Strauss II, J.: Die Fledermaus

Description

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899)Die FledermausOperetta in 3 ActsLibretto by Haffner and Geneefrom a French comedy, Le Reveillon, by Meilhac and HalevyGabriel von Eisenstein - Nicolai Gedda (tenor)Rosalinde - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano)Alfred - Helmut Krebs (tenor)Adele - Rita Streich (soprano)Frank - Karl Donch (baritone)Dr. Falke - Erich Kunz (baritone)Prince Orlofsky - Rudolf Christ (tenor)Dr. Blind - Erich Majkut (tenor)Speaking parts: Frosch - Franz BoheimIda - Luise MartiniPhilharmonia Orchestra and ChorusHerbert von Karajan, conductorRecorded 26th-30th April, 1955 in Kingsway Hall, LondonFirst issued on Columbia 33CX 1309 and 1310Reissue Producer and Restoration Engineer: Mark Obert-Thorn The origins of what eventually became known as Die Fledermausfirst crossed a number of international boundaries. In 1851 a play entitledDas Gefangnis (The Prison) by Roderick Benedix appeared in Berlin. This was a low-brow comedy of errors, brim full of mistaken identities. 21 yearslater the Frenchmen Louis Meilhac and Ludovic Halevy, librettists for bothBizet and Offenbach, produced a spirituel vaudeville in Paris, based on The Prison, which they entitled Le reveillon (Supper onChristmas Eve). Max Steiner, co-director of the Theater an der Wien in Vienna acquired the Austrian rights to the play and felt it would be an ideal vehicle forJohann Strauss to set to music. Carl Haffner had translated the French playinto German but the idea of a midnight supper party of the original caused someproblems and, furthermore, Steiner was unhappy with Haffner's efforts. Thedistinguished librettist Richard Genee, also a conductor and composer, was thendrafted in to rework the play for Viennese audiences, the location now beingset in 'a spa town outside a big city'. He also contributed a great deal to thefinished musical score.The operetta was sketched out in seven weeks but took sixmonths to reach the stage. It has been inaccurately described as an initialfailure. The work ran for just sixteen performances after its premi?â?¿re on 5 April1874, but the theatre had been previously booked to accommodate a visitingcompany, after which the operetta was again reinstated at the Theater an der Wien.Both Mahler and Richard Strauss conducted the work at the Court Opera in Vienna. London later enjoyed a celebrated 1930 production conducted by Bruno Walter and in1950 the new Austrian-born General Manager Rudolf Bing inaugurated a celebratedproduction at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York. The work has been filmedon a number of occasions (1931 and 1955, the latter as Oh! Rosalinda andset in post-1945 Vienna), adapted as Gay Rosalinda in 1945 for a London production conducted by Richard Tauber (he also recorded the Overture which isincluded on CD 2, Track 11), and translated into a variety of languages. Littlewonder, therefore, that it remains Johann Strauss's most popular stage work.The characters include Gabriel von Eisenstein, described asa man of private means, his wif