was a well-known Jewish Austrian-Hungarian librettist. He collaborated with Leo Stein to produce the libretto of Franz Lehár's romantic operetta The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe).
Hirschfeld began a career as a journalist, and then branched out in the theatre under the pseudonym that was to become familiar - Viktor Léon. Between 1880 and 1884 he wrote one-act libretti for Vienna's Ronacher variety theatre, the Carl-Schultze-Theater in Hamburg, and the German Theatre in Pest, collaborating with composers such as Max von Weinzierl, Rudolf Raimann and Alfred Zamara. Then came a three-act collaboration with Zamara, Der Doppelgänger, produced at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in Munich in September 1886.
He then wrote a libretto for Johann Strauss. Alas, Simplicius, a story of the Thirty Years' War, produced at the Theater an der Wien on 17 December 1887, was scarcely a success, even after being revised twice. There followed a string of further creations with composers such as Zamara, Joseph Hellmesberger, Jr., Alphons Czibulka, Rudolf Dellinger, and even Franz von Suppé (his last work, Das Modell), as well as German adaptations of foreign works that included Arthur Sullivan's The Yeomen of the Guard and Edward Jakobowski's Erminie.
Not until 1898 was Léon associated with a lasting success, when he collaborated with Heinrich von Waldberg and composer Richard Heuberger on Der Opernball (The Opera Ball), produced at the Theater an der Wien that January. Léon's profile was thereby significantly raised, and a string of further works in 1898 and 1899 included another enduring success in Wiener Blut (Vienna Blood), which Adolf Müller Jr. compiled for Vienna's Carltheater from published dance music by the ailing Waltz King, Johann Strauss. This was the first collaboration of the successful partnership of Léon and Leo Stein.
On some of his later works, Victor Léon collaborated with his younger brother Leo, who wrote under the name of Leo Feld. Léon was also director of many of his operettas.
Léon remained active well into the 20th century, providing the libretto for Lehár's Das Land des Lächelns (1930), among other works.Although not successful himself, his career brought him in contact with the biggest stars of Viennese opera during his time.
Léon's property was confiscated after Austria's annexation by Nazi Germany in 1938. He died of starvation while in hiding in 1940 at the age of 82
