SUMMARY:   With her flirtatious husband about to go to jail and an old lover returning to get her back, Rosalinde has to choose between two very different men.  This plot twists and turns at a masquerade ball, the perfect setting for philandering, deception and comedy!

THE STORY: Set in Vienna in the 1890's, Alfred has come to woo his old love, Rosalinde, who is married to Gabriel von Eisenstein.  Eisenstein is due to serve a two week sentence in jail for a civil offense and Rosalinde says her goodbye, not realizing that he intends on attending a masquerade ball to charm the ladies and give himself pleasant memories to tide him over while incarcerated.  She discovers Alfred, and though she plays hard to get, she immediately falls back in love with him.  But Frank, the jail warden, interrupts this intimate moment and mistakes Alfred for Eisenstein. Rosalinde convinces Alfred to go along with Frank to save her good name.

Rosalinde attends the masquerade, only to be wooed by her own husband.  Neither recognizes each other at first, but when Eisenstein pulls out his watch, Rosalinde keeps it as a "token of affection" or rather, proof of his flirtation.  At 6am, Eisenstein leaves for his term in jail.

When he arrives, he finds his cell already occupied by an imposter Eisenstein who was taken from his own home and was with Rosalinde.  He quickly disguises himself as a lawyer just as Rosalinde enters the jail.  She has arrived to release Alfred and file for a divorce.  She divulges her flirtation to the "lawyer" and Eisenstein reveals himself and accuses her of promiscuity.  She volleys the same accusation back, showing him the watch.  Guests from the ball arrive in time to sing to the reconciliation of Rosalinde and Eisenstein as he is taken to the jail cell.

THE COMPOSER:  Son of the "Waltz King," Johann Strauss Sr., Johann Strauss II could only pursue a career in music after the untimely death of his father, who discouraged this in his son.  By his death in June of 1899, he had composed 16 operas and over 500 orchestral pieces. 

HISTORY:  "First produced on 5th April, 1874, at the Theatre an der Wien, Vienna, with Jani Szika, Marie Geistinger and Karoline Charles-Hirsch. London production on 18th December, 1876, at the Alhambra Theatre (in English), with Kate Munroe, Miss Beaumont and Miss Robson." 
-- http://www.theatrehistory.com

WHAT IS OPERETTA:  An operetta is literally a “little opera.”  Originally a play with overture, songs and dances, operetta has evolved into something indistinguishable from opera except for being set to “light" music.  Johann Strauss' DIE FLEDERMAUS, composed in 1887, is the classic example of an operetta.  It is story-based, easy to understand, yet has among the most beautiful and challenging music in the opera field. 

The Czech Opera Prague is a theater and concert society which collaborates with the best Czech and foreign artists who regularly work on the leading Prague stages and podia (the National Theater of Prague and the State Opera of Prague.) 

Co-productions are one of the principal interests of the management of Czech Opera Prague. Long years of experience have proven that, in Prague, there are costume and stage decor workshops which create products of outstanding quality. Over and above its activity in the Czech Republic, the Czech Opera Prague counts on its presentations abroad.  The quality of the ensemble is witnessed by the fact that Czech Opera Prague operates under the auspices of the Magistrate of the city of Prague and has the official support of the Ministry of Culture and the Czech Republic.