Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppé-DemeIIi, shortened to the more Austrian Franz von Suppé, found conducting, playing, and singing opportunities in Vienna’s opera houses as a young man. Considered a “two-hit wonder”, his range of stage works including incidental music, farces, and ballets, have largely disappeared virtually without trace. Of his over 40 operettas, a small handful remains in the repertoire.

The overture to Light Cavalry begins with trumpets in processional, sweeping into the Allegro section. This leads directly into the most famous moment, a portrait of the Hussars as they gallop along in their finery, introduced by trumpets. A full-blooded gypsy section represents the elemental passions at stake, before the return of the Hussars’ horseback ride carries to the triumphant close.