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, 31. March 198119.00 o' clock Linz ⁄ Brucknerhaus
Concert in Linz Austria tour 1981
Kurt Woess conductor
Program Johann Strauss II : Ouverture to «Die Fledermaus» Johann Strauss II : Anna Polka op. 117 Josef Strauss : Watercolours / Waltz op. 258 Josef Strauss : Without a Care! / Quick polka op. 271 Josef Strauss : Mysterious Powers of Attraction (Dynamiden) / Waltz op. 173 Johann Strauss II : Perpetual Motion / Musical joke op. 257 Johann Strauss II : Thunder and Lightning / Quick polka op. 324 Break Josef Strauss : My Character is Love and Joy / Waltz op. 263 Johann Strauss II : Eljen A Magyar! « Long Live the Magyar!» / Quick polka op. 332 Johann Strauss II : Cuckoo Polka / Polka française op. 336 Johann Strauss II : New Pizzicato Polka, from the Operetta «Fürstin Ninetta» op. 449 Johann Strauss II : Excursion Train / Quick polka op. 281 Johann Strauss II : The Blue Danube / Waltz op. 314 Encore Johann Strauss I : Radetzky March op. 228
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