and
Fritz Werner in
Ihr Adjutant, 1911 Born into a Jewish family in Vienna on 27 February 1884, Robert Winterberg was the son of journalist Friedrich W. Winterberg (1835–1908) who was the founder of the Viennese newspaper
Wiener Kommunalblatt. His mother was Pauline Schönfeld. At the age of 14, he chose to cease practicing his Jewish religion. Winterberg studied music privately with
Gustav Mahler,
Robert Fuchs, and
Hermann Graedener. At the age of 15, he produced his first music compositions which included a
piano sonata, a
string quartet, and several
art songs. A few years later, the first public concert of his music was given at Ehrbar Saal (English: Ehrbar Hall) inside the Palais Ehrbar by baritone
Joseph Schwartz and soprano
Olga von Türk-Rohn with Winterberg as pianist. In 1906, Türk-Rohn and Winterberg were invited to
Peleș Castle in
Sinaia by
Elisabeth of Romania where they gave a concert of Winterberg's music for the queen. Well received, the work enjoyed popularity both in Germany and abroad. American playwright
Anne Caldwell adapted it into an English language version for
Broadway entitled
The Lady in Red which starred
Adele Rowland. It was performed at the
Lyric Theatre in 1919 prior to going on a national tour.
Die Dame in Rot was the second of Winterberg's operettas to reach the Broadway stage. His 1915 operetta
Die schöne Schwedin (English:
The Beautiful Swede) premiered at the Theater an der Wien and was his first operetta to gain popular appeal in Vienna. It was adapted by
Sigmund Romberg,
Edgar Smith, and Matthew C. Woodward into
The Girl from Brazil. This modified version of Winterberg's operetta premiered at Broadway's
44th Street Theatre on 30 August 1916 and enjoyed a New York run of 61 performances before going on tour. Winterberg's greatest success as an operetta composer among European audiences was
Die Dame vom Zirkus (1919) and
Günstling der Zarin (1921). His operettas were staged in cities in Germany, Austria, Latvia, and Czechoslovakia during his lifetime, sometimes with Winterberg conducting or staging the performances. In 1925, Winterberg married his second wife, Hedwig Russak, in Berlin. He died of a lung infection in on 22 June 1930. == Partial list of operettas ==