Ernst Joseph Maria Lert, originally Ernst Joseph Maria Levy (1883, Vienna – 1955, New York City) was an Austrian stage director, writer, composer, librettist, and music historian.
[2] Lert studied music history, piano, and singing at the University of Vienna.
In 1924 he joined the directing staff at La Scala, leaving there in 1929 to become a theatre director at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City.
[3] He spent his remaining career working as a freelance director with major theatres and opera houses internationally.
He notably directed the world premiere of Gian Carlo Menotti's Amelia Goes to the Ball which was presented on April 1, 1937 at the Philadelphia Academy of Music.