Die Fledermaus

О событии

Enjoy Johann Strauss' classic operetta "Die Fledermaus", with libretto by Carl Haffner and Richard Genée, in the theatre where it was performed the very first time.


"It tickles the ear and trickles through the blood all the way to the legs, and even the most sluggish person in the auditorium cannot help but nod his head, rock his body and shake his feet. One can now be afflicted by the most pleasant sea‐sickness in a box at Theater an der Wien, such is the swaying movement in the stalls on account of the enchanting sounds that Johann Strauß extracts from the orchestra with his baton.” This description of Strauß’s mixture of waltzes and galops appeared in the Morgenpost following the triumphant premiere of Die Fledermaus on Easter Sunday, the 5th of April, 1874 at Theater an der Wien.

Strauß found the cryptic joke underlying this story so appealing that he finished the score in only 42 days. The sensational international success that followed made Die Fledermaus the ultimate in Viennese operetta. At the Theater an der Wien the work was performed 49 times in the first 65 days following the premiere alone. To date, the number of performances totals a remarkable 445.

In the summer of 2009 the eternally fresh, night‐loving Fledermaus returns to Theater an der Wien, the place where it was performed for the very first time.

Performed in German

Cornelius Meister, Conductor
Philipp Himmelmann, Director
Johannes leiacker, Set designer
Gesine Völlm, Costume designer
Thomas Roscher, Light designer

Kurt Streit, Gabriel von Eisenstein
Nicola Beller Carbone, Rosalinde
Juanita lascarro, Adele
Florian Boesch, Dr. Kalke (Frosch)
Jacek laszczkowski, Prinz Orlofsky
Rainer Trost, Alfred
Markus Butter, Frank
Erik Årman, Dr. Blind

ORF Radio‐Symphonieorchester Wien
Arnold Schoenberg Chor (Chorus master: Erwin Ortner)