Strauss, Die Fledermaus n9, the "Eins, Zwei, Drei" galop

Before we leave Act II, there is one further number to discuss. The action during n9 is between Rosalinde (disguised as a Hungarian countess) and Eisenstein, who is trying to seduce her using his special chiming pocket watch (which, we learned in Act I, he claims never fails). A brief galop, "Eins, Zwei, Drei," appears three times in the course of the scene. Its melody is about as obvious a rising line as one could want, but it is given a proper harmonization only in its first iterations, not the repetitions.

In the first instance, the repetition of the theme is cut off partway through by a dissonance as Eisenstein reacts to Rosalinde's miscounting:

In the second instance, Eisenstein deliberately miscounts wildly and the final tonic is replaced by another dissonance.

The third instance is at the end of the number, which the two singers bring to a dramatic close, but where the tune only appears once the cadence is finished, over a tonic pedal (circled). Adding insult to cadential injury, the codetta surges past ^8 to ^10 (F#6; see the box) and we hear several V-I's in a row.