The Nashville Opera mounts its 100^th production this weekend with a lighthearted story of Old Vienna, Die Fledermaus. These days, the operetta by Johann Strauss Jr., is an extravagant look back at a golden age long gone, but the show found its first success by being very of-the-moment.

Die Fledermaus premiered in 1874 during tough economic times. Just the year before, economic panics in Europe and the United States had led to bank failures and stock market crashes. Money was tight all around, and opera companies whose bread and butter had been extravagant productions set in exotic locales or deep in history couldn’t afford the massive sets and grand costumes that audiences expected of them.

Die Fledermaus was just what opera producers needed. It didn’t have any scenes in vast outdoor spaces or awe-inspiring temples; the action happens in the interior rooms of homes and a police station. What’s more, it wasn’t a period piece. That meant companies of the time could easily adapt existing sets, decorate the stage with regular furniture and knicknacks, even have the singers perform in their own clothing.

Die Fledermaus gave theaters a show to mount on a budget, and plenty of producers added it to their schedule for that reason. Audiences responded quite warmly.

While the relatively small scale of the operetta caught some by surprise (at the premiere, someone in the balcony is said to have cried out in exasperation during the third act, “What, another room?!”), the story was clever, amusing and light. It poked gentle fun at the wealthy class blamed for the economic downturn without explicitly bringing to mind any of the actual bad news that people were trying to escape with a trip to the theater.

Even without that subtext, it was just plain silly. Through the 19th century, opera had become an increasingly serious and melodramatic art form, but audiences of the 1870s were hungry for a laugh. Instead of a story that ended with tragic death, operagoers delighted in the finale about how much fun it is to drink champagne.

The music itself sounded slightly audacious — pleasingly daring, even — to opera audiences of the day. Strauss was the “King of the Waltz,” which was essentially considered pop music at that time. His compositions were dance hits, not high art. He certainly wasn’t the first to bring a light touch to the form, but it was a big change to have the actual party music of the day on stage.

Think of the way the rock-and-roll of Hair or the hip-hop of Hamilton excited Broadway fans: That’s the kind of energy a show like Die Fledermaus brought to the opera world of the late 19 th century.

The Nashville Opera performs Die Fledermaus April 7 & 9 at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center.