLitoměřice, but was soon expelled. He continued his studies inVienna. He graduated fromGerman studies at theUniversity of Vienna and received a doctorate in music at theGerman Charles-Ferdinand University inPrague. He was a pupil ofAntonín Dvořák.[1][2][3]
His first job after his studies was as a conductor andkapellmeister in Munich, and in the following years he worked in several small cabarets, for which he wrote songs, lyrics and smaller operettas. In 1914, he became the director of the Rideamus cabaret in Vienna. In 1913, his first full-length operettaDer lachende Dreibund premiered inBerlin, but it was not until the operettaLiebe im Schnee, which premiered in Vienna in 1916, that he achieved success. Further successes were the operettasPrinzchens Frühlingserwachen andYuschi tanzt, performed mainly in Austria. Following their success, he moved from Austria to Berlin in 1930, where he became a popular author of musical comedies. Here he wrote best known works, the operettasThe White Horse Inn (1930) andMeine Schwester und ich, which were international success.[1][2]
Benatzky was twice married to Jewish women:Josma Selim, a singer, and Melanie "Mela" Hoffmann, a dancer.[3] For that reason, Benatzky was often mistakenly referred to as Jewish due to an error published in a book of Jewish musicians during World War II.[4]
Because of his Jewish wife, Benatzky had to leave Germany and went to the United States. Here he also worked inHollywood, but did not achieve success.[1][2]
In 1946, after World War II ended, Benatzky returned to Europe and lived in Switzerland. He died on 16 October 1957 inZurich, aged 73.[3] He is buried inSt. Wolfgang im Salzkammergut, Austria, where the plot of his most famous operettaThe White Horse Inn takes place.[1]
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