Ralf Benatzkys immensely popular operetta Im weissen Rossl premiered in Germany in 1930, followed by London the following year and Paris in the latter half of the decade. It made it to the US where it played under another name on the Great White Way. This echt-Austrian work had first been popularized as a play shortly before the turn of the 20th c. This 2008 staging was celebrated as a reference performance for future attempts. Directed by Rolf Langenfass and conducted by Rudolf Bibl, the cast includes Harald Serafin as the Austro-Hungarian head-of-state Kaiser Franz Joseph II.

The latest Gasperlmaier case has almost ended in Ausseerland. On the day of the Pfeiffer's Day, of all days, a young musician is found dead on the Weißenbachalm pasture, and Gasperlmaier must once again embark on a criminal hunt. This time, too, the likeable police officer, Franz Gasperlmaier, can't rest. Not only is his beloved wife, Christine, traveling the world, leaving him alone with the household, but a new murder case is keeping Gasperlmaier on his toes. At the annual Pfeiffer's Day, where he is about to enjoy a fine schnapps with station commander Friedrich Kahlß, a scream shatters the peaceful atmosphere.

Damn it, life isn't kind to Hansi: his wife dies in a mountain accident. The cheerful Tyrolean becomes a taciturn man. Only the pretty radio presenter Christl manages to melt the widower's frozen heart – up in the mountain hut. Reason enough for Hansi's adversary Viktoria to sabotage the young couple's happiness...