In addition to the nearly 500 pieces of dance music he published, Johann Strauss, Jr. scored important successes as a composer of operetta and light opera. “Die Fledermaus” has proved the most enduring.
Fortunately cushioned from the effects of a financial meltdown that shook international stock markets in May 1873, Strauss plunged into his Fledermaus project without delay. It was based on a French script, Reveillon (the term refers to a long, festive dinner on the eve of a holiday), by Offenbach’s librettists Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, refashioned for Viennese tastes by two German writers, Carl Haffner and Richard Genée. It proved a perfect tonic for a Vienna eager to have a good time again.
Die Fledermaus was successful from the outset. Its initial run ended after sixteen performances to make way for a visiting troupe that had previously been booked in the same theater. After that, more performances were scheduled and continue to be presented to this time.
Here is the greatest Strauss conductor to direct “Die Fledermaus” for you:
