SCHOENBRUNN PALACE OPERA

DIE FLEDERMAUS (The Bat)

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Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus, with its perfect mix of music and comedy, represents the highpoint of Viennese operetta... Herr Eisenstein, a wealthy Viennese gentlemen, has been sentenced to a short stay in prison, but he decides instead to go to a masked ball at the home of an exotic prince. There he encounters his own wife - disguised as a Hungarian countess. It turns out that her lover has been taken to prison in place of her husband, where he is under the eye of a drunken jailkeeper ... You can discover how everything turns out at the Schönbrunn Palace Theatre.

Operetta in three acts by Carl Haffner and Richard Genée adapted from "Le Réveillon" by Meilhac and Halévy

Music by Johann Strauss (1825-1899)

Orchestra and chorus of the Musik Theater Schönbrunn

Sung in German

Running time: 2h45

Act 1

All the principal characters seem to be drawn as by a magnet to Prince Orlofsky's ball, with the exception of the tenor Alfred, who makes fleeting appearances on the fringe of events. Adele, a housemaid, is invited (or so she thinks) by her sister Ida and has to make up a heartrending story about a bedridden aunt in order to be given the night off. Her employer, Eisenstein, a gentleman of ample means, is persuaded by his friend Dr. Falke to enjoy himself at Orlofsky's instead of starting a spell in prison, to which he has been sentenced for insulting an official. In doing so Falke is pursuing a plan of his own, for on one occasion Eisenstein had made him look a fool in public by getting him drunk at a masked ball and then letting him find his way home dressed as a bat.
Now it is Falke's chance for revenge. For this purpose he also invites Eisenstein's wife Rosalinda to the ball. Rosalinda is in a flurry because as soon as Eisenstein has gone off (to serve his sentence, she presumes) Alfred, a former admirer of hers, turns up and pays court to her. He is then arrested by Frank, the governor of the prison, who mistakes him for Eisenstein. Preening himself for making this arrest, Frank too goes to the ball.

Act 2

All of Dr. Falke's schemes go smoothly. Much to Eisenstein's consternation, he comes upon his housemaid Adele, who stoutly denies her identity. Then he makes friends with Frank and finally falls in love with his own wife, disguised as an Hungarian countess.

Act 3

Bringing the customary dénouements, the third act opens in a prison cell made even more murky by the antics of the gaoler Frosch, who is never sober. Sooner or later all the characters find their way here: first Frank, who has a shocking hangover; then Adele, who is on the look-out for a patron to develop her talent for the stage, together with her sister Ida; and then Eisenstein, who learns to his astonishment that he has been in prison all night. Rosalinda appears upon the scene and, together with Alfred, who is still under arrest, makes an appointment to visit the lawyer Dr. Blind, who is then impersonated by Eisenstein, who in this way finds out what really happened the night before.
Fortunately, he is eventually persuaded that it was all part of Dr. Falke's plan of revenge, and all is well in the end, especially as Adele finds an enthusiastic and wealthy patron in the person of Prince Orlofsky.

Will be published later.

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