Johann Strauss Jr.’s operetta ‘Die Fledermaus’, which premiered at the Vienna Theater in 1874, is one of the representative works of the famous Austrian composer. The plot is refined and interesting, the characters are vivid and lively, and the dialogue is humorous and vivid. The ‘Viennese style’ music is beautiful and moving, and the dance style is diverse. The entire opera is elegant and humorous, classical and popular, and it was a great success after its premiere. The work is full of an optimistic attitude of ‘loving life and enjoying life’, making it popular worldwide. In the 150 years since its release, it has been a classic of light opera with the highest performance frequency in the world, and it is also a ‘New Year’s play’ that many famous opera houses keep to welcome the New Year.
In terms of music, the composer, known as the ‘King of Waltz’, is good at using humorous and ironic comedic techniques in music, with a cheerful and passionate mood, and boldly innovates by incorporating popular dance forms at the time, naturally integrating the Viennese waltz that was popular in Europe into his creation. The overture of the play has been widely spread along with its high frequency appearance at the Vienna New Year’s Concert, and the dazzling and dazzling ‘Laughter Song’ is also one of the most famous songs in the play, which is well-known.
In terms of drama, the play is compatible with the characteristics of both opera and comic opera, with romantic colors. There are a large number of non-singing dialogues in the play, which is very artistic in the creation of light opera. The language style is plain but not lacking in sharp satire, reflecting the social reality of Vienna at that time, making the play both musical and artistic, and real criticism, which is appreciated by both refined and popular audiences.
The National Grand Theater’s creation and performance will be directed by Vincent Bussard, a French knight of the Order of Arts and Literature and a famous French opera director, and Christian Lacroix, a famous designer in the international fashion industry, will be in charge of the costume design of this play. The stage design breaks through the traditional Viennese classical style, with a simple but not simple modern aesthetic style, fully permeating the flowing colors in the stage design, injecting a smart and elegant color into the light opera, and further enriching the style of the theater’s stage presentation.
This round of performances has invited the famous French conductor Marc Minkowski, who has served as the artistic director of the Mozart Festival and the Louvre Musicians’ Ancient Music Ensemble, to perform. This will be his first cooperation with the National Grand Theater; Marcus Wilba, Jacqueline Wagner, Samantha Gao, Anna Weil, Mett Sengu, Nikolai Borchev, Paul Gai, and other singers from many countries have gathered together. Zhou Zhengzhong, Song Yuanming, Qin Kanru, Xu Xiaoyi, Cai Chengyu, Zhang Xiaomeng, Deng Chao, Liang Yufeng and other outstanding young singers have gathered together. The performance group is composed of the National Grand Theater Chorus, the National Grand Theater Symphony Orchestra, and the China Railway Cultural Work Troupe.
Composer: Johann Strauss Jr.
The story takes place in Bad Ischl, an Austrian spa resort in 1874. Since Dr. Falke was once teased by Eisenstein disguised as a bat, he harbors resentment and plans revenge. On the eve of Eisenstein’s imprisonment for breaking the law, Dr. Falke invites him to attend a ball hosted by Prince Orlofsky first. At the same time, Eisenstein’s wife Rosalinde has a tryst with her old lover Alfred at home, resulting in Alfred being mistakenly arrested and put in prison as Eisenstein. The maid Adele asks for leave on pretext and dresses up as a star to attend the ball. Rosalinde also participates in the ball wearing a mask. Unaware Eisenstein flirts with his wife Rosalinde disguised as a ‘Hungarian noblewoman’… The next day, everyone meets in prison for some reason. Eisenstein discovers his wife’s date with her old lover. Rosalinde also reproaches her husband’s fickleness face to face. With the witty help of Dr. Falke, the story has a happy ending, and the’revenge of the bat’ is thus completed.
Starring the full cast, the open time is from November 27th to December 1st. Performance times and duration are subject to the actual event.
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