Der Zarewitsch (The Tsarevich) is an operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár. The German libretto by Heinz Reichert and Béla Jenbach is based on the play of the same name by Polish author Gabriela Zapolska. One his later operettas, Lehár composed the work as a vehicle for Richard Tauber, the acclaimed Austrian tenor. The work received its first performance at the Deutsches Künstlertheater in Berlin on 21 February 1927, with Tauber and Rita Georg in the leading roles. The plot of Der Zarewitsch is loosely based on a true story: the self imposed exile of the son of Peter the Great, Alexei, who shirked his father's command by running away to Naples with his Finnish mistress disguised as a page. The couple spent two years galavanting around until Alexei was compelled by his father to return. His father was paranoid that Alexei was conspiring against him and ultimately Alexei ended up being imprisoned and tortured. The Russian senate convicted him of conspiring against his father and he was sentenced to death. He died due to ill health before he could be executed, most likely resulting from the poor treatment he received while imprisoned.