Met Opera's First New Year's Eve Fledermaus Performance Was in 1950

Summary: Met Opera's first New Year's Eve Fledermaus performance was in 1950, with the last of 18 subsequent New Year's Eve dates taking place in 2013.

In Met Opera's 1950-1951 season, Bulgarian operatic soprano Ljuba Welitsch (July 10, 1913-Sep. 1, 1996) sang Rosalinde, wife of pranked Eisenstein, in the first three (including New Year's Eve), fifth to sixth and eighth through 10th performances of Garson Kanin's debut, and, indeed, only, Met Opera production, his English-language version of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus; photo by Sedge LeBlanc: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Met Opera's first New Year's Eve Fledermaus performance took place in 1950 and initiated a repertoire of 18 subsequent New Year's Eve dates that stretched into the 2013-2014 season.

Die Fledermaus ("The Flittermouse" or "The Bat") by Austrian light music composer Johann Strauss II (Oct. 25, 1825-June 3, 1899) received its Metropolitan Opera premiere Thursday, Feb. 16, 1905. Eight performances of the operetta were offered during the opera company's 23rd season. The second (Monday, Feb. 20), fourth (Saturday, Feb. 25) and fifth (Wednesday, March 1) performances also were held at the Metropolitan Opera House, located, between West 39th Street and West 40th Street, at 1411 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan's Garment District. The third and sixth through eighth performances were offered as part of the 1904-1905 season's U.S. tour. The third performance, Tuesday, Feb. 21, took place in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The sixth performance, Thursday, March 9, took place at Boston Theatre, in Boston, Massachusetts. The seventh performance, Thursday, March 23, was given in Chicago, Illinois. San Francisco's Grand Opera House was the venue for the season's eighth, closing performance, Thursday, April 13.

In Met Opera's 1950-1951 season, 45 years 10 and one-half months after its Metropolitan Opera premiere, Die Fledermaus received its first New Year's Eve performance. The season offered 31 performances of Die Fledermaus. The operetta's first performance, Wednesday, Dec. 20, 1950, numbered as the 11th performance since the operetta's premiere in 1905. The New Year's Eve performance occurred as the operetta's third performance in the 1950-1951 season and as its 13th overall in Met Opera's Die Fledermaus repertoire.

The 1950-1951 season's staging of Die Fledermaus debuted a new production of the operetta. Jewish American writer and play and film director Garson Kanin (Nov. 24, 1912-March 13, 1999) made his Met Opera debut as the new production's director.

Rolf Gérard (Aug. 9, 1909-Nov. 19, 2001) designed the new production. Approximately one and one-half months before the new Fledermaus production, the German-American scenographer had made his Met Opera debut, Monday, Nov. 6, 1950, in the opera company's 15th performance of Don Carlo by Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi (Oct. 10, 1813-Jan. 27, 1901).

Antony Tudor (born William Cook; April 4, 1908-April 19, 1987) choreographed the operetta's dances. Almost one and one-third months before the new Fledermaus production, the English ballet choreographer, dancer, teacher and ballet company founder had made his Met Opera debut, Saturday, Nov. 11, 1950, in the opera company's 330th performance of Verdi's La Traviata.

The new production's first thirteen performances, including the New Year's Eve date, featured Tudor's choreography. The season's 14th Fledermaus performance, Saturday, March 3, 1951, however, debuted newly choreographed dances by Zachary Solov (Feb. 15, 1923-Nov. 6, 2004). The American choreographer and dancer made his Met Opera debut as the new production's new choreographer.

The 1950-1951 season's new production of Die Fledermaus was sung in English. American librettist and lyricist Howard Dietz (Sep. 8, 1896-July 30, 1983) translated the operetta's lyrics in collaboration with director Garson Kanin's translation of the text.

The new production was conducted by Hungarian-born Jewish American conductor and violinist Eugene Ormandy (Nov. 18, 1899-March 12, 1985). The maestro made his Met Opera debut as the operetta's conductor.

Die Fledermaus concerns foolish flirtations and mistaken identities as part of a scheme of light-hearted revenge by Doctor Falke for his drunken abandonment, after a masquerade party, in a bat costume by his friend, Eisenstein. Falke's co-conspirator Prince Orlofsky holds a costume ball where Eisenstein unknowingly pursues his disguised wife, Rosalinde.

The new production's debut featured Ljuba Welitsch (July 10, 1913-Sep. 1, 1996) as Rosalinde. The Bulgarian operatic soprano had made her Met Opera debut Friday, Feb. 4, 1949, in the title role in the opera company's 25th performance of Salome by German late Romantic and early modern composer Richard Strauss (June 11, 1864-Sep. 8, 1949).

The debut's Eisenstein was sung by Set Svanholm (Sep. 2, 1904-Oct. 4, 1964). The Swedish operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Friday, Nov. 15, 1946, in the title role in the opera company's 201st performance of Siegfried by German Romantic era composer-librettist Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

John Brownlee (Jan. 7, 1900-Jan. 10, 1969) performed as the debut production's bat prank avenger, Doctor Falke. The Australian operatic baritone had made his Met Opera debut Wednesday, Feb. 17, 1937, in the opera company's 220th performance of Verdi's Rigoletto.

Richard Tucker (Aug. 28, 1913-Jan. 8, 1975) appeared as the debut's Alfred, singing teacher and Rosalinde's former lover. The American operatic tenor had made his Met Opera debut Thursday, Jan. 25, 1945, as Enzo in the opera company's 143rd performance of La Gioconda by 19th-century Italian opera composer Amilcare Ponchielli (Aug. 31, 1834-Jan. 16, 1886).

Patrice Munsel (May 14, 1925-Aug. 4, 2016) sang the debut's Adele, Doctor Falke's co-conspirator, aspiring actress and Rosalinde's maid. The American coloratura soprano had made her Met Opera debut Saturday, Dec. 4, 1943, as Philine in the opera company's 81st performance of Mignon by French composer Ambroise Thomas (Aug. 5, 1811-Feb. 12, 1896).

Risë Stevens (June 11, 1913-March 20, 2013) sang the trouser role of Prince Orlofsky in the season's first three (opening night, Wednesday, Dec. 20; Wednesday, Dec. 27; New Year's Eve, Dec. 31) and fifth through seventh (Saturday, Jan. 13, 1951; Monday, Jan. 15; Saturday, Jan. 20) performances of Die Fledermaus. The American operatic mezzo-soprano had made her Met Opera debut Tuesday, Nov. 22, 1938, as Octavian in the opera company's 63rd performance of Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier.

The New Year's Eve performance featured a Met Opera-specific interpolation, according to the Metropolitan Opera Archives Database (MetOpera Database). Risë Stevens inserted welcoming personal verses into Prince Orlofsky's Act II aria, Chacun à son gout: "The operas that must be your choice If you like plays that sing Are solely dependent on one voice, The voice of Rudolf Bing." Austrian-born Jewish British opera impresario Sir Rudolf Bing (Jan. 9, 1902-Sep. 2, 1997) had assumed the opera company's general managership in the 1950-1951 season. Die Fledermaus numbered as the 10th production performed under Bing's managership. Serving as Met Opera's General Manager for 22 years, Sir Rudolf ended the 1971-1972 season with his retirement.

In addition to the 1950-1951 season, Met Opera offered six more New Year's Eve performances of Die Fledermaus in the 1950s decade. New Year's Eve Fledermaus performances took place Monday, Dec. 31 1951; Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1952; Thursday, Dec. 31, 1953; Friday, Dec. 31, 1954; Saturday, Dec. 31, 1955; Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1958.

In the following decade, two New Year's Eve Fledermaus performances were scheduled. The operetta was performed Monday, Dec. 31, 1962, and Tuesday, Dec. 31, 1963.

No New Year's Eve performances of Die Fledermaus were offered in the 1970s. In the next decade, the operetta received two New Year's Eve performances, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 1986, and Thursday, Dec. 31, 1987.

In the 1990s, four New Year's Eve Fledermaus performances occurred. The operetta was performed Saturday, Dec. 31, 1994; Sunday, Dec. 31, 1995; Thursday, Dec. 31, 1998; and Friday, Dec. 31, 1999.

Met Opera's Fledermaus repertoire in the 21st century has included three New Year's Eve dates. Die Fledermaus was offered Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2002; Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005; and Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2013.

Die Fledermaus skipped the 2014-2015 season but appeared in the 2015-2016. The season's 10 dates did not include New Year's Eve, although the eighth performance took place the day before, Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2015.

Met Opera has not performed Die Fledermaus since the 2015-2016 season.

In Met Opera's 1950-1951 season, American mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens sang only two roles, both trouser, in two operas composed by two unrelated Strausses; she added the role of Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus to her Met Opera portfolio, and she reprised her Met Opera debut role, Octavian, in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier: San Francisco Opera @SFOpera, via Twitter June 11, 2021

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

In Met Opera's 1950-1951 season, Bulgarian operatic soprano Ljuba Welitsch (July 10, 1913-Sep. 1, 1996) sang Rosalinde, wife of pranked Eisenstein, in the first three (including New Year's Eve), fifth to sixth and eighth through 10th performances of Garson Kanin's debut, and, indeed, only, Met Opera production, his English-language version of Johann Strauss's Die Fledermaus; photo by Sedge LeBlanc: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BASA_1697K-1-26-1_Ljuba-Velitsch-as-Rosalind-in-The-Bat.jpg

In Met Opera's 1950-1951 season, American mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens sang only two roles, both trouser, in two operas composed by two unrelated Strausses; she added the role of Prince Orlofsky in Johann Strauss II's Die Fledermaus to her Met Opera portfolio, and she reprised her Met Opera debut role, Octavian, in Richard Strauss's Der Rosenkavalier: San Francisco Opera @SFOpera, via Twitter June 11, 2021, @ https://twitter.com/SFOpera/status/1403506679103193092

For further information:

"Debut: John Brownlee." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 120760 Rigoletto {220} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/17/1937. Debut: John Brownlee.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=120760

"Debut: Patrice Munsel, Donald Dame." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 136120 Mignon {81} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/4/1943. Debut: Patrice Munsel, Donald Dame.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=136120

"Debut: Zachary Solov." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 156250 Die Fledermaus {24} Metropolitan Opera House: 03/3/1951. Debut: Zachary Solov. In English.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=156250

"Debuts: Delia Rigal, Fedora Barbieri, Cesare Siepi, Lucine Amara, Margeret Webster, Rolf Gérard." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 155000 New production Don Carlo {15} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/6/1950. Telecast (Opening Night {66}. Rudolf Bing, General Manager. First performance of Rudolf Bing's management. In Italian.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=155000

"Debuts: Jack Gilford, Eugene Ormany, Garson Kanin." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 155420 New production Die Fledermaus {11} Metropolitan Opera House: 12/20/1950. Debuts: Jack Gilford, Eugene Ormandy, Garson Kanin. In English.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=155420

"Debuts: Ljuba Welitsch, Fritz Reiner, Reginald Tonry Jr." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 149720 Gianni Schicchi {40} Salome {25} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/4/1949. Debuts: Ljuba Welitsch, Fritz Reiner, Reginald Tonry Jr..
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=149720

"Debuts: Margaret Roggero, Alberto Erede, Antony Tudor." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 155030 La Traviata {330} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/11/1950. Debuts: Margaret Roggero, Alberto Erede, Antony Tudor.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=155030

"Debuts: Richard Tucker, Ann Lee." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 138630 La Gioconda {143} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/25/1945. Debuts: Richard Tucker, Ann Lee.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=138630

"Debuts: Risë Stevens, Sari Montague, Erich Witte." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 124010 Der Rosenkavalier {63} American Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 11/22/1938. Debuts: Risë Stevens, Sari Montague, Erich Witte.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=124010

"Debuts: Set Svanholm, Fritz Stiedry." MetOpera Database > Met Performance] CID: 143040 Siegfried {201} Metropolitan Opera House: 11/15/1946. Debuts: Set Svanholm, Fritz Stiedry.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=143040

Dr. Theresa Muir @theresasmets. "This amazing gold brooch belonged to Risë Stevens, the great mezzo soprano. It represents Octavian in Rosenkavalier Act II as he presents the rose to Sophie; which you can hear Stevens sing here. https://youtu.be/4nFz0XjMjfE." Twitter. Feb. 9, 2021.
Available @ https://twitter.com/theresasmets/status/1359043692254887938

Marriner, Derdriu. "Met Opera's 2022-2023 Season Has 24 Saturday Matinee Opera Broadcasts." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 28, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/met-operas-2022-2023-season-has-24.html

Marriner, Derdriu. "Three of Seven 2022-2023 Met Opera Season New Productions Are Premieres." Earth and Space News. Monday, Nov. 21, 2022.
Available @ https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2022/11/three-of-seven-2022-2023-met-opera.html

Met Opera Guild @MetOperaGuild. "Here's Risë Stevens singing to her pet poodle, Lamby (or perhaps acting as his accompanist?)! #MetPets." Twitter. Aug. 12, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/MetOperaGuild/status/631576022706704384

"Metropolitan Opera Premiere: Die Fledermaus." MetOpera Database > [Met Performance] CID: 34990 Metropolitan Opera Premiere Die Fledermaus {1} Metropolitan Opera House: 02/16/1905. Debut: Max Hänseler.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/scripts/cgiip.exe/WService=BibSpeed/fullcit.w?xCID=34990

San Francisco Opera @SFOpera. "His father Franz described him as 'healthy, pretty and round as a ball' when he was born #OnThisDay in 1864: Today is composer Richard Strauss's birthday! San Francisco Opera first performed his opera "Der Rosenkavalier" in 1940, with mezzo-soprano Risë Stevens in a star role." Twitter. June 11, 2021.
Available @ https://twitter.com/SFOpera/status/1403506679103193092

Time. "Music: Under New Management." Time > Arts & Entertainment. Jan. 15, 1951.