The Strauss Family

A lavish costume drama from the early 1970s, The Strauss Family dramatises the extraordinary story of that remarkable musical dynasty. Spanning 75 years and encompassing both intimate human drama and political turmoil, it charts the rise of the elder Johann Strauss from humble beginnings to glittering success, through tragedy, intrigue, marriages and scandalous love affairs and intense rivalry between father and son.

Conceived by world-famous tenor Murray Dickie and earning a BAFTA nomination for Anne Stallybrass, it features some of the composers’ best-loved music as well as several rediscovered pieces, while authentic choreography and sumptuous reconstructions evoke the splendour of 19th-century Vienna.

Recorded as eight episodes, on its original transmission in 1972 the opening two episodes were combined, losing half an hour in the process; this set presents all eight episodes as originally intended.