J. Strauss II: Die Fledermaus

Johann Strauss II’s beloved operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) is based on the 1851 farcical German play The Prison, which had already enjoyed a successful vaudeville adaptation by the time it caught Strauss’ attention more than 20 years later. The Bayerisches Staatsorchester here delivers a spirited and sparkling performance under the direction of Carlos Kleiber, whose way with the music of Vienna’s Waltz King (heard most memorably at the Vienna Philharmonic’s annual New Year’s Concert) remains, for many, unsurpassed. Imaginatively cast, this recording enshrines some glorious characterisations: Lucia Popp’s Adele is a delight and her laughing song, “Mein Herr Marquis”, is surely one of the best. Julia Varady, Hermann Prey, René Kollo and Bernd Weikl are in top form, and Ivan Rebroff’s Orlovsky, sung falsetto, is appropriately silly. This 1976 production includes one of Strauss’ familiar earlier polkas, “Thunder and Lightning” (“Unter Donner und Blitz”), as incidental music for a dance scene. Kleiber’s jaunty and joyous frolic through the score masks his reputation for having rehearsed his performances in the most minute detail. It sounds utterly spontaneous.