Die Fledermaus or sometimes called The Revenge of the Bat is an operetta composed by Johann Strauss II to a German libretto by Karl Haffne and Richard Genée. The original literary source for Die Fledermaus was Das Gefängnis (The Prison), a farce by German playwright Julius Roderich Benedix that premiered in Berlin in 1851. The operetta premiered on April 5, 1874 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna and has been part of the regular repertoire ever since.

Cast:

Eisenstien – Waldermar Kmentt

Rosalinde – Hilde Gueden

Adele – Erika Koth

Falke – Walter Berry

Alfred – Giuseppe Zampieri

Prince Orlofsky – Regina Resnik

Herbert von Karajan – conductor

Vienna Philharmonic

Vienna State Opera Chorus

DECCA 1960