Straus, Oscar (1870-1954), an Austrian composer, was the last of the successful Viennese operetta composers. Straus composed more than 40 operettas. The most popular were A Waltz Dream (1907) and The Chocolate Soldier (1908). His last successful operetta, Three Waltzes (1935), used the waltz music of Johann Strauss, Sr., and Johann Strauss, Jr., in the first two acts and his own music for the third act.
Straus was born in Vienna. Beginning in 1900, he worked for several years composing music for a Berlin cabaret, writing about 500 cabaret songs. He lived in New York City and Hollywood from 1940 to 1948, when he returned to Austria. In addition to his operettas, Straus composed several motion-picture scores as well as a serenade for string orchestra, a piano trio, and many solo piano pieces.
