Paul Lincke

Paul Lincke was born on November 7, 1866 in Berlin, Germany as Carl Emil Paul Lincke. He was married to Anna Müller-Lincke.

In 1885, while in the orchestra of the Grand Theatre, Lincke fell in love with the 16-year-old soubrette Anna Mueller, whom he married a year later. His wife later celebrated triumphs with the Berlin audience under the name Anna Müller-Lincke.

In entertainment and dance music Lincke gained valuable experience at the Königsstädtischen Theater, the Belle-Alliance-Theater and the Parodie-Theater. He accompanied the musical vaudeville programs and provided his own compositions for popular singers. His Venus auf Erden ("Venus on Earth"), a revue-like one-act play was created in 1897 at the Apollo Theater in Friedrichstraße.

He went to Paris where he was very successful at the Folies Bergère for the next two years. After his return to Germany his operetta "Frau Luna" was released in 1899 for the first time and became his greatest triumph. Other musical works came into being with "Im Reich des Indra" (1899) and "Lysistrata" (1902).

In 1901 Lincke divorced his first wife, Anna. That same year he met a young actress who was known under the stage name Ellen Sousa. She played in the Friedrich-Wilhelmstädtischen Theater, and enchanted Lincke from the first moment. Sousa at first rejected his advances but Lincke was persistent. Within a few weeks she had visited his home, and they developed a deeply affectionate relationship, leading to her request to be cast to sing Frau Luna at the Apollo Theater. Sousa had hoped the connection would boost her career, but it did not. She became pregnant and left the stage before giving birth to a son. Lincke now demanded that Sousa fulfill her maternal duties and leave stage work. However, three months later Sousa was again singing Frau Luna at the Apollo.

The film business too used the music of Paul Lincke. Already in 1908 sounded his music for "Donnerwetter, tadellos" (1908).

Lincke's march "Berliner Luft" ("Berlin Air") is the unofficial anthem of Berlin. It is one of the traditional encores of the Berlin Philharmonic orchestra. The aria comes from the 1922 revision of Lincke's 1899 operetta Frau Luna, about a trip to the moon in a hot air balloon, where an adventurous party of prominent Berliners meet Frau Luna and her court. The march was originally from Lincke's 1904 two-act burlesque Berliner Luft.

With the Nazi rise to power in 1933, Lincke maintained his position and was feted by the Nazi regime. In 1937 he was awarded the Silver Medal of Honour of his native city, on his 75th birthday he was made an honorary citizen of Berlin.

After the war ended, Lincke wanted to return to Berlin. He strove in vain to obtain the approval of the Allies, which, as a native Berliner, he was required to have at that time. With the help of one American General Pierce, he moved first to Arzberg, Bavaria, with his housekeeper Johanna Hildebrandt, who had worked for him for 35 years. Lincke's ailing health was worsened by the climate there, and he moved again to Hahnenklee. He died there shortly before his 80th birthday. His funeral was held in Hahnenklee, where his grave is still maintained today.

In 1941 Paul Lincke became an honorary citizen of Berlin.

Lincke operettas include Im Reiche des Indra (In the Kingdom of Indra) and Lysistrata. The latter includes the song "Das Glühwürmchen," known in English as "The Glow-Worm". It was originally translated into English by Lilla Cayley Robinson in the early 20th century, but American lyricist Johnny Mercer later expanded and greatly revised her lyrics. His version was a hit for the Mills Brothers in 1952, and has been performed by many others.

Lincke composed the wedding dance played in the 1997 movie Titanic; it is played while the ship is going down and in the dining room in earlier scenes.