That man you see above – Austrian Johann Strauss II was arguably the biggest music star of his era in the 1870s. He was widely recognised as the undisputed king of the Viennese waltz. His portraits were sold in bookshops; jewellery stores stocked rings and brooches bearing his image; and even florists named bouquets after his waltzes. He was also laughing all the way to the bank – able to charge fees for single appearances that, in today’s terms, rival those of major pop stars.
But success didn’t come easily. Strauss worked relentlessly and struggled with bouts of exhaustion, anxiety, and recurring health problems throughout his life. Legend has it that while composing today’s featured music – Die Fledermaus, he worked for 43 days almost nonstop barely eating or sleeping – until the operetta was finished.
Die Fledermaus (The Bat), a classic operetta (or light opera), is built on a witty tale of intrigue, romance, and theatrical disguise, first cooked up by a pair of well-known French opera librettists. At its heart is a minor nobleman sentenced to eight days in prison for insulting a government official. Desperate to delay his punishment, he hatches a plan to postpone jail for just one night – long enough to enjoy an extravagant New Year’s celebration. When Johann Strauss II encountered the story, he asked his librettists Karl Haffner and Richard Genée to swap the dinner party for a lavish Viennese ball.
The operetta premiered on 5 April 1874 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna and soon played in Berlin and was then brought back to Vienna. Since then it has never left the active repertory and many different arrangements have been produced, including a fiery take by the Ayoub Sisters.
In the article below, Hermione Lai from Hong Kong recalls how her parents made her watch the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert every year (see image left). Over time, she noticed that certain selections by the undisputed king of the Viennese waltz, Johann Strauss Jr., appeared on the program year after year.
I loved to watch the golden hall, the beautifully dressed musicians, and specifically the ballet dancers. It was a world far removed from everyday Kowloon in Hong Kong, a fantasy world of dreams, really. And the music is simply out of this world; it is dancing and singing, celebrating and partying, and being completely carefree.
The following was abridged from the Wikipedia reference below:
Strauss was born into a Catholic family near Vienna, Austria, on 25 October 1825, to the composer Johann Strauss I and his first wife, Maria Anna Streim. His paternal great-grandfather was a Hungarian Jew – a fact which the Nazis, who lionised Strauss’s music as “so German”, later tried to conceal.
He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet.
Strauss came to the United States in 1872, where he took part in the World’s Peace Jubilee and International Musical Festival in Boston at the invitation of bandmaster Patrick Gilmore and was the lead conductor in a “Monster Concert” of over 1000 performers.
References:
1. Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus “Overture”: “The Bat” in Arrangement – Interlude Hermione Lai
2. Die Fledermaus – Wikipedia
3. Johann Strauss II – Wikipedia
“The more I live, the more I learn. The more I learn, the more I realize, the less I know.”- Michel Legrand
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