On Easter Sunday in 1874, the operetta "Die Fledermaus (The bat)" by Johann Strauss II was performed for the first time at the Theater an der Wien. The performance was quite successful. There were 40 performances en suite, and only the illness of a leading actress, who subsequently left the ensemble, ended the series. However, the special status of the operetta as the pinnacle of the entire genre was not recognized until later, first in Berlin and Budapest. In Vienna, the critics raised all sorts of objections after the premiere, especially against the libretto by Richard Genée. Today these objections are found ridiculous, and if the American film industry had already been in the habit of awarding particularly successful products with a whole series of awards, then "The Bat" would have deserved a few Oscars: at least for the music, but also for the cleverly structured book and for the best supporting role (because the prison servant frog later became the obligatory “third-act comedian” in operettas). And there would have been a special Oscar for the overture to "The Bat": because its ingenious structure, the charming interplay of motifs and its enchanting, brilliant verve was unmatched by any later operetta prelude. Like the entire operetta, it is a top work of its kind.
Johann Strauss (Sohn): Ouverture zu «Die Fledermaus» © by WJSO-Archive
Tuesday, 04. February 202520.00 o' clock Hamburg ⁄ Elbphilharmonie
Concert in Hamburg
Johannes Wildner conductor
Program Johann Strauss II : Ouverture to «Die Fledermaus» Johann Strauss II : Tick Tock / Quick polka op. 365 Johann Strauss II : New Life / Polka française op. 278 Johann Strauss II : An der Elbe / Waltz op. 477 Johann Strauss II : Express Polka / Polka schnell op. 311 Johann Strauss II : Greetings from Austria / Polka mazurka op. 359 Johann Strauss II : Tempestuous in Love and Dance op. 393 Johann Strauss II : Vienna Blood / Waltz op. 354 Break Johann Strauss II : Voices of Spring / Waltz op. 410 Johann Strauss II : Artists Quadrille op. 201 Johann Strauss II : With Us at Home / Waltz op. 361 Johann Strauss II : Csárdás from the opera «Knight Pásmán» op. 441 Johann & Josef Strauss : Pizzicato Polka Johann Strauss II : Roses from the South / Waltz op. 388
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