Strauss goes batty?

Synopsis

The “waltz king” Johann Strauss Jr. was 45 before he tried his hand at writing an operetta, urged on by the management of Vienna’s Theater an der Wien, who wanted to replace the extremely popular French operettas of Jacques Offenbach with some by Vienna’s own famous purveyor of light music.

Even so, for the libretto of Strauss’ third operetta, the cagey theater managers hedged their bets by acquiring the rights to a spicy French farce which just happened to be written by the librettists of Offenbach’s biggest hits.

The original French farce was considered a little too racy as it stood, so some substantial changes were made before Strauss set to work. The end result, re-titled Die Fledermaus (or The Bat) opened in Vienna on today’s date in 1874.

Now, there is an oft-repeated myth that Fledermaus was initially a flop and that it closed after only sixteen performances. But blame that on famous American soprano, Adelina Patti, who had booked the Theater an der Wien for a run of Italian opera performances right after Die Fledermaus was opened.

When Patti left Vienna, Die Fledermaus returned for more performances, and has rarely been absent from Viennese stages from that day to this.

Music Played in Today's Program

Johann Strauss II (1825-1899): Die Fledermaus Overture; Vienna Symphony; Robert Stolz, conductor; BMG 72916

On This Day

Births

• 1784 - German composer, violinist and conductor Ludwig Spohr, in Brunswick

• 1869 - French composer Albert Roussel, in Tourcoing

• 1917 - American composer Richard Yardumian, in Philadelphia

Deaths

• 1946 - American composer Vincent Youmans, 47, in Denver

Premieres

• 1803 - Beethoven: oratorio Christus am Ölberg (Christ on the Mount of Olives), Piano Concerto No. 3 and Symphony No. 2 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, with composer conducting and as piano soloist

• 1874 - Jh. Strauss, Jr.: operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat), in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien

• 1902 - Ravel: Jeux D’eau (Fountains) for piano, in Paris, by Ravel’s friend Ricardo Viñes

• 1914 - First concert performance of Stravinsky's ballet score, The Rite of Spring, in Paris, conducted by Pierre Monteux (who also conducted the world premiere of the staged version of the ballet with Diaghilev's Ballet Russe on May 29, 1913)

• 1939 - Gretchaninoff: Symphony No. 5, by the Philadelphia Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski conducting

• 1944 - Cage: The Perilous Night, for prepared piano, in New York

• 1946 - Barber: Cello Concerto, by the Boston Symphony with Serge Koussevitzky conducting and Raya Garbousova the soloist

• 1946 - Ives: Symphony No. 3, at the smaller concert room at Carnegie Hall by the Little Orchestra, conducted by Lou Harrison. This work was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Music that year.

• 1951 - Hindemith: Symphony in Bb for concert band, in Washington, DC, with the composer conducting

• 1958 - R. Strauss: Duet-Concertino for clarinet, bassoon and strings, by the Swiss Italian Radio

• 1980 - Christopher Rouse: Mitternachtslieder (Midnight Songs), for bass-baritone solo and ensemble, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Michigan, by the Contemporary Directions Ensemble conducted by Stephen Osmond, with vocal soloist Leslie Guinn.

Others

• 1877 - First documented American performance of Handel’s “Largo” (from the opera Xerxes) as a concert piece (in the arrangement by Joseph Hellmesberger for solo violin and ensemble), at New York’s Steinway Hall, by the Theodore Thomas Orchestra, with Simon E. Jacobsohn the violin soloists.