Last week I saw a performance of Die Fledermaus, the operetta by Johann Strauss at the Moores Opera House at UH. This silly operetta premiered in Vienna in 1874. A well-off man about town Eisenstein is required to report to prison for eight days (for insulting a government official). His friend Falke shows up and invites him instead to come with him to Prince Orlovsky’s party. After he leaves, his wife Rosalinde receives an visit from a former lover, Alfred. At the same time, the couple’s chambermaid, Adele, gets a fake letter inviting her to attend the ball. She thinks it is from her sister, but it is secretly from Falke. The prison governor arrives to take Eisenstein to jail, but he has left with Falke. In order to preserve Rosalinde’s reputation, Alfred pretends to be Eisenstein and accompanies the governor to prison.
Then the action switches to Prince Orlovsky’s party. There is a scheme being perpetrated by Falke against Eisenstein, who some time in the past got Falke drunk at a costume party and abandoned him in town. Falke was dressed as a bat, hence the name of the opera. Falke wants Eisenstein, Rosalinde and Adele to show up—all sporting false identities for various reasons—and to see what shenanigans ensue. Rosalinde is wearing a mask and pretends to be a Hungarian countess, and Eisenstein can’t recognize her. She steals his watch as proof that he went to a party and tried to seduce a random countess instead of jail. Orlovsky, sung by mezzo-soprano (kind of a surprise), keeps the party going, up to an including a song sung in honor of champagne.
ORLOVSKY
The kings, the emperors
They love laurel branches,
But they also love
The sweet juice of the vines.
A toast, a toast
And in unity pay homage
To the king of all wines!
ALL
A toast! A toast! A toast!
ORLOFSKY
His majesty is acknowledged,
Acknowledged throughout the land;
He is jubilantly crowned Champagne
The First!
ALL
His majesty is acknowledged,
Acknowledged throughout the land;
He is jubilantly crowned Champagne
The First!
Long live Champagne the first!
The party breaks up at 6 in the morning.
Most of the characters proceed to the prison. Adele tries to get the prison’s governor to sponsor her acting career, but the warden is not rich enough. Eisenstein discovers that Alfred has taken his place in prison and accuses him of making love to Rosalinde. Rosalinde still in disguise shows up, and reveals herself. She shows Eisenstein his own watch (that she took from him at the party as Eisenstein tried to seduce her). Rosalinde blames Eisenstein, but Eisenstein blames his actions on champagne. She forgives him and the company sings the champagne song again. Falke, the original Fledermaus, explains his revenge plot to everyone. Everyone ends up happy and drunk on champagne.
The performance I saw was bilingual—the songs were sung in German, while the dialogue was English. The English dialogue was witty and self-aware (occasionally breaking the fourth wall). Because of this, it felt less like an opera than an American-style musical—which makes me wonder if that was the norm for Viennese operetta in the 19th century. In fact, watching this highly entertaining trifle brings up lots of questions.
How important was class and one’s place in Viennese society? I assume it was important, but was it permeable? The chambermaid ends up at the same fancy party as her employers, but an elaborate scheme must be hatched to make it happen.
How important were noble titles and nobility in Vienna? Presumably pretty important. The Austro-Hungarian empire was ruled by an arch-reactionary, Franz Joseph. A Russian “prince” was not heir to the Tsar—but it was an important noble rank like “count” or “baron.”
Did “men about town” like Eisenstein and Falke go to parties to pick up ballerinas and actresses? Were “ballerinas” and “actresses” known as available single women for wolves like Eisenstein and the Bat to pursue? Were they the kind of single lovelies that a Russian Prince would make sure attended his party?
In our current moment in history, Vienna is kind of a living museum. But it must have been a pretty rich and vivacious place in the 19th century. Lots of great art, music and literature emerged from Vienna. I described Die Fledermaus as being like an American musical. It makes me wonder if it is reasonable to compare 19th century Vienna to 20th century New York? Was life in Vienna drowning with champagne?
How common was consumption of champagne? I read somewhere that Otto von Bismark, the Chancellor of Germany who ruled at the same time that Die Fledermaus was first performed, drank a bottle of champagne every morning at breakfast. And just under a century before the premiere of Die Fledermaus, Mozart wrote an aria to the elixir in Don Giovanni.
Long live Champagne the first!
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