Operetta "The Bat": content, video, interesting facts, history

I. Strauss Operetta "The Bat"

"Bat" is a classic example of a dance operetta, singing bright emotions, love experiences and family upheavals for solemn motifs. waltz and polka. Musical work created by the famous Austrian composer By Johann Strauss in the nineteenth century, still enjoys success and sympathy among the theater public. The melodramatic and comedic style of the operetta, permeated with delicate irony and subtle humor, is easily perceived by the viewer, and pleasant, unobtrusive music creates a sense of celebration, intrigue and happiness.

The plot of the work "The Bat" is always relevant, because it describes the eternal problems of family life, marital relations, love and jealousy, joy and frustration. The piquant situation in which the main characters of the work fall into, opens up the entire palette of emotions before the viewer. Wrong Eisenstein has to fall in love with her own spouse, who appeared in the form of a beautiful stranger, and charming Rosalind should comprehend new facets of female wisdom and charm in order to revive old feelings and preserve the family hearth.

Summary of the Strauss Operetta "Bat"and many interesting facts about this work read on our page.

Summary of the operetta "The Bat"

The first part of the work takes place in the house of Eisenstein. Alfred sings Rosalind's love serenade. Maid Adele laughs at the unfortunate lover and reads a letter from her sister with an invitation to the ball to Prince Orlovsky. The girl dreams of an acting career and acquaintance with an influential theatrical patron is just the way. Adele pays off from Rosalind under the pretext of the illness of a close relative and goes to a masquerade with her sister.

At this time, the landlord Eisenstein appears with a lawyer Blindi. The trial was a fiasco and now Aezenstein has to spend eight days in prison for a fight. After stormy investigations with the client, the lawyer leaves. Suddenly, Dr. Falk arrives, inviting Agestein to the ball. The crafty spouse tells Rosalind that he is going to prison, and he, meanwhile, is going to a masquerade. After his departure, Alfred comes to Rosalind to confess his love again. At this point, prison director Frank arrives with the intention of taking Eisenstein with him. Fearing to compromise his beloved, Alfred disguises himself as convict Eisenstein and leaves with Frank.

Second action The operetta is saturated with bright events, intrigues and revelations. Dr. Falk promises Prince Orlovsky real entertainment. Raffle is revenge Eisenstein for unsuccessful mockery of a friend. Somehow, after the masquerade, he left a drunk Falk to sleep on a bench in a bat costume, and today an unfaithful friend will pay in full for his rash act.

Falk carefully planned everything, he came up with new roles for the invited guests. Adele appears as a talented actress, Eisenstein is represented by the French marquis Renard, and Frank by the French chevalier. Upon learning of Adele, Ayseinstein is discouraged, but the most interesting is yet to come.

The culmination of the plot is the arrival of the guest of honor - the mysterious Hungarian Countess in a mask. This is Rosalind. She is also invited to a masquerade and is surprised to meet her husband, the maid and Frank, without posing herself. Suspecting nothing, Eisenstein looks after the stranger, invites her for a date and asks her to show her face. The Countess refuses to remove the mask and takes the watch from the Marquise in love, by which he recognizes her at the next meeting.

Third action going on in prison. By morning, Eisenstein comes here and sees Alfred behind bars. The jealous husband demands an explanation from the spouse, who also went to prison to restore justice. In response to suspicions, Rosalind shows a watch presented to a Hungarian countess. Eisenstein exposed, and Falk finally took revenge for insulting the "bat". Prince Orlovsky thanks Falk for a fun evening and promises to contribute to the development of acting skills Adele. Eisenstein’s lawyer reports his acquittal, and Rosalind generously forgives her frivolous, but very beloved husband.

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Interesting Facts

• There is a version that when writing the work "The Bat", Johann Strauss took a real case from life. Popular rumor narrated the story of an unfaithful husband, who did not recognize his spouse in a fancy mask and was captivated by her charm and mystery.
• In 1979, Roland Petit was staged a ballet version of the operetta. The premiere took place in Marseille. The author made minor changes to the plot of the work, in particular, there is a change in the names of the main characters and the location of events. So, for example, Eisenstein became Johann, his spouse Bella, and Falk was renamed Ulrich. The action takes place in Paris. The most important role in the play is given to Bohemian dance.
• The play "Fighting Clock", taken as the basis for the operetta "The Bat", has undergone many changes. It was planned to transform the plot in such a way that it had a “Viennese” character. A significant role in the creation of the present work was played by a talented playwright and composer R. Gene. The original play with French motifs was substantially modified and received a new name: "Nobody likes the bat." For the sake of the Viennese public, a new character has appeared in the script - a joker and a merry fellow, Dr. Falk. Once a friend of Strauss, Gustav Levi, read the play and advised R. Genet to give the piece to the "king of waltzes".
• The operetta "Bat" especially praises the female character, emphasizes the charm and wisdom of the fair sex. The composer created the plot in such a way as to arouse the interest of the viewer to the two main female roles.
• Many experts believe that the famous Austrian composer Johann Strauss is a pioneer in the field of dance operetta.
• According to some historians, the first wife of the great composer Johann Strauss, Henriette Trefts, advised her husband to try her hand at the operetta genre and contributed to his work on musical works. The opera singer was actively involved in copying the notes and preparing her spouse for the tour. According to another version, the French composer Jacques Offenbach proposed Strauss stop working on waltzes and create operetta. Since then, Strauss has written sixteen operettas and The Bat, the third in a row.

• "Bat" was filmed about 20 times and rightfully gained worldwide popularity. The first movies appear in 1917. Then the art performances were dumb.
• In 1918, the asteroid 900 Rosalinda was discovered. The space object was named after the main hero of the operetta.
• In 1942, the musical "Rosalida", created on the basis of the work "The Bat", was published.
• The first productions of the operetta did not differ with success, however one benevolent review was published in the newspaper "Morgenpost" (Berlin). The author of the publishing house jokingly stated that while watching the operetta it is easy to get sick with seasickness from the rhythmic swaying of the audience in time with the melodic sounds. Indeed, Strauss is considered the king of the waltz, so dance motifs dominate in the operetta.
• In 1975, in the book “The Star Clock of the Operetta” by A. Vladimirskaya, the musical work “The Bat” is mentioned. The author noted that the theater has not yet heard melodies so sunny and cheerful.
• In the last years of his life, Johann Strauss did not appear in public much and almost never left his house. However, the composer made an exception on the day of the 25th anniversary of the musical work The Bat. On the occasion of the celebration he was invited as a conductor. Unfortunately, the elderly musician did not calculate his strength and was too zealous during the performance. On the way home, Strauss caught a cold. Due to a cold, pneumonia began, and the heart of the great maestro stopped on June 30, 1899.

Popular arias and numbers from the operetta "The Bat"

Overture (listen)

Rosalia's aria about the motherland - Klaenge der Heimat (Csárdás) (listen)

Orlovsky couplets - Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein (listen)

Adelie couplets - Mein Herr Marquis (listen)

History of creation and production

The basis for writing the work was the play "Revelon", created by the famous playwrights Meliak and Halevi. The plot fell in love Strausstherefore, the "Bat" is written with exceptional inspiration and is completed as soon as possible. Only 6 weeks or 42 nights it took the composer to complete the work. The libretto was worked on by Karl Haffner and Richard Wife.

On April 5, 1874, a presentation of the operetta took place, but at first it was not accompanied by enthusiastic applause from the audience. Critics considered the performance banal and mediocre and, thus, influenced the general opinion of the public. The participants of the play expected greater success, but Strauss himself was not very upset by this result. Another 17 times the play was staged for the Viennese public and in the summer of the same year the work was crowned with success in Berlin. Operetta triumphantly returned to the Viennese scene. Now the work receives high marks and approving responses; it becomes a real highlight of the operetta scene.

Three years later, a reworked version called "Gypsy" will be presented in Paris. The performance wins the long-awaited recognition among viewers from different countries, including Australia and India. However, the real operetta triumph received only 20 years after its production in Hamburg. The European audience appreciated the comic performance, which became one of the most vivid and representative of theatrical works.

In Russia, the "Bat" always passes with success. On the capital's theater scenes comedy appeared periodically: in 1933, then in 1962, and also in 1972. The latest version is set by George Anisimov.

In 1946, the comedy was presented in a new, original interpretation. A modified version of Mikhail Volpin and Nikolai Erdman served as the basis for the removal of the feature film.

"Bat"- is a repertoire long-liver. Vocal and orchestral numbers of the operetta are performed by the world's best musicians. A funny story with love intrigues and revelations to the liking of viewers of all ages, and now the second century this comic production does not leave theatrical posters of different countries.

Video: Watch Strauss's Operetta "The Bat"