The Bat

"Happy is he who forgets what cannot be changed..." There was a lot to forget at the premiere of Johann Strauss' greatest operetta hit in 1874 at the Theater an der Wien. Just under a year earlier, the Gründerkrach had devastated large parts of the financial and construction industries, with bankruptcies, personal insolvencies, unemployment, company closures, and rising prices affecting all social classes. After years of seemingly unlimited growth, the Viennese bourgeoisie in particular experienced a deep shock that reached far into their private lives.

It was in the midst of this period that Die Fledermaus was written, its ingeniously lively melodies offering a welcome respite from the grave events unfolding around the world. Here, love, desire, and champagne celebrate a turbulent party on the volcano – including amusing digs at class differences, gender roles, hypocritical marriages, jealousy, and the struggle for love. At the height of the champagne frenzy, however, all differences are suspended: "You and you – duidu," says the chambermaid to her employer, the Russian nobleman to the Hungarian countess, the prison director to the vengeful Dr. Falke, the actress to the tenor.

With his cheerful, life-affirming game of repression, Johann Strauss succeeded in creating the operetta of all operettas, in which star guests and contemporary impromptus are an absolute must. At the end of the year and, of course, on New Year's Eve, the Landestheater performs "Im Feuerstrom der Reben" (In the Fire Stream of the Vines): with profundity, hustle and bustle, song and dance!