Johann Strauss: Simplicius

Operetta in three acts / Sung in German Five years after Wagner's "Parsifal" Johann Strauss II presented "Simplicius" in the Theater an der Wien. Neither an opera nor an operetta it was a work that did not fit into any of the pre-defined categories. On the 100th anniversary of the composer's death in 1999 the Zurich opera house presented a new production the work's Swiss premiere. This production picked up on various impulses from the history of the work’s origin using them to create a unique version of the piece. Here for example is the "Donauweibchen" incorporated shortly before the end. The Austrian-born chief conductor of the Zurich opera house Franz Welser-Möst has left his mark as a native speaker on this "Simplicius" production both here and elsewhere.