Biography.guide
Home › People › Librettist › Leo Stein
Portrait of Leo Stein

Leo Stein

1861 – 1921

Austrian operetta librettist

Don't just read it — keep itBiographies to ownE-book · Audio · Video From $7 →

About Leo Stein

Lived 1861 – 1921 (aged 60). Leo Stein was an Austrian librettist, writer, screenwriter, university teacher, playwright and lyricist.

Leo Stein, born Leo Rosenstein (25 March 1861, Lemberg – 28 July 1921, Vienna, Austria) was a playwright and librettist of operettas in the latter part of the 19th and early 20th centuries, including works adapted for a number of Broadway productions.

Stein wrote libretti for Johann Strauss Jr, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, and Oskar Nedbal. His collaboration with Viktor Léon contributed much to Lehár's success.

A selection of his works includes Wiener Blut (1899), Die lustige Witwe (1905), Der Graf von Luxemburg (1909) and Die Csárdásfürstin (1915).

Stein is buried at the Vienna Zentralfriedhof.

Filmography The Merry Widow, directed by Michael Curtiz (Hungary, 1918) , directed by Emil Leyde (Austria, 1919) The Merry Widow, directed by Erich von Stroheim (1925) The Count of Luxembourg, directed by Arthur Gregor (1926) The Sweet Girl, directed by Manfred Noa (Germany, 1926) Schützenliesel, directed by Rudolf Walther-Fein and Rudolf Dworsky (Germany, 1926) The Csardas Princess, directed by Hanns Schwarz (Germany, 1927) The Csardas Princess, directed by Georg Jacoby (Germany, 1934) The Merry Widow, directed by Ernst Lubitsch (1934) Kungen kommer, directed by Ragnar Hyltén-Cavallius (Sweden, 1936, based on Der Gauklerkönig) Vienna Blood, directed by Willi Forst (Germany, 1942) Silva, directed by Aleksandr Ivanovsky (Soviet Union, 1944, based on The Csardas Princess) The Csardas Princess, directed by Georg Jacoby (West Germany, 1951) The Merry Widow, directed by Curtis Bernhardt (1952) Schützenliesel, directed by Rudolf Schündler (West Germany, 1954) The Count of Luxembourg, directed by Werner Jacobs (West Germany, 1957) The Merry Widow, directed by Werner Jacobs (Austria, 1962) , directed by Miklós Szinetár (West Germany, 1971) The Count of Luxembourg, directed by Wolfgang Glück (West Germany, 1972) , directed by Yan Frid (Soviet Union, 1981, based on The Csardas Princess) Plays and librettos Polenblut, operetta (1913)

Biography shop

Don’t just read it —
keep it.

Full-length biographies made to live with: read them, listen on the way to work, watch them tonight.

  • E-book
  • Audio
  • Video
Browse the shop — from $7

Instant download · yours to keep · every purchase keeps this site free

Important facts

People in Leo Stein's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Leo Stein's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Leo Stein?

Austrian operetta librettist (1861–1921)

When was Leo Stein born?

Leo Stein was born on 23 February 1861 in Lviv.

When did Leo Stein die?

Leo Stein died on 28 July 1921 in Vienna.

What was Leo Stein's occupation?

Leo Stein was a librettist, writer, screenwriter, university teacher, playwright and lyricist.

What nationality was Leo Stein?

Leo Stein was Austrian.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Leo Stein

· Wikidata: Q112716

· DBpedia: Leo Stein (writer)

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Leo Stein. https://biography.guide/leo-stein/

MLA: "Leo Stein." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/leo-stein/.

Chicago: "Leo Stein." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/leo-stein/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

Portrait: Wikimedia Commons · author & licence

Page generated 2026-09-27 04:57 UTC