"The Bat" was appreciated for its musical qualities as well as for its stage design and is an operetta in three acts whose music was composed by Johann Strauss. Inspired by the play Le Réveillon by the French authors Meilhac and Halévy, La Chauve-Souris was adapted to the Viennese context by the librettist Richard Genée.
Legend has it that Johann Strauss composed the music for it in one go: The composer is said to have locked himself in his study for 43 days, where in a moment of creative ecstasy he is said to have pushed his genius to the limits of delirium.
"The Bat" takes the audience into the Austro-Hungarian upper class of the 19th century and portrays an era and its ills. Johann Strauss's masterpiece is rich in confusions and unexpected twists, but also features a fair amount of cynicism. It is not only a social satire, but also an expression of longing for a bygone era of gentility and refinement. The dramatic action takes place at the summer home of Prince Orlofsky where, despite champagne and glitter, dastardly actions and a desire for revenge cause trouble during a masked ball.
The play is led by the experienced baton of Claude Schnitzler, who has conducted this work dozens of times at various venues, including the Volksoper in Vienna. More than 80 singers, choristers, dancers and musicians are involved in the performance, for which sumptuous costumes have been made in the workshops of the Opéra de Rennes and the Angers Nantes Opéra.
This opera, sung in German with French surtitles, was recorded on video. As part of the Opéra sur écran(s) project, it will be broadcast in June 2022 in more than 30 cities in the regions of Brittany and Pays de la Loire, on eight local television stations and on France Musique.
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