The 15th February 1937 marked the seventieth anniversary of the premiere of the waltz „An der schönen blauen Donau“ .On the initiative of the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna, the occasion was celebrated with a gala performance of „Die Fledermaus“ at the Vienna State Opera, in which – appropriate to the occasion – the Blue Danube waltz was inserted as a ballet in the second act. On the previous evening the young Society had made its first public appearance with a large Strauss concert at the Vienna Musikverein; the following day it presented itself for the first time as initiator and artistic co-producer of a Strauss operetta performance. This was not a new production of „Die Fledermaus“,but  the 216th performance of the first staging  of this work at the Vienna Opera, which had premiered during the composer’s lifetime, on28th October 1894. It was a great achievement of the Society that even for its second public appearance it succeeded in arousing interest in a worldwide radio broadcast ( once again involving around 200 radio stations). Its artistic contribution was manifested in the musical direction of  Felix Weingartner, the Society’s president, who had also conducted the orchestra at the Musikverein the previous evening.

The casting met the expectations of a gala performance: the role of Eisenstein was entrusted to  Richard Schubert, a heldentenor whom audiences at the Vienna State Opera otherwise knew particularly as Siegfried, Tristan, and Tannhäuser, as well as Manrico and Otello. Rosalinde was sung by Margit Bokor, who four years earlier had appeared as Zdenka at the world premiere of Richard Strauss’ opera Arabella in Dresden. To pass herself off as Hugarian in the second act posed no difficulty for the singer, as she was a native Hungarian herself. Adele Kern brought to the role of Adele not only the necessary vocal brilliance  – Blondchen in Mozart’s „Die Entführung aus dem Serail“ and Zerbinetta in Richard Strauss’ „Ariadne auf Naxos“ counted among her signature roles – but also her considerable experience as an operetta performer. She  had, for example, sung the female leading role at the world premiere of Emmerich Kálmán’s „Das Veilchen vom Montmartre“ as well as at the Vienna premiere of Lehár’s operetta „Schön ist die Welt“ , both at the Theater an der Wien. Richard Sallaba, who had also participated in the very first concert of the Johann Strauss Society at the Musikverein the previous evening, likewise brought extensive operetta experience to his portrayal of Alfred. Even more so did Ernst Tautenhayn, who years earlier had dazzled as a buffo in the world premieres of numerous operettas by Lehár, Kálmán and Fall, and who now appeared in the role of Frosch. In contrast, Hermann Wiedemann, cast as Falke, was a singer more commonly associated with Wagnerian roles; Beckmesser and Alberich were among the signature roles of this artist, who had been firmly anchored in the ensemble of the Vienna Opera for decades. Finally, Alfred Jerger as Frank and Rosette Anday as Orlofsky, two further highly distinguished ensemble members of the Vienna Opera and absolute audience favourites, completed the cast.

This production of „Die Fledermaus“ , as has already been pointed out, was not an in-house production of the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna, but sent important signals in other respects. On the one hand, the fact that the Society succeeded, with only its second event, in establishing a cooperation with an institution as internationally renowned as the Vienna State Opera clearly underlined its standing from the very outset. On the other hand, by using a production that Johann Strauss himself had still seen and whose premiere he had described as the most brilliant of all „Die Fledermaus“ performances, the Society established a striking connection to the era of the Waltz King. Thus, the global public’s attention was drawn to the fact that the authentic cultivation of Johann Strauss‘ oeuvre would be the foremost objective of the newly founded Society. The participation of the State Opera Orchestra further underscored this aim, as Johann Strauss had worked as a conductor with this orchestra for more than a quarter of a century.

This second evening,too, brought great success and international recognition to the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna. Right at the beginning of its existence it strikingly demonstrated what artistic idealism can achieve even in times of extreme political and economic precarity.

 

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