STRAUSS II, J.: Die Fledermaus

Director: Otto Schenk

Picture Format: 4:3
Sound Format: LPCM stereo
Running Time: 169 mins
Region Code: PAL All
Booklet Languages: GB, F, D
Recording Date: 31 December 1980
Cat no.: DV-CLOPDFM

TDK presents the quintessence of operetta: a vintage Die Fledermaus, in a lavish staging from the theatre where it is most at home: the Vienna State Opera.

The production is directed by theatrical living legend Otto Schenk, whose famous production of Richard Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier was described recently by the Guardian as "one of the most convincing stagings of the work ever heard or seen." The premiere of this 1979 staging was greeted enthusiastically by the audience, and a legend was created, prompting Austrian Television to broadcast Die Fledermaus live from the Opera a year later. Now retrieved from the archives and released on DVD, the show is as fresh as ever, revelling in that particularly sparkling New Year's Eve spirit.

The cast of this unforgettable Fledermaus gathered some of the best operatic singer-actors of the 1980s: The wonderful Lucia Popp, who died in 1993, creates a bourgoise Rosalinde with her own charm. Edita Gruberova is a brilliant Adele, and with her magnificent vocal powers a far cry from the typical cliched soubrette. Bernd Weikl's Eisenstein and Walter Berry's Falke add an ironic touch, and Brigitte Fassbaender is the incarnation of Prince Orlofsky - a mezzo with a perfectly "male" bearing.

CAST