Johann Strauss Jr. THE BAT
A comical operetta in three acts The Bat / Die Fledermaus, a praised work of Johann Strauss the younger had its world opening night in 1874 in Vienna, immediately becoming a synonym of the operetta genre. In only six years, the operetta was staged in more than 170 theatres in the German-speaking regions, and this clearly illustrates its great popularity. Many consider it the operetta of all operettas. Gustav Mahler proclaimed it the best comic opera and it was also praised by Franz Liszt, Richard Wagner, Johannes Brahms, Arturo Toscanini, Herbert von Karajan, Leonard Bernstein and many other great artists. The libretto was written by Richard Genée and Karl Haffner after the burlesque The Prison by Julius Roderich Benedix and vaudeville piece Le Révellion by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. Emerging from the theatre vaudeville burlesque it had all the features, primarily orchestral and vocal of a comic opera from the time of Mozart and Rossini. Uniting the Parisian tendency for parody with Viennese charm that was never sentimental, Strauss created a work that after the staging of Max Reinhardt on the stage of the Berlin Opera in 1928 became a rightful part of the opera repertoire around the world. The Bat returns in great style to the largest Zagreb theatre stage during Christmas and New Year's holidays. The conductor is Srba Dinić and stage director Krešimir Dolenčić.
