The Bat, Ballet by Roland Petit
Roland Petit’s ballet, The Bat, offers whimsical humour and sumptuous elegance in equal measure and this production at the Vienna State Opera brings both elements of his choreography to the fore perfectly. Petit’s version of The Bat is set to music from the famous operetta, Die Fledermaus, by Johann Strauss the Younger, which premiered on 5 April 1874 at the Theater an der Wien. Originally set in Vienna, Petit reimagined the story as taking place in Paris but the story is much the same. The Frenchman first choreographed The Bat for the Ballet National de Marseille and the ballet's debut took place at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo in 1979 under its French title, La Chauve-souris.
The Bat is a true spectacle of dance that makes the most of Strauss' well-known and much-admired operatic score. The plot concerns a married couple, Johann and Bella. At night, Johann seemingly lives a double life when he flies out wearing a pair of bat wings. Unsurprisingly, his wife is somewhat concerned by Johann's nighttime escapades. As a result, she consults the couple's children's tutor, Ulrich, about what she should do. Ulrich makes advances on Bella which are spurned but he thinks he stands a chance of winning her over if he can demonstrate Johann is being unfaithful when he is out and about at night.
In the end, the pair agree that Bella will disguise herself as a mysterious beauty so she can prove Johann's infidelity by seducing him at a nearby nightspot, Maxim's. Later, Johann does indeed become captivated by the beguiling woman he meets while still wearing his bat wings. As Ulrich had predicted, Johann is infatuated by Bella without realising the woman he is pursuing is, in fact, his wife. However, Ulrich is not content with the way events are panning out and he creates a situation which results in Johann being arrested. The plot unfolds in such a way that Bella is able to secure Johann's freedom, but will their marriage survive his nocturnal antics? What will Bella do to clip his wings and what does this mean for Ulrich? As the story reaches its climax, the combination of Petit's choreography and Strauss' music resolve these questions in a remarkably entertaining and light-hearted way as the remaining action plays out.