The Opera Ball: Arr. Christian Pollack

From July 1880 to 1893/94 he also owned a villa in Schönau an der Triesting, which was built in 1864 for the industrialist Paul Pacher von Theinburg. Strauss mainly used them during the summer months. The operettas One Night in Venice and The Gypsy Baron, parts of the opera Ritter Pásmán and dance compositions, including Roses from the South and the Kiss Waltz, were created in this villa.

On the occasion of his 40th anniversary as an artist, which he celebrated again at the “Dommayer”, in 1884 the City of Vienna granted him honorary citizenship. When he gave up his Austrian citizenship, however, this civil right expired in 1886.

The Gypsy Baron premiered in 1885 with Alexander Girardi in the lead role, followed by some less well-known operettas. He only completed his last operetta, The Goddess of Reason, because he had signed a contract with Alexandrine von Schönerer to write the composition. Since he rejected the libretto by Alfred Maria Willner, he distanced himself from the work and did not even appear for the premiere on March 13, 1897, which again took place in the Theater an der Wien.