Otto Harbach

Otto Harbach
Harbach
Harbach
Background information
Birth nameOtto Abels Hauerbach
Born(1873-08-18)August 18, 1873
Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.
DiedJanuary 24, 1963(1963-01-24) (aged 89)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Lyricist, librettist
Years active1902-1936

Otto Abels Harbach, born Otto Abels Hauerbach (August 18, 1873 – January 24, 1963) was an American lyricist and librettist of nearly 50 musical comedies and operettas. Harbach collaborated as lyricist or librettist with many of the leading Broadway composers of the early 20th century, including Jerome Kern, Louis Hirsch, Herbert Stothart, Vincent Youmans, George Gershwin, and Sigmund Romberg. Harbach believed that music, lyrics, and story should be closely connected, and, as Oscar Hammerstein II's mentor, he encouraged Hammerstein to write musicals in this manner. Harbach is considered one of the first great Broadway lyricists,[1] and he helped raise the status of the lyricist in an age more concerned with music, spectacle, and stars. Some of his more famous lyrics are "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes", "Indian Love Call" and "Cuddle up a Little Closer, Lovey Mine".

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