About the work
„Die Fledermaus for Children" is a shortened, child-friendly version of Johann Strauss's operetta „Die Fledermaus" („The Bat"), premiered at the Theater an der Wien in 1874. The original is regarded as the most famous Viennese operetta of all. The children's version introduces young audiences, through a tightened plot, to the world of waltz, champagne and turbulent mistaken identity.
Plot
The bon vivant Gabriel von Eisenstein is due to begin a short prison sentence — but instead of going to jail he lets his friend Dr Falke lure him to the glittering party of Prince Orlofsky. Falke, however, is bent on revenge: once Eisenstein had publicly embarrassed him, drunk and in a bat costume. At the ball everyone meets, unrecognised and masked — Eisenstein's wife Rosalinde, the chambermaid Adele, the prison governor. In a whirl of disguise, flirtation and champagne, Falke spins out his „revenge of the bat". The next morning all the confusions are cleared up at the jail, and in the end — with a wink — „the champagne is to blame for everything".
Cultural significance
„Die Fledermaus" is the most popular operetta of the Viennese tradition and a fixture of many New Year's programmes worldwide. Children's versions such as this belong to the education offerings of numerous opera and operetta houses, introducing young audiences playfully to melodic richness, waltz-bliss and comic music theatre.