Johann Strauss “Indigo”
The Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus will perform on the 25th September 2025 the seldom revived first Operetta by the Waltz King Johann Strauss entitled Indigo. The performance is conducted by Dario Salvi and will feature an international cast of singers: Imola Mate (Fantasca), Andrea Chudak (Toffana), Laurence Kaladijan (Romadour), Alexander Voigt (Ali Baba), Timo Rößner (Janio) and Theo Rüster (Indigo).
The performance will be recorded and 2 days of recording sessions will follow to make the music available to the audience in its complete form for the first time in history.
Article from the “Steirer Seppel, 20 May 1871”;
"The waltz master writes an operetta! He stands alongside Offenbach! Who wouldn't be curious to know how many charming waltz motifs had to be sacrificed to the "jumping stone" of operetta? Well, Mr. Strauss will certainly never deny the waltz, but it is not his sole domain: the overture alone is a charming gem and deserves all the attention!And so it continues through all the acts, fresh, cheerful, piquant, cozy, and most importantly, almost never trivial; the trio of the first act, the court jester's duet and Fantasca, the magnificent finale of the third act (perhaps the most valuable number in the operetta) ensure a more than ephemeral success for this friendly, vibrant composition.”
The Plot:
The first act introduces us to Indigo's court life. We find it a dissolute economy. The finance minister has no money, the war minister has no weapons, the trade minister knows nothing, and the wives of these dignitaries set the tone and have a decisive voice. The most important part only unfolds when news arrives that the robbers troubling Indigo's realm have advanced in large numbers close to the residence. Defeating the robbers is now considered the main task, and against Indigo's will, Fantasca is chosen as the prize for the successful accomplishment of this deed. Fantassa has discovered the robbers' secret by chance; she has learned the magic spell "Sesame," which opens the robbers' den, and she bases her plan on it.
She persuades the ruler that, since the men are powerless against the robbers, the bayaderes should fight these scoundrels. Fantasca sets out at the head of the harem and leads the women into the cave where she has summoned the donkey driver Ali Baba and his donkey, laden with numerous sacks, to take these sacks of gold, and then escape. By chance, Schani, who has introduced himself to Indigo's merry councillor as "Janio," learns of this. He borrows Ali Baba's robe and enters the cave where the women are, who have been plunged into a deep slumber by a potion offered by Fantasca. Fantasca and Janio, laden with archers, leave the grotto in which the bayaderes remain imprisoned. This effective scene concludes the second act.
In the final act, there is dancing, a colourful scene of market life unfolds, new episodic characters are introduced, and suddenly the bayaderes, who had been locked in the cave, storm in. They were freed by the donkey driver Ali Baba and carried off in sacks. Indigo appears with his court, Fantasca with Janio (i.e Schani) boards a steamship and returns to Europe; with which scene the play concludes.
