"Wolgalied" (Lehár) Rudi Schuricke 1954 

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Wolgalied [aus der Operette "Der Zarewitsch"]
Composer: Franz Lehár (1870-1948)
Lyricist: Heinz Reichert (1877-1940); Béla Jenbach (1871-1943)
Arranger: Helmut Zacharias (1920-2002)
Opening Line: Allein, wieder allein
Vocalist: Rudi Schuricke
Vocal Group: Waldo-Favré-Chor
Hammond Organ: Gerhard Gregor
Instrumental Group: Streichorchester Helmut Zacharias, Hamburg
Recording Date: 1954
Recording Location: Hamburg [?]
Record Company: Deutsche Grammophon GmbH, Hannover
Digitized by Ivan Ž., 2010
NOT to be used for commercial purposes
"Wolgalied" (Song of the Volga) is a Russian song in German language from the 1926 operetta "Der Zarewitsch" (The Tsarevitch) by Austrian composer Franz Lehár and librettists Heinz Reichert and Béla Jenbach (based on the play of the same name by Polish playwright Gabriela Zapolska). It is a song of a Russian Tsarevitch (crown prince), whose character was based on the life of Alexei Petrovich Romanov. The song was also known by its line "Es steht ein Soldat am Wolgastrand" (A soldier stands on the bank of the Volga), which is why it was related during WWII to German soldiers fighting in Russia. However, it does not refer to a German soldier; in the song, a lonely Tsarevitch simply compares himself to a lonely (Russian) soldier keeping watch on the bank of the Volga river, wondering if the Lord has forgotten him.