Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus ("The bat") is a famous comic operetta in 3 acts composed by Johann Strauss II (1825–1899)[1], to a German libretto by Karl Haffner (1804-1876)[2] and Richard Genée (1823–1895) [3]

The original text

The original source for Die Fledermaus is Das Gefängnis ("The Prison"), a farce by German playwright Roderich Benedix (1811-1873)[4], that had premiered in 1851.

The Strauss operetta had its premier on 5 April 1874 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna and has been part of the regular international operetta repertoire ever since.

For more on the origins, versions and history of the operetta, see for example the Wikipedia entry on it at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Die_Fledermaus

Translations and adaptations

Most often performed in the original German, it was first sung in English at London's Alhambra Theatre on 18 December 1876.

Performance history in South Africa

1958: Presented in Afrikaans by the South African Opera Federation.

1962: Presented by the EOAN Group.

1966: Presented in Afrikaans by PACT Opera.

1981: Staged in English by the Port Elizabeth Gilbert & Sullivan Society in 1981.

1986: Presented by CAPAB Opera (12 December 1986 – 17 January 1987), with Aviva Pelham (the locale of the opera was changed from Vienna in Austria to Camps Bay in Cape Town, and incorporated English and Afrikaans in the libretto).

1993: Presented by CAPAB Opera (1 December 1993 – 8 January 1994)

2004: Presented by Cape Town Opera (4 December 2004 – 8 January 2005)

Sources

Wayne Muller. 2018. A reception history of opera in Cape Town: Tracing the development of a distinctly South African operatic aesthetic (1985–2015). Unpublished PhD thesis.

Alexandra Xenia Sabina Mossolow. 2003. The career of South African soprano Nellie du Toit, born 1929. Unpublished Masters thesis. University of Stellenbosch.

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