JOHANN STRAUSS II
“DIE FLEDERMAUS”

Conductor: Bisera Chadlovska
Director: Ljupka Jakimovska
Set Designer: Marija Veteroska
Costume Designer: Marija Pupuchevska
Ass. Costume Designer: Angela Bogevska
Choreographer: Sasha Evtimova
Ass. Coreographer: Maja Mitrovska – Bogojevska
Assistant Conductor: Katerina Stojkovska
Light design: Milcho Aleksandrov
Choir Master: Jasmina Gjorgeska
Assistant Director: Trajko Jordanovski
Concertmaster: Kliment Todoroski
Piano accompanist: Elena Siljanoska, Janinka Nevcheva, Andrej Naunov, Anastasija Grgovska
Stage Managers: Dragan Kostadinovikj, Marko Pavlevski, Katerina Boshkovska
Prompter: Nevena Georgieva

S O L O I S T S:
Eisenstein – Vasko Zdravkov
Alfred – Blagoj Nacoski
Rosalinde – Biljana Josifov
Adele – Nada Talevska
Prince Orlofsky – Sonja Pendovska Madevska
Falke – Dragan Ampov
Frank – Hristijan Antovski
Blind – Marjan Nikolovski
Ida – Aleksandra lazarovska Vasilevski
Frosch – Tihomir Jakimovski

The choir, orchestra and ballet ensemble of the National Opera and Ballet

ACT ONE

Vienna in the 90s. Through the windows of Eisenstein’s home, a serenade can be heard sung by Alfred, a tenor still burning with love for Rosalinda, who was once his sweetheart but is now married to Gabriel von Eisenstein. Adele, the maid, walks around the room reading an invitation to a masquerade ball. Rosalinda, frazzled by a headache and convinced she heard Alfred’s voice, enters the room but finds only Adele there. Adele asks to be excused for the evening so she can “visit her sick aunt,” and her mistress grants the request. Alfred enters the room and begins courting Rosalinda. She remains cold to his sweet talk, but melts when she hears his tender high note. He leaves when Eisenstein and his lawyer Blind arrive. The two are returning from court, where Eisenstein has been sentenced to spend one night in jail for a misdemeanor. Eisenstein dismisses the incompetent lawyer just as his friend Falke arrives, bringing an invitation to a masquerade ball. Falke suggests that Eisenstein bring along his famous pocket watch, which always charms the ladies. This way, he’ll collect some pleasant memories at the ball to help lift his spirits during his night in jail. Rosalinda and Adele “bittersweetly” bid Eisenstein farewell, surprised to see him dressed to the nines instead of heading to jail. After sending Adele off to visit her “sick aunt,” Rosalinda receives Alfred, whose blood is boiling with passion. Their tender moment is interrupted by the prison warden Frank, who mistakenly believes Alfred is Eisenstein, the man he’s come to arrest. To protect her honor, Rosalinda convinces Alfred to pretend to be her husband. Frank then leads Alfred off to jail.

ACT TWO

A reception hall in Prince Orlofsky’s palace. The prince’s guests among them Adele and her relative Ida await his arrival. Orlovsky enters, bored despite Falke’s promise of an evening filled with comedy and mistaken identities. The prince declares that at his ball, guests may do whatever they please. Adele, dressed in one of Rosalinda’s most beautiful gowns, mocks Eisenstein when he insists she looks “just like his wife’s maid.” Frank also arrives, followed by Rosalinda, who has also been invited by Falke and is disguised as a fiery Hungarian countess. The countess quickly becomes the object of Eisenstein’s flirtations. She steals his pocket watch, planning to use it later as proof of his infidelity. When asked to perform, Rosalinda agrees and sings a spirited csárdás, a song about her “homeland.” The guests then head to the banquet hall to indulge in the pleasures of wine, friendship, and love. Champagne flows freely and the revelers dance wildly into the early morning hours. As the clock strikes six, a tipsy Eisenstein stumbles out, on his way to fulfill his jail sentence.

ACT THREE

Later, at the prison. Frosch, the drunken jailer, struggles to maintain order among the prisoners, who can’t sleep because Alfred won’t stop singing. Frank arrives, still cheerful from the champagne, followed shortly by Ida and Adele. Adele believes Frank is a theater impresario who could help make her dream of performing on stage come true. When someone knocks, Frank hides the girls in a cell. He opens the door

to find Eisenstein, who has come to serve his sentence. He’s shocked to learn that someone is already in the cell a man claiming to be Eisenstein, who was supposedly dining with Rosalinda when arrested. Eisenstein, eager for answers, disguises himself with his confused lawyer’s wig and gown. Just then, Rosalinda arrives to request Alfred’s release and file for divorce from her cheating husband. She and her “Romeo” confess everything to the “lawyer.” Enraged, Eisenstein throws off his disguise and accuses his wife of infidelity but Rosalinda pulls out the pocket watch she stole at the ball, turning the accusation back on him. Prince Orlovsky and the other guests arrive, and everyone joins in a final toast, celebrating the reconciliation of Eisenstein and Rosalinda and the unraveling of all the disguises and deceptions.