In 1909, the Hungarian dramatist Ferenc Molnár brought the fate of Liliom, a good-for-nothing young man whom nothing in the world can help, to the theatre stage in Budapest, where the play was initially a disaster. It was only the first performance of the »Vorstadtlegende« in Vienna in the German version by Alfred Polgar that brought success for »Liliom« in 1913 and turned the rogue who thinks that Fate is giving him a hard time into Molnár's most popular figure nonetheless. Several film versions and the musical »Carousel« have adapted the action on stage, which moves between fairy tale and social drama, into other art forms. The Austrian composer Johanna Doderer, who has so far created stage works at the Vienna State Opera, Theater Erfurt and the MuseumsQuartier in Vienna, has worked with Musical State Director Josef E Köpplinger to turn Molnár's international success into an opera for the first time and exclusively for the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz – with Daniel Prohaska (Liliom), Camille Schnoor (Julie) and Angelika Kirchschlager (Mrs Muskat) in the main roles!