Overview
The delightful Johann Strauss comic opera Die Fledermaus was mercilessly lampooned in this truly bizarre production. For starters, a framing device has been added: After appearing in 300 consecutive appearances of Fledermaus (which translates as The Bat) the lead tenor (Georg Alexander) imagines that he's seeing bats everywhere. Driven a bit over the edge by all this, he falls asleep and has a nightmare about the opera, with a group of non-singers cast in the leading roles. The original libretto about romantic assignations, political imprisonments and mistaken identity is burlesqued to the hilt: at one point, the hero finds out that his prison cell is surrounded by rubber tubes!
Cast
- Lída Baarová as Maria Weigel / Rosalinde
- Hans Söhnker as Kammersänger Hans Weigel / Eisenstein
- Friedl Czepa as Hanni / Adele
- Jola Jobst as Berta / Ida
- Georg Alexander as Staatsanwalt Wentin / Frank
- Robert Dorsay as Chauffeur Franz / Alfred
- Hans Moser as Hans Moser
- Harald Paulsen as Rechtsanwalt Dr. Rommel / Dr.Falke
- Karl Stepanek as Attaché Baranoff / Orlovsky
- Hans Stiebner as Kapellmeister