As a composer Lehár started with contributions to the opera-genre but the great triumph of his first operetta Die lustige Witwe, (The merry widow), in 1905 made him clear that he had to gif his talents to the operetta. Der Zarewitsch is one of those succesful opera's. In the Wolgalied the Zarewich sings of his isolation. It all end unhappily, when he ascends the throne and is compelled to leave his beloved Sonja with whom he has eloped to Naples.
