Director: Stanislav Moša
An ever spinning roller-coaster of fun, immortalized in the endless string of melodies by Strauss Jr.
Die Fledermaus (or, The Bat), an intriguingly complex and alluring story of adultery, ambition and seemingly carefree fun, is arguably one of the shiniest operetta jewels, conceived by the Vienna “waltz king”, Johann Strauss Jr. Since its world premiere, the operetta has been staged countless times all over the world and it still enjoys great popularity among opera goers. Although the operetta narrative displays the glitter as well the gutter (superficial morale) of the Viennese bourgeois society, the critical aspect of the work remains in the background of a bon vivant hedonism. Jacques Offenbach, who had supposedly played a significant role in Strauss’s decision to take on the material, was quite convinced that Strauss’s creativity reflected operetta’s true spirit. Countless alluring and arousing scenes that were envisioned by the librettists Karl Haffner and Richard Genée vividly illustrate various real life situations, from flirting, adultery, ambition for success, to disappointment in love. And yet, all these events are nothing but a prelude to Prince Orlowsky’s garden party, which will become a place of reckoning for all characters – until the aftermath, when all passions will eventually cool off, or rather sober up in one of Viennese jails under “vigilant” supervision by the jailer Frosch, who is unable to resist a glass of a fine wine – or any beverage, for that matter.
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