Strauss, Die Fledermaus n16, Act III finale

In Act III, as we saw in the previous post, everyone converges on the jail, for different reasons but mainly to participate in Falke's revelation of his trick on Eisenstein. Since that trick was to induce Eisenstein to flirt with his disguised wife, the main element of the plot now is their reconciliation. Consistent with the farcical nature of the plot, when Eisenstein blames the champagne, Rosalinde promptly forgives him and all ends well.

The finale is brief, compared with those for the first two acts. A polka sets up an explanation of the ruse. Its introduction generates a simple ascent from ^5 to ^8. The theme that follows consists of unfolded intervals; the main voice is the lower one, ^1-^7-^1, with a covering ^5-^4-^3.

When Eisenstein says "Du siehst, nur der Champagner war an allem Schuld!," everyone joins in a reprise of the Prince's toast that opened the Act II finale—and now closes the operetta.