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Austrian composer and conductor, renowned as one of the principal founders of the Viennese operetta tradition.Born Francesco Suppè Demelli in Spalato, Dalmatia (now Split, Croatia).Moved to Vienna to study law but pursued music, studying composition.Became a prolific conductor at various Viennese theaters.Composed over 200 stage works, including operettas, farces, and Singspiels.Achieved lasting fame for his sparkling overtures like 'Light Cavalry' and 'Poet and Peasant'.

• He adopted the more Germanic name 'Franz von Suppé' early in his career to assimilate into Viennese musical life.
• His early work was heavily influenced by Gaetano Donizetti and Gioachino Rossini before he found his distinct voice in operetta.
• He is often called the 'Viennese Offenbach' due to his role in establishing the local operetta scene, inspired by Jacques Offenbach's Parisian successes.
• Despite composing numerous full operettas, his standalone overtures remain his most popular and frequently performed works worldwide.
• He died of natural causes in Vienna at the age of 76, leaving an unfinished opera, 'Das Modell'.
• Suppé claimed noble descent (hence 'von'), though the exact validity of this claim is sometimes debated by historians.