It is Vienna in 1874. Things have been set in motion before the curtain rises on Die Fledermaus, that most effervescent of operettas. The recipient of a practical joke while in a drunken haze after a party, it has taken young Dr. Falke three years to figure out how to get back at his friend Eisenstein for the prank. The perfect forum is provided by the outlandish Russian Prince Orlofsky, who rolls into town and invites Falke to a sumptuous party. Guests arrive under an assortment of false pretenses. Even Adele, the Eisenstein’s maid, feigns an excuse to be released from work that night so she can go to the ball, and disguises herself as a Russian actress. The party culminates in the unwitting Eisenstein flirting shamelessly with his own wife, who is in disguise as a Hungarian countess. Amidst much waltzing and champagne consumption, Eisenstein gets a taste of his own medicine, delivered in large doses by Dr. Falke.