by Johann Strauss, Jr., directed by Guillermo
Silva-Marin
Toronto Operetta Theatre, Jane Mallett Theatre,
Toronto
April 23-May 2, 2004
by Christopher Hoile, Principal Reviewer for Stage Door
“A Bat That Really Soars”
The Toronto
Operetta Theatre capped an excellent season with a fine production of that
pinnacle of Golden Age Viennese operetta, Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, Jr.
This revival of the TOT’s imaginative updating of the story to the 1960s was
even more successful than when last mounted in 1999.
The
1960s is a good period for Die Fledermaus. The period suggests the ideas of
glamour and strict social conventions and well as sexual freedoms roiling
beneath the surface. With so many present-day CEOs going to prison for bilking
investors, the plot concerning the well-to-do businessman Gabriel Eisenstein
who has to spend his time in jail gains a relevance it usually lacks.
TOT Artistic Director and stage director
of the piece, Guillermo Silva-Marin has assembled a very fine cast. Soprano
Laura Whalen was superb as Rosalinda, unafraid to give her an air of hauteur
that immediately made us sympathize with her put-upon maid Adele. She found
comedy in the very brazenness of a woman who swears love to her husband while
planning a week-long fling with the operatic tenor Alfred. Whalen combined her
fine comic acting with a gorgeous voice that galvanized the audience. Her full,
rounded tone never lost its beauty even in the highest notes. Her thrilling
“Csardas” in the party scene of Act 2 was a show-stopper if there ever was one
performed with dazzling panache.
As
self-regarding Alfred, tenor Mark DuBois in fine voice made a welcome return to
the TOT. The role allowed him to indulge in excerpts from the greatest hits of
Italian opera, especially La Traviata, that particularly enflame Rosalinda’s
passion. Tenor Ross Neill, playing Rosalinda’s husband, has a large, powerful
voice that was not always sufficiently agile for the rapid musical
interchanges. As Adele, soprano Elizabeth Beeler proved again what a natural
comedienne she is. She gave a delightful performance of “Mein Herr Marquis” in
Act 2 but seemed to have lost some of her ebullience by the time of her big
audition scene in Act 3. Better than anyone she had the ability to make the
score’s frequent musical ha-ha-has of laughter seem perfectly natural.
Alexander
Dobson as Dr. Falke, the Bat of the title, is a fine actor and has a full, rich
baritone shown to great advantage in “Brüderlein und Schwesterlein” in Act 2, a
rare reflective moment that gave the manic actions of the party a sense of
depth. Keith Savage, rigid and staring, was a comically affected Prince
Orlovsky that obliterated the odd tradition of casting this role for a woman.
As Frosch the jailer, Silva-Marin, almost unrecognizable as white-socked,
square-glassed nerd, was truly hilarious.
Silva-Marin
directed with great attention to detail throughout, but his conception of Act 3
really made this production stand out. Usually, the first part of the jail
scene is set aside for a non-singing comedian doing a comic routine about the
tedium of his chores. Such a long spoken section that brings the music to a
dead stop has always made this act my least favourite part of the operetta.
Silva-Marin, however, has had the brilliant idea of making Frosch a would-be
singer who fawningly admires the tenor Alfred (mistakenly imprisoned as
Eisenstein). This idea keeps the music going as Alfred teaches the geeky Frosch
how to sing culminating in a priceless impersonation of what might be called
“The Two Tenors” complete with handkerchiefs.
Silva-Marin has also eliminated
the intermission between Act 2 and 3 and used the entr’acte supplemented by a
lively playing of Strauss’s “Tritsch-Tratsch” polka for the chorus to change
the set under Falke’s supervision. Since Falke is the primum mobile of the
action, this scene change subtly reinforced the metatheatrical nature of the
whole work.
Conductor
Derek Bate led the 15-member orchestra in a lively account of this score of
wall-to-wall hits. They played like a first-rate salon orchestra with a mastery
of speed changes that gives Viennese music its swing. Though Die Fledermaus is
one of the pillars of the operetta repertoire, this joyous production made is
shine like new.
©Christopher
Hoile
Apr. 26, 2004. 01:00 AM
Operetta true to Strauss craft
JOHN LEHR
SPECIAL TO
THE STAR
Johann
Strauss, Jr.’s operetta Die Fledermaus has been delighting audiences for
over 125 years. What accounts for such perennial popularity? Craft is part of
the answer.
Strauss’s
music never grows dull, and the plot is hinged to unfold ingeniously and
happily. A husband and wife become aware of each other’s infidelity but, far
from creating doom, the two discoveries cancel each other out and life again
becomes the subject of a charming march or waltz.
Such
universal themes as betrayal, deception and revenge, treated with laughter,
have also contributed to the work’s longevity. These universals are
traditionally given pungency by salting the dialogue with jibes at recent
politics and culture.
The test of
any performance of this show is how well it approaches the craft and cleverness
of Strauss himself. Toronto Operetta Theatre’s Fledermaus, now at the
Jane Mallett Theatre, went a respectable distance toward meeting that goal on
Saturday. TOT’s general director, Guillermo Silva-Marin was principally
responsible for this. He directed, created the set, and wrote the updated gags
and lyrics.
He also
performed the part of the jailer, Frosch, with near manic energy. The show
itself was not so manic, but nevertheless kept up a quick, fluid pace.
Tenor Ross
Neill and soprano Laura Whalen played the principal couple, Gabriel Eisenstein
and his wife Rosalinda. Neill acted his part well but was in vocal difficulty
throughout the evening though he nobly soldiered on to the end. Whalen
generally could have pushed her character a little further over the top to
match the general tone of the production, but she sang exceptionally well and
came through magnificently in Rosalinda’s big party piece, the Hungarian czardas.
Baritone
Alexander Dobson was in fine voice as Dr. Falke, the "fledermaus"
(bat) himself who masterminds the sequence of deceptions that constitute the
show’s storyline.
Soprano
Elizabeth Beeler gave a wonderfully stylized and funny performance as the
Eisensteins’ chambermaid Adele. And Keith Savage was art deco in movement as
the languid Count Orlovsky. Both sang well. But the great scene stealer of the
evening was Mark Dubois as the operatic tenor who woos Rosalinda. With his
phony Italian accent and sobbing renditions of Rosalinda’s favourite arias, he
embodied ego in song and always raised the energy on stage with his ebullience.
His hilarious scene teaching Silva-Marin to sing poked raucous fun at all the bel
canto clichés ever spouted to novice voice students.
The 13-piece
orchestra played well under conductor Derek Bate. The show’s true workhorses,
they made everything else possible with their discreet and sure-footed support.
A treat for
light opera lovers, Die Fledermaus runs through May 2.
Visit www.torontooperetta.com