Merry Opera: Die Fledermaus, 21 March
The Merry Opera Company made a fizzing return to the Festival Hall this year, following their successful debut in 2022. This time they chose to perform Johann Strauss’ most celebrated operetta, die Fledermaus.
Die Fledermaus, written in 1874, and full of Strauss’s most memorable music, is in three Acts – the Eisenstein apartment, Prince Orlovsky’s villa and the Town Jail. Merry Opera, who up-dated the piece from the late Victorian to the 1920s, had a very simple set with a wood panel backing, some screens, Art Deco lighting and various items of furniture. By moving the scenery themselves in full view of the audience they were able to cleverly make the change from one scene to the next. They also created a break in the middle of the second Act for the interval.
The story revolves around the attempt by Dr Falke to gain revenge on his friend Eisenstein.
After a champagne- inspired fancy dress party, Eisenstein, dressed as a butterfly, left Falke, dressed as a bat, fast asleep on a bench in the town centre where he was the subject of ridicule by the townsfolk when he awoke the following morning. Falke has been plotting his revenge ever since.
His plan involves persuading Prince Orlovsky to invite all the main protagonists in the know to one of his lavish parties but they must go incognito. These include Rosalinda, Eisenstein’s wife, her maid Adele and the local prison governor, Frank.
Eisenstein, who has been given an eight-day prison sentence for riotous behaviour, is persuaded by Falke to attend the ball – again in disguise – and go to the prison in the morning. Eisenstein’s departure suits Rosalinda because Alfred, an old flame of hers, has unexpectedly turned up and persists in serenading her while attempting to renew their old relationship. A further complication arises after Eisenstein is left with Falke, when prison governor Frank arrives to escort Eisenstein to prison. Alfred, by now, wearing Eisenstein’s dressing gown and drinking his wine, is mistakenly taken off to jail.
At Prince Orlovsky’s party, mistaken identities, flirtations and confusions of all kinds abound, together with copious amounts of champagne. This all provide a hilarious vehicle for Falke’s revenge. Eventually, as dawn breaks Eisenstein, under his pseudonym, Marquis Renard, leaves the party with Chevalier Chagrin, in reality prisoner governor Frank, to serve his prison sentence.
At the jail, all the loose ends are eventually resolved by Falke admitting that he was the instigator of the whole thing. Recriminations are set aside and the blame for all that has gone on is put down to – His Majesty King Champagne!
Merry Opera has only just seven in the cast, yet the operatic quality of their voices ensured they could deal with the challenging vocal requirements with ease. Some of the performers doubled up the minor roles and also provided the chorus backing when required. Although I have performed in and directed the operetta myself , they were using a different translation and I did find the very richness of their voices occasionally made the lyrics difficult to understand.
Eisenstein, although married, likes a good time and is an incorrigible flirt. The actor who played the part brought a lightness of touch allied to a fine tenor voice as he steered from one potentially calamitous situation to another. Falke, on the other hand, had an altogether darker role as he clearly had an ulterior motive behind everything he did. Interestingly, he was the only one to clearly dress in 1920s style and could easily have stepped out of a PG Wodehouse novel. Nevertheless it was easy to see that, despite their different personalities, they were good friends. Alfred, Rosalinda’s former paramour, is a rather absurd romantic, forever singing songs of love and cannot see – or chooses to ignore – the compromising position he puts Rosalinda in. There is more than a hint, in his highly amusing portrayal, of a certain tenor in an insurance advert – which interestingly is referred to in the third act!
Rosalinda was every inch the dutiful lady of the house – despite the amorous advances of Alfred – yet effortlessly made the switch to be the mysterious masked Hungarian countess at the party, complete with her faux Hungarian accent! Her delivery of the ‘Czardas’ was particularly impressive. Despite all that was happening she maintained her composure throughout. This was particularly true when she was the subject of her husband’s amorous advances, as he does not recognise her. During their exchange she manages to get hold of his watch which he usually uses as part of his seduction technique. Adele, on the other hand, was pert and lively and not averse to inventing a sick relative to allow her to go to the party. She was introduced to us with a Northern accent – the point of which was not particularly apparent unless it was for comedic reasons. All her singing was delivered with verve and panache – particularly the famous ‘Laughing Song’. Her fine soprano voice was more than a match for its challenging vocal demands.
Frank is a typical civil servant who in the second act, having met Eisenstein and with the help of a glass or two, begins to unwind and they have some amusing scenes together. He also has another, back at the jail in the third act, where, still under the influence, he attempts to make advances to what he thinks is a slim-waisted young lady which, in reality, is his coat rack! Prince Orlovsky is an interesting character who provides the means for Falke to plot his revenge. He has a low boredom threshold and the parties he holds are a means of providing some amusement in his life. There is also a hint of danger about him. He is quite the Bohemian being dressed in what looks like a dressing gown and pyjamas. Nevertheless he welcomes his guests with the song ‘Chacun A Son Gout.’ This part is often played by a female – as was the case here.
It is a feature of this operetta that, at the party, there is a cabaret item introduced. Often it is a ballet but on other occasions it has been other artistes, including Joan Sutherland, Luciano Pavarotti and even Hinge & Brackett! On this occasion this item is given to Adele’s sister Ida and she sings a popular aria from Carmen.
As mentioned, the singing is uniformly strong. There are a number of concerted numbers where this features prominently – in particular at the end of the second act when Falke invites all the guests to join him in extolling the virtues of everyone living together in happiness, peace and harmony by singing the concerted piece ‘Bruderlein’. This song involves all the main characters and so the sheer strength and power of the seven operatic quality voices is something rarely very special.
The lack of numbers on the stage is alleviated by the clever use of choreographed movement to most of the songs. Musical accompaniment is provided by Musical Director Elspeth Wilkes on the keyboard.
Once again the Merry Opera Company have given us their interpretation of a very popular and well-known operetta. The rapturous ovation at the end was indicative of how much the audience enjoyed it. I and many others, very much hope that we see them back at the Festival Hall before too long.
It was truly a Champagne Evening. I’ll drink to that!
Roger Wettone
