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.