The Bat Strikes Again!
Die Fledermaus has always been one of my favorite operas. It was the first one I ever bought on CD. I even saw a terrible version at the Clarksville Apple Shed when I was a young'un. I have yet to see a completely satisfactory production, though. The last time through the Lyric, seven years ago, was close. The production I saw last night got a lot right, but also a lot wrong.
First, the good parts: the Lyric continues to bring the high production values that have been the hallmarks of this season. The sets and costumes were great, and the dancing was top notch. Most of the principals were native German speakers, which was a boon during the spoken parts (unfortunately, it also made most of the non-native speakers more glaring). This had a bonus effect of making the spoken-word parts flow better, and funnier, with plenty of tossed-off bon mots. In general, the cast acted splendidly.
Unfortunately, it seems that most of the cast were cast for their acting, not their singing. This is not a problem for most roles, but it was a bit disappointing for Rosalinde. If I were casting Fledermaus, I'd cast that part based on how well the singer sang "Klaenge meiner Heimat" before all other considerations. Juliane Banse did some fine acting and fine singing, but she could not hit the high notes on that aria, which bothered me considerably. Daniela Fally was good as Adele, but I'm pretty sure Marlis Petersen has ruined me for other Adeles. The rest of the cast was good, except for our Alfred. Michael Spyres had gone back to Missouri for the birth of his child, so we got the understudy (whose name escapes me). Since this is such a small role, I can't imagine he rehearsed much, and he looked like a deer in headlights up there as he tripped through his lines.
This continues another worrying trend of this season: I always had mixed feelings about bringing in so many big-name singers in the past, but at least I could count on some solid singing. Even the smaller parts seemed to be filled with fine singers (like I said, Petersen was a find seven years ago). This year, not so much.
One final interesting note: the essay in the back of the Playbill mentioned a 1929 production in Berlin which did a lot to renovate Fledermaus's reputation. Erich Korngold (who later scored pirate movies in Hollywood) re-scored Strauss for it. I'll have to find a recording of that some day.
First, the good parts: the Lyric continues to bring the high production values that have been the hallmarks of this season. The sets and costumes were great, and the dancing was top notch. Most of the principals were native German speakers, which was a boon during the spoken parts (unfortunately, it also made most of the non-native speakers more glaring). This had a bonus effect of making the spoken-word parts flow better, and funnier, with plenty of tossed-off bon mots. In general, the cast acted splendidly.
Unfortunately, it seems that most of the cast were cast for their acting, not their singing. This is not a problem for most roles, but it was a bit disappointing for Rosalinde. If I were casting Fledermaus, I'd cast that part based on how well the singer sang "Klaenge meiner Heimat" before all other considerations. Juliane Banse did some fine acting and fine singing, but she could not hit the high notes on that aria, which bothered me considerably. Daniela Fally was good as Adele, but I'm pretty sure Marlis Petersen has ruined me for other Adeles. The rest of the cast was good, except for our Alfred. Michael Spyres had gone back to Missouri for the birth of his child, so we got the understudy (whose name escapes me). Since this is such a small role, I can't imagine he rehearsed much, and he looked like a deer in headlights up there as he tripped through his lines.
This continues another worrying trend of this season: I always had mixed feelings about bringing in so many big-name singers in the past, but at least I could count on some solid singing. Even the smaller parts seemed to be filled with fine singers (like I said, Petersen was a find seven years ago). This year, not so much.
One final interesting note: the essay in the back of the Playbill mentioned a 1929 production in Berlin which did a lot to renovate Fledermaus's reputation. Erich Korngold (who later scored pirate movies in Hollywood) re-scored Strauss for it. I'll have to find a recording of that some day.