Composer. Oscar Straus studied music in his native Vienna and Berlin, and began his musical career as a conduc_tor in theaters and cabarets. Although he wrote serious music as well, Straus made his mark as a master of light opera. He composed the music for over fifty operettas, including the much-produced Waltz Dream (1907) and Chocolate Soldier. Fleeing Nazism, he settled first in France and then in the U.S. in 1940.