Opera Scotland

Fledermaus 1939Carl Rosa Opera Company

Read more about the opera Fledermaus

The week commencing Monday, 3 April, saw the Carl Rosa's final visit to Edinburgh before the outbreak of World War Two. The company then moved to Glasgow King's for two weeks, playing the same operas. However the two Friday evenings in Glasgow saw the addition of single performances of A Masked Ball and La traviata.

During this period the company seems to have made a serious effort with its presentation of ballet sequences. The choreographer Ailne Philips here rejigged the second party sequence to include a danced 'Blue Danube Ballet'. For the Traviata the previous evening she had inserted a ballet using the rarely heard music Verdi had composed for the Paris premiere of Il trovatore.

Cast details are from a programme for the final Saturday22 April matinee in the A M Gardiner Collection (Mitchell Library) which also contains the previous evenings Traviata.

The week's programme in Edinburgh was: Mon Cav & Pag; Tue Barber of Seville; Wed Gipsy Baron; Thu Rigoletto; Fri Madam Butterfly; Sat mat Fledermaus; Sat eve Faust.

The Glasgow schedule, including two Johann Strauss operettas, was as follows: 

W/c 10 April: Mon Fledermaus; Tue Butterfly; Wed Faust; Thurs Rigoletto; Fri Masked Ball; Sat mat Gipsy Baron; Sat eve Barber of Seville.

W/c 17 April: Mon Cav & Pag; Tue Fledermaus; Wed Madam Butterfly; Thu Gipsy Baron; Fri Traviata; Sat mat Fledermaus; Sat eve Faust.

During this period, the Carl Rosa were including an extensive sequence of the ballet music.

Performance Cast

Alfred an Italian tenor and admirer of Rosalinde

John Myrddin

Adele the Eisensteins' maid

Rose Alper

Rosalinde wife of Eisenstein

Lillian Webb

Gabriel von Eisenstein

Ivor John

Blind Eisenstein's lawyer

Gwilym Jones

Falke a notary and friend of Eisenstein

Hubert Dunkerley

Frank prison governor

Kingsley Lark

Ida Adele's sister

Nanette Quin

Orlofsky a rich young Russian prince

Betty Thompson

Ivan Orlofsky's servant

Norman Jones

Frosch prison warder

Howell Glynne

Performance DatesFledermaus 1939

Map List

King's Theatre, Edinburgh | Edinburgh

8 Apr, 14.00

King's Theatre, Glasgow | Glasgow

10 Apr, 17.45 18 Apr, 19.45 22 Apr, 14.00

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