In only 13 years, the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna brought all of the waltz king’s original operettas to the stage in its own productions.

 

Between 2001 and 2013 – in only 13 years – the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna managed, for the first time in music history, to stage their own productions of all of Johann Strauss‘ 15 operettas. Depending on the subsidy level , the productions were presented with larger or smaller casts, either in concert form or fully staged. The main sponsors were the City of Vienna and the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Culture. All 15 operettas by Strauss were produced in-house and staged by the Classical Operetta Ensemble Vienna. Performances of this cycle took place not only in Vienna but also in three other federal provinces – Upper Austria, Lower Austria, and Styria. One of the 15 productions, Prince Methusalem, was even preserved on CD. It was created in cooperation with the Austrian Media Library, the state archive that holds more than two million audio and video recordings documenting Austria’s artistic and cultural history (cf. the contribution in this section for 2006 ). The patronage for the premiere, from which the live recording for the CD production was taken, was provided by the then Austrian Federal Minister for Education, Science and Culture, Elisabeth Gehrer. For most of the other premieres, this role was taken on by Hedwig Aigner-Strauss, the matriarch of the Strauss descendants.

The cycle began in 2001 with a production of the very first Strauss operetta, Indigo and the Forty Thieves (see the corresponding article on the year 2001 in this section). Its conclusion in 2013 was marked by the last operetta, The Goddess of Reason, which had premiered at the Theater an der Wien in 1897. This final production completed the first Johann Strauss operetta cycle in music history. It was – like the other performances – staged by the Classical Operetta Ensemble Vienna. The premiere was enthusiastically received in Vienna on 24th October 2013.

Although the operetta cycle was completed only 12 years after it had begun, its reputation lived on, so that the Johann Strauss Society of Vienna, at the invitation of the city administration of Wiener Neustadt, once again presented Die Göttin der Vernunft at the municipal theatre (see cover photo) one year later. For this performance, however, the original cast had to be changed, as only three participants of the premiere were available for the performance on 21st November 2014: Claudia Camie in the role of the folk singer Ernestine, Peter Widholz as Bonhomme, and Johannes Föttinger as Robert.

In Wiener Neustadt, the supplemented version was presented – the one that Johann Strauss had expanded for the occasion of the 25th performance, and which includes the overture. It was played by the orchestra of the Guards Band Vienna under the baton of Oberst Heher, and formed the musical highlight of the evening.

This performance, too, was met with unending applause. Its success, one year after the completion of the cycle, can serve as proof how much vitality even unknown Strauss operettas possess, if they are presented with musical authenticity and, in terms of staging, direction, and dialogue adaptation, in a form that meets the expectations and demands of a 21st- century operetta audience.

 

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