About the work
Prinz Methusalem (Prince Methusalem) is a comic operetta in three acts by Johann Strauss II, its text after Victor Wilder and Alfred Delacour adapted for the Viennese stage by Karl Treumann. Strauss conducted the premiere on 3 January 1877 at the Carltheater in Vienna.
Plot
In the fictional principality of Trocadero, a political marriage between Prince Methusalem and Princess Pulcinella is meant to settle a border dispute. After the wedding a rebellion breaks out, and Pulcinella appoints Methusalem field marshal by forged decree — but instead of waging war, he stages a feast of reconciliation.
Cultural significance
Strauss had originally conceived the piece for Paris, hoping for a first premiere of his own there after the success of Die Fledermaus; when the contract with the Paris theatres fell through, the work opened in Vienna instead. Despite critics faulting the libretto's French-derived flavour, they praised Strauss's music, and the operetta ran for numerous performances at the Carltheater through 1881.