Since the Gilded Gentleman had its premiere episode in December of 2021,

every so often a listener will contact me and ask just what the Gilded Gentleman's theme music is.

Gosh, it sounds familiar, but just what is it?

I wish I could say it was composed just for me,

but alas, had I only known Johann Strauss II back in the day,

well, perhaps it would have been.

The Gilded Gentleman's theme music is the opening bars

of the overture to Strauss's beloved and famous operetta deflater mouse.

Deflater mouse, which translates to the bat, the flying mouse, in German.

The bat is a nickname for one of the characters and refers to a costume he once wore to a grand ball, and, well, you're just

going to have to go to a performance to figure it all out. The story of Deflatermouse revolves

around a grand Year's Eve ball in Fandesiac Le Vienna. It's a story of deception,

mistaken identities, and of course, forgiveness and love in the end,

all accompanied by Strauss's truly toe-tapping and gloriously infectious music,

which made it a runaway hit at its premiere in 1874. It has become one of music history's

most performed and favorite operettas.

In this show, we'll go behind the velvet curtains and take a look at Deflater Mouse,

the world of music and operetta in Fandesiac Le Vienna,

how influential the operetta form actually was,

and a bit about why and when Strauss wrote this particular piece when he did,

and we'll even look at some other influential operettas of the period, such as Franz Lehar's

classic, The Merry Widow.

...