Although White Horse Inn was extremely successful in London and New York, neither production was ever recorded commercially. However, a 1935 radio broadcast was made with the Broadway cast starring Kitty Carlisle and 20 minutes survive on rare transcription discs which we have restored for this CD issue. British and German period recordings which best illustrate the bouncy melodic charms of this zany musical extravaganza have also been found and are contained on this release.

Im weissen Rössl – its original German title – premiered at Berlin's Grosses Schauspielhaus on 8 November, 1930 for 416 performances. White Horse Inn contrasts the dizzy clash of cultures of cosmopolitan Berlin and rural mountainside St. Wolfgang in which country bumpkins and big city slickers laugh at themselves and each other!

Britain is represented by Jack Hylton and his Orchestra with vocals by Pat O'Malley; and Rolando and His Blue Salon Orchestra with vocals by Sam Browne and Cavan O'Connor.   

To complete your listening adventures in the Austrian mountains are seven German language vocals never before heard on CD: Ilja Livschakoff's orchestra offers an authentic German dance band introduction to the score. "Und als der Herrgott Mai gemacht," a naughty Benatzky tango, elsewhere missing from the English language productions, is sung by comic actor Siegfried Arno. Marek Weber and His Orchestra capture the dance essence of "In Salzkammergut" accompanied by Das Parker Quartet.

Finally, no White Horse Inn disc would be complete without Max Hansen, the original Leopold, whose elfin charms and pixie wit enabled him to perform his signature role for more than 25 years all over. His "Im weissen Rössl" captures Leopold's tongue-in-cheek character accurately.