Carl Emil Paul Lincke in Tear Down This Wall

Basic Information

Name: Paul Lincke

Nicknames: Father of the Operetta

Born: November 7, 1866

Died: September 4, 1946

Nationality: German

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

WORK & EDUCATION

Occupation: Composer & theater conductor who started out his professional life as a bassoonist

Education: After high school, he spent a year training with the Wittenberge City Band

FAMILY & FRIENDS

Parents: August & Emilie Lincke

Siblings: Yes, two of them

Spouses: Anna Mueller (divorced in 1901); Ellen Sousa was his baby mama, but she never accepted his marriage proposals

Children: One son with love interest Ellen Sousa; his relationship with Ellen and his son ended when Ellen married some merchant and he adopted Lincke's son as his own

Friends: The people who named a street in Berlin after him (Paul-Lincke-Ufer)

Foes: Operetta haters, maybe?


Analysis

Lincke wrote a song called "Berliner Luft" ("Berlin Air"), which is basically Berlin's unofficial anthem. Check it out here. For an English translation of the lyrics, see Page 1 of this document.

Fun fact: Lincke also composed the wedding march used in Titanic. It's the song that's playing while the ship is going down.