Die
Fledermaus
Johann Strauss
Synopsis
IN
a fashionable watering-place,
described as near a big city,
lives Gabriel von Eisenstein, a
wealthy man of independent means,
with his attractive wife Rosalinda,
and their maid Adele. The
light-hearted story of Die
Fledermaus tells of the revenge
taken by a certain Dr. Falke on this
Gabriel von Eisenstein for playing a
practical joke on him. When the
story opens von Eisenstein is in
trouble with the law and has been
sentenced to prison for eight days
for using abusive language to a
policeman. Despite all the efforts
of Blind, his advocate, to get him
off, von Eisenstein is due to start
his sentence by midnight and is
spending the day preparing for
prison, while his wife, Rosalinda,
packs all his oldest clothes to wear
in gaol. While she is away Dr. Falke,
a notary and von Eisenstein's
closest friend, arrives. He bears an
invitation for von Eisenstein to a
party to be given that night by
Prince Orlofsky. "All the ladies
from the ballet will be there," he
tells von Eisenstein, and he
suggests that he should postpone his
surrender to the prison authorities
till the following day and enjoy a
last night of glorious revelry,
wine, women and song. Von Eisenstein
eagerly accepts Prince Orlofsky's
invitation, little suspecting that
it is the first move in Dr. Falke's
plan of revenge. Adele, the maid,
has a sister among the dancers who
are invited, and she herself
receives a letter suggesting that
she borrow one of her mistress's
evening dresses and impersonate a
dancer for the occasion. After some
difficulty she obtains permission to
have the evening off. Von Eisenstein
then bids Rosalinda a tearful
farewell and departs, ostensibly to
prison, in full evening dress, much
to her amazement. Johann Strauss'
music to this farewell scene is a
masterpiece of comic irony.
No sooner
are Rosalinda's husband and maid
out of the house than the
inevitable lover appears. In
this case it is Alfred, a
bumptious tenor. Rosalinda
entertains him to a cozy supper
with champagne and they toast
each other. But an embarrassing
situation arises. Rosalinda and
Alfred are supping tjte-`-tjte
when the Governor of the prison,
Herr Frank, arrives on the
scene. He has come to arrest von
Eisenstein in person. Alfred
attempts to deny that he is the
man, but Rosalinda assures the
Governor that that is only Herr
von Eisenstein's fun. Careful of
her reputation, she presses home
the point. She is von
Eisenstein's wife, that is her
husband's dressing-gown: how can
its occupant not be her husband?
There is no escape for Alfred,
and his only consolation is a
series of farewell kisses before
being led away to prison.
At Prince
Orlofsky's ball the fun is fast
and furious. As the "Marquis
Renard" von Eisenstein has been
presented by Dr. Falke to a
young woman in whom he detects a
likeness to his wife's maid,
Adele; who indeed is she. In a
charming little song she asks
the Marquis what lady's maid
ever had a hand or foot like
hers, to say nothing of her
Grecian profile, her figure and
her frock (which is, of course,
Rosalinda's).
Later in
the evening Prince Orlofsky
introduces the guest of honour,
a Hungarian Countess wearing a
mask. Von Eisenstein is greatly
attracted by the Countess,
little suspecting that the mask
conceals the features of his own
wife. Rosalinda's appearance at
the party has been stage-managed
by Dr. Falke as the final move
in his revenge. Von Eisenstein
flirts outrageously with the
Countess and, as a result of his
advances, she sinks down on a
sofa, pressing her hand to her
heart. She pretends that her
heart has always been her
weakness and she aks von
Eisenstein to take her pulse.
During the operation she manages
to annexe his repeater watch,
and thus holds a valuable piece
of evidence of her husband's
misdemeanours. This enchanting
tik-tak duet is one of the
highlights of Johann Strauss'
score.
At supper
the conversation turns on the
practical joke that was played
on Dr. Falke by von Eisenstein,
who, forgetting that he is
temporarily masquerading as
Marquis Renard, regales Prince
Orlofsky and his guests with the
story. It appears that in their
youth von Eisenstein and Dr.
Falke both attended a
fancy-dress ball in a country
house two miles from town. Von
Eisenstein went as a butterfly
and Dr. Falke as a bat
(Fledermaus), tightly sewn up in
a brown skin, with long claws,
broad wings and a yellow beak.
When morning came Dr. Falke had
drunk more than was good for
him, and on the way home through
the woods von Eisenstein,
assisted by the coachman, lifted
him out of the carriage and
placed him under a tree and left
him sleeping, unconscious of his
fate. When he woke, the poor man
had to walk home, still in fancy
dress, through the town in broad
daylight, to the joy of all the
street arabs, and after that he
was always known in the district
as "Dr. Bat". This story is
greatly enjoyed, particularly by
a certain M. le Chevalier
Chagrin, whose adopted name
conceals the identity of Herr
Frank, Governor of the prison.
Without either of them having
any idea of their respective
identities, he and von
Eisenstein strike up the warmest
friendship. By now the champagne
has had effect and everyone is
feeling mellow. All join in a
chorus in praise of champagne,
the king of wines, and, at
Falke's suggestion the whole
company, glass in hand, swear
eternal brotherhood and
sisterhood. Finally, as 6 a.m.
strikes, von Eisenstein and Herr
Frank both hurry off on their
independent ways to prison.
Act Three
takes place in the prison, and
here misunderstandings are
cleared up. Rosalinda's
possession of von Eisenstein's
watch is compensated for by the
presence in prison of
Rosalinda's lover, Alfred,
arrested while masquerading as
her husband. As von Eisenstein
philosophically declares, it's
best to blame it all on the
champagne.
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