Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Ernst Theis, musical director
Diana Damrau, soprano
Michael Dangl, acting

Works by Johann Strauss II

An extraordinary woman made a significant contribution to Johann Strauss' successful start as an operetta composer, both as a patron and a driving force: Marie Geistinger, the first director of the Theater an der Wien and the most famous German-speaking operetta diva at the time. Strauss wrote the main roles of his first four pieces for her, including Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus with the famous Csárdás. She guaranteed him a full house and international interest. Diana Damrau, a world-famous soprano, is presenting a special concert to mark the anniversary year with excerpts from these four Geistinger roles.
However, the director also had rivals for whom Strauss also wrote attractive numbers - which Geistinger disapproved of and sometimes behind her back: Caroline Charles-Hirsch, Caroline Finaly and Zulmar Bouffar. Diana Damrau also slips into their roles, uniting all the historical divas in a present-day one and thus mapping out the diva horizon of classical Viennese operetta full of fire and joie de vivre.

In cooperation with Johann Strauss 2025