Strauss
Intoxicating Operetta
by Emma R. Lundgren
The
Oberlin Opera Theater and the Oberlin Orchestra premiered Die Fledermaus
this Thursday, Nov. 13 with guest director Jonathon Field and guest
conductor Maestro Imre Pallo, professor of music at Indiana University.
Die Fledermaus is not the best operetta, it is the operetta,
said composer Felix von Weingartner, successor to Gustav Mahler
as director of the Vienna Court Opera. And indeed, the libretto
is a piece of its own. A firework of melody and rhythm revel from
the first chords of the overture, and after an energetic introduction
by the Orchestra, a bourgeois home is revealed for the audience.
The first act begins.
It opens up with an amusing duet sung by Adele (Andie Raab), the
chambermaid, who is longing to go to the princes salon, and
her mistress Rosalinde (Alyson Cambridge), who on the other hand
is longing for her former lover Alfred (Joseph Holmes). The opera
is filled with comical remarks, plots and melodies, not to mention
engaging acting. Perhaps the most entertaining example of this is
when Eisenstein (Scott Skiba), Rosalinde and Adele sing a trio,
each one proclaiming their own grief when in fact, they are all
quite excited about the night ahead of them. Witty gesticulations
and theatrical singing make a nice ending for the first act.
The second act takes place at prince Orlofskys garden salon.
The women are in ornate dresses and the men in elegantly styled
tuxedos, a rather characteristic portrait of the Vienna of the Golden
Age. When Adele is introduced to the prince as the Russian
actress Olga, Orlofskys attention is piqued and he asks her
Do you speak Russian? Adele replies, No, I speak
slowly. This is one example, where the English language works,
but unfortunately it doesnt most of the time. Nevertheless,
taking into consideration what an enormous work it is to translate
an opera, translator Alan Montgomery did an impressive job.
Cambridge proves herself a virtuoso with a gripping voice, as does
Skiba in their departure song. The second act ends with a waltz,
performed by all the singers on stage and the orchestras enthusiastic
playing.
Johann Strauss, Jr. was born in 1825 and by the age of 19 he had
founded his own orchestra. It was not until the age of 45 that he
decided to write for the theater and was soon acclaimed as The
Waltz King. When Strauss, Jr. ceased to be commissioned by
the impresarios, many of his major contributions to the music world
were unleashed. It has been said that, in a frenzy of creativity,
he had the music on paper in 42 days and nights.
Ironically, when Die Fledermaus premiered, it was a flop; however,
it didnt disappear from the operetta repertoire. Instead it
drew larger audiences each year it was performed. Today Die Fledermaus
is staged in the most prestigious opera houses.
The premise of Die Fledermaus is poignant considering the times
in which it was composed. The operetta was composed during a time
of economic depression and therefore serves as a song of farewell
to a vanishing era of prosperity. This context brings an added complexity
to the constant run of gregarious partying, which concludes in the
third act with a final toast in jail.
Die
Fledermaus plays this weekend, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and
Sunday at 2 p.m.
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