and that due to the lack of budget, he was not able to stage Cinderella as envisioned in the scenario. In 1901, Berlin's Royal Opera took interest in the score, with its directors captivated by the music, although they disapproved of the scenario. Their choreographer, Emil Graeb, suggested a change to the scenario and the task fell to Austrian writer Henrich Regel. The work's premiere on 2 May 1901 was a success, although reservations were made by Strauss' biographer, Ignatz Schnitzer, who commented that Bayer's orchestration fell short of Vienna's light-heartedness and the now-revised scenario was too 'puritanical'. Mahler left the Vienna Court Opera at the end of the 1907 season. The new director, Felix Weingartner, who was impressed with the score, eagerly sought it out and conducted the orchestra himself at the premiere in Vienna on 4 October 1908. The ballet was regularly performed for seven years, achieving forty-six performances until the outbreak of World War I. Ironically, Mahler proved to be more accurate in his judgment as to the cost of the production, as the Viennese performances were expensive, and it was neglected until 1975 when the ballet was resurrected. Summary of plot The action takes place in a department store, The Four Seasons. The leading characters are Gustav, owner of the store, and Franz, his younger brother and rival for the love of Grete (Cinderella), who works in the women’s fashions department. Grete’s stepmother, Mme. Leontine, is the department’s supervisor. She has, of course, two daughters who lord it over Grete and don’t seem to work though they are often in the store. Another key character, Piccolo, Gustav’s valet, is a travesty role. As mentioned, the ballerina (the part is referred to as "Floral") appears only in the ballroom (Act 2) for the floral divertissement. Typically, the printed program for Cinderella lists all the dances. From this inventory one gets an inkling how Viennese ballets at the time differed from those of St. Petersburg, which we know at least a little. There are four dances in Act 1. The first, called Franz’s Self-portrait, introduces the ballet’s junior male lead (probably demicaractere) to the female cast of characters and to the audience. In this solo, Franz (Ferdinand Rathner) proclaims who he is and what he does. One of the things he masters is driving an automobile—dancemiming this topic seems very Leonide Massine. The stepsisters (danced by real sisters,