Directed by Barrie Kosky, the Bavarian State Opera presents its new production of Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus (The Bat). Amid all sorts of shenanigans, copious amounts of champagne and a dose of caustic irony, this delightful show offers a moment of pure escapism.
At a masked ball, Dr Falke seeks revenge on Gabriel von Eisenstein, an old friend who had abandoned him after a party, leaving him asleep, drunk and disguised as a bat. The next morning, he was forced to stagger through town in this costume, leaving him feeling deeply humiliated.
To punish the culprit, Falke has a plan: he will arrange for Eisenstein to be caught committing adultery during the ball. What follows is a display of dirty tricks and intrigue from which no one will emerge unscathed…
A glittering piece of escapism
The “Waltz King” Johann Strauss II pokes fun at human frailty in this three-act whirlwind of an operetta, whose merriment is tinged with caustic irony. Die Fledermaus (The Bat) is the composer’s third operetta and was inspired by Le Réveillon, a play by Meilhac and Halévy – the two famous librettists for Offenbach’s most successful works. When it premiered in Vienna in 1874, it was such a hit with audiences that it was performed nearly 50 times over the following two months.
Although in the Viennese version of the libretto the action no longer takes place on New Year’s Eve, the Bavarian State Opera has nevertheless chosen the festive season to present this glittering piece of escapism. Maestro Vladimir Jurowski and director Barrie Kosky – the legendary duo of Komische Oper Berlin fame – are reunited in Munich for the occasion, alongside an outstanding cast featuring German soprano Diana Damrau (Rosalinde) and Austrian baritone Georg Nigl (Eisenstein).
