Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus (English: The Bat lit. The Flutter-mouse) is a comic operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Carl Haffner and Richard Genée.

Literary sources

The original source for Die Fledermaus is a farce by German playwright Julius Roderich Benedix (1811–1873), Das Gefängnis (The Prison). Another source is a French vaudeville play, Le réveillon, by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. This was first translated by Carl Haffner into a non-musical play to be produced in Vienna. However, the peculiarly French custom of the réveillon (a midnight supper party) caused problems, which were solved by the decision to adapt the play as a libretto for Johann Strauss, with the réveillon replaced by a Viennese ball. At this point Haffner's translation was handed over for adaptation to Richard Genée, who subsequently claimed not only that he had made a fresh translation from scratch but that he had never even met Haffner.

Performance history

It premièred on April 5, 1874 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria. It appears as number 19 on Opera America's list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America^[1].

Roles and role creators

• Eisenstein (tenor) Jani Szika
• Rosalinde (soprano) Marie Geistinger
• Adele (soprano) Caroline Charles-Hirsch
• Ida (soprano)
• Alfred (tenor)
• Dr Falke (baritone) Ferdinand Lebrecht
• Blind (tenor)
• Frank (baritone)
• Prince Orlofsky (mezzo-soprano) Irma Nittinger
• Frosch (speaking role)

Synopsis

Act 1, Eisenstein's apartment Partly through the inefficiency of his attorney, the stuttering Notary Blind, Baron von Eisenstein has been committed to prison for eight days for insulting an official, and he is to begin his imprisonment on that day. However, his friend, Dr. Falke, persuades him to postpone it until the following day and to accompany him to a ball at the residence of Prince Orlofsky, where he will meet the handsome ladies of the opera ballet. Falke had been at a masked ball the previous winter, costumed as a bat, but Eisenstein had left him in a drunken stupor in the middle of town only to wake up in broad daylight to the joy and amusement of the populace. Falke hopes to find an opportunity for vengeance at the coming ball; hence the eponymous title. In their apartment, Eisenstein and his wife, Rosalinde, are spending the evening. Adèle, the maid, receives an invitation to a ball but pretends that her sister is ill ("My sister Ida writes to me"), and asks for leave of absence. Eisenstein and Rosalinde discuss his attorney. (Terzett: "Well, with such an attorney."), but, when Falke arrives with the invitation to the ball (Duet: "Come with me to the souper"), Eisenstein bids farewell to Rosalinde and Adèle, pretending that he is going off to prison. (Terzett with the refrain: "Oh dear, oh dear, how sorry I am.") After his departure, Rosalinde is visited by a former admirer, the singing teacher, Alfred, who freely displays his admiration in a serenade to his former sweetheart. ("Dove, that has escaped.") Frank, the governor of the prison, arrives to take Eisenstein to jail. He finds Alfred taking his ease attired in a smoking jacket and, in order not to compromise Rosalinde, Alfred is moved by her pleas and is induced to pretend to be Eisenstein and to accompany Frank. (Finale, drinking song: "Happy is he who forgets" followed by Rosalinde’s defence when Frank arrives: "In tête-à-tête with me so late," and Frank’s invitation: "My beautiful, large bird-cage.") Act 2, A summer house in the Villa Orlovsky. Falke, who has received full power from Prince Orlofsky, has also invited the governor of the prison, Frank, the maid Adèle, and to complete the joke, Rosalinde, masked as a Hungarian countess, to be his guests at the ball. Falke introduces Eisenstein as "Marquis Renard", Frank as "Chevalier Chagrin" and Adèle as an actress. The ball is in progress (Chorus: "A souper is before us") and the Prince welcomes his guests ("I love to invite my friends"). Eisenstein is introduced to Adèle, but is confused as to who she really is because of her striking resemblance to his maid. (Ensemble and song of Adèle: "My lord marquis."). Then Falke introduces Rosalinda to Eisenstein (Czardas: "Sounds from home"). During an amorous tête-à-tête, she succeeds in extracting a valuable watch from the pocket of her husband, something which she can use in the future as evidence of his impropriety. (Watch duet: "My eyes will soon be dim"). In a rousing finale, the company celebrates (The Drinking song: "In the fire stream of the grape"; followed by the canon: "Brothers, brothers and sisters"; and the ballet and waltz finale, "Ha, what joy, what a night of delight.") Act 3, In the prison offices of Governor Falke The next morning they all find themselves at the prison where the confusion increases and is compounded by the jailer, Frosch, who has profited by the absence of the prison director to become gloriously drunk. Adèle arrives to obtain the assistance of the Chevalier Chagrin (Melodrama; Couplet of Adèle: "If I play the innocent peasant maid") while Alfred wants nothing more than to get out of jail. Knowing of Eisenstein's trickery, Rosalinde wants to begin an action for divorce, and Frank is still intoxicated. Frosch locks up Adèle and her sister Ida, and the height of the tumult arrives when Falke appears with all the guests of the ball and declares the whole thing is an act of vengeance for the "Fledermaus". (Terzett between Rosalinde, Eisenstein, Alfred: "A strange adventure"). Everything is amicably arranged (with Eisenstein blaming the intoxicating effects of champagne to his act of infidelity), but Eisenstein is compelled to serve his full term in jail (Finale, "Oh bat, oh bat, at last let thy victim escape").

Selected recordings

There are about 20 recordings of Die Fledermaus available. Some of the best known:

Film adaptations

Die Fledermaus has been adapted numerous times for the cinema and for TV:

References

External links

• Libretto to Die Fledermaus in the original German with a literal English translation from Aria-Database.com
• List of upcoming performances from major opera companies from Operabase.com
• The Guide to Operetta - Die Fledermaus