The Johann Strauss Society of Vienna celebrated the 70^th anniversary of its founding with a rare Strauss operetta

 

In 1936, the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna was founded. From the very beginning, one of its foremost objectives was the revival of unjustly forgotten works of the Waltz King. This commitment was also the focus of the Society’s celebration marking its 70^th anniversary. With the support of the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, it presented a concert performance of the operetta Prince Methuselah on 30^th November 2006. In 2005, the work itself had celebrated the 130^th anniversary of its premiere in Vienna. At the same time, by staging this operetta, the Society continued its Johann Strauss II operetta cycle launched in 2001. This production was already the sixth presentation of an original Johann Strauss operetta.

The performance once again took place in the Eroica Hall of Vienna’s Baroque Palais Lobkowitz, located in the immediate vicinity of the Albertina and the Vienna State Opera.  The hall occupies a distinguished place in music history, having hosted the premieres of Beethoven’s Third Symphony, the Eroica – from which it later took its name – as well as his Fourth Symphony. In recognition of this special occasion, Elisabeth Gehrer, Austria’s Federal Minister of Education, Science and Culture, assumed honorary patronage of the event. The musical programme was performed by members of the Classical Operetta Ensemble Vienna, accompanied at the piano by Professor Margit Fussi of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. Widely respected on the international concert stage, with appearances ranging from China to the United States, Fussi had joined the ensemble that year and would remain its leading musical force in piano-accompanied productions for decades to come. The Johann Strauss Society of Vienna also enlisted two distinguished guest artists for the celebration. One was Elfie Höbarth, who had made her debut at the Vienna State Opera as the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute and whose career had brought her together with such eminent conductors as Carlos Kleiber and Karl Böhm. She took on the role of Pulcinella. The other was the legendary radio and television announcer Peter Fichna, who presented linking narrative texts written by Peter Widholz, President of the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna, guiding the audience through the plot. Since its founding, the Strauss Society has regarded the transmission of Vienna’s rich tradition of dance and operetta music to younger generations as one of its central aims. This commitment was likewise evident in the anniversary production, for which the choir of the music stream of BORG Vienna, Hegelgasse 12  was invited to participate.

 

The following excerpt from a review of the performance appeared in the December issue of the opera magazine Der Neue Merker:

The Classical Operetta Ensemble Vienna was in top form once again, with the young lovers Methuselach (a trouser role) und Pulcinella leading the way. The ensemble’s diva, Anna Ryan nearly brought the house down with the radiant bloom of her voice and, this time, found an ideal counterpart in Elfie Höbarth , a recent addition to the company. In the lovers’ duets, their voices blended into a  wonderfully sensual harmony. The two fathers in this Romeo-and Juliet-inspired plot were portrayed by Friedrich Faltus and Johannes Föttinger,  the latter delivering the evening’s most memorable tune with effortless confidence. As the eccentric Master of Ceremonies, Trombonius, Peter Widholz once again proved a luxury casting choice, combining superb comic talent with a beautifully resonant tenor voice (Anton Cupak)

 

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