Johann Strauss's (1825-1899) ninth operetta Eine Nacht in Venedig (A Night in Venice) premiered 1883 in Berlin and is his only operetta to be premiered outside Vienna. Although the score gained high acclaim, the press criticized the original libretto as silly. Strauss made several alterations to the work and scored a huge triumph with the Viennese premiere, one month later, where it ran for 44 performances at the Theater an der Wien. The aria 'Was mir der Zufall' gab is sung by Annina at the beginning of the second act: Annina wants to take revenge on her boyfriend Caramello by revealing her plan to take advantage of the earlier replacements and to seduce the Duke.
