The operettas of Johann Strauss II

[albion]

With the very welcome reissue of the Marco Polo 52-disc Johann Strauss II edition -



it may be timely to take stock of what wasn't included in the series, namely the fifteen operettas. In recent years Naxos and CPO have been busily filling in the gaps by recording the lesser-known stage-works (which now take their place beside the valiant EMI Simplicius recorded at Zurich in 1999) -

Der Karneval in Rom (1873) - CPO 7774052



Das Spitzentuch der Königin (1880) - CPO 7774062



Eine Nacht in Venedig (1883) [original version] - Naxos 8660268-69



Simplicius (1887) - EMI 5570092



Fürstin Ninetta (1893) - Naxos 8660227-28



Jabuka (1894) - Naxos 8660216-17



Die Göttin der Vernunft (1897) - Naxos 8660680-81





Die Fledermaus (1874) and Der Zigeunerbaron (1885) have each notched up several fine recordings but Indigo und die vierzig Räuber (1871), Cagliostro in Wien (1875), Prinz Methusalem (1877), Blindekuh (1878), Der lustige Krieg (1881) and Waldmeister (1895) all await revival.

Each of these operettas (even the roundly-derided Blindekuh, source of the Benatzky-arranged Nuns' Chorus) contains first-rate music, and it is bewildering that such attractive works as Der lustige Krieg and Waldmeister are even now not represented in the catalogue - hopefully Naxos and CPO are already lining them up. 

[JimL]

The main complaint against most of the operettas of Strauss, Jr. has been the plots, which were often ridiculous or incomprehensible.  But I'm sure that there are at least a couple more besides Fledermaus and Zigeunerbaron that have plots serviceable enough to be stageworthy.

[albion]

the plots [...] were often ridiculous or incomprehensible.

The same complaint could quite rightly be levelled against vast swathes of musical theatre, from Offenbach, Lecocq, Planquette and Audran onwards through Strauss, Suppe, Millocker and Ziehrer, through Sullivan, Clay, Cellier and Solomon, through Fall, Eysler and Kalman to Monckton, Caryll, Jones and Stuart. Plots were often flimsy, topical and essentially ephemeral, lyrics banal and dialogue witless in the extreme - yet many of these works enjoyed their share of success in an age when operetta was the last word in entertainment, rather than the slightly-dusty museum curiosity it seems to much of today's audience.

Cripplingly expensive to stage well and of extremely dubious dramatic value, many operettas and musical comedies simply couldn't justify a full stage revival - however, the wealth of great music they contain should make concert performances of the best examples a real option.

[Lionel Harrsion]

the plots [...] were often ridiculous or incomprehensible.

The same complaint could quite rightly be levelled against vast swathes of musical theatre....

Let's face it, the same complaint could rightly be levelled against vast swathes of grand opera too, and many of those get staged frequently!

[albion]

Coming soon from CPO, another entry in their excellent ongoing Dresden series -

Prinz Methusalem (1877)



http://www.jpc.de/jpcng/cpo/detail/-/art/Johann-Strauss-II-1825-1899-Prinz-Methusalem/hnum/4916169

[Paul Barasi]

Yes, Polo was minted with a hole in the Johann Strauß II operettas, the series is also of variable performance and compositional quality, but it is still a marvellous collection. It allows discovery of little known pieces of great beauty and fun – works that never even surface at the Vienna New Year Concerts.  The composer was able to knock out a vast amount of music that rarely was a complete miss and on just about on any topical theme too, uniting a city that musically was otherwise utterly divided between Wagner and Brahms. It was particularly appropriate for him to take up the great operatic tradition of silly plots and yes, it's time to take stock of what wasn't included in the series, namely the fifteen operettas. But nor should many other composers outside his family be forgotten (including Ziehrer, Millöcker, Nedbal, Vacka, Flegl, Komzák, Fucik ... Lumbye).