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Alt Wien in new boites
Die Fledermaus waltzes onto the main stage at BU Theatre

By Hope Green

Vienna was recovering from a stock market crash when Johann Strauss II first staged his most famous operetta, Die Fledermaus, in the Austrian capital in April 1874. This airy musical confection in three acts was just the ticket for audiences nostalgic for more prosperous times.

	In rehearsal are (left to right) graduate student Kathryn Skemp (CFA'02) as Adele, and Opera Institute students Alok Kumar (CFA'03) as Eisenstein and Arturo Chacon-Cruz (CFA'03) as Dr. Falke. Photos by Kalman Zabarsky

Now imagine if Strauss were writing the same operetta in Manhattan, three years after the crash of '29 and one year before Prohibition was repealed. That's the setting for an updated Die Fledermaus, which will be presented by BU's Opera Institute and Chamber Orchestra, in English, at the Boston University Theatre from April 18 to 21.

The historical parallels are intriguing. And opera fans needn't worry: this production remains faithful to the music of the Waltz King.

In the original work the central plot concerns the extramarital escapades of Gabriel von Eisenstein and his wife, Rosalinde. Dr. Falke, whose nickname, Die Fledermaus (The Bat), originates with a prank Eisenstein once played on him, now gets his revenge at a masked ball to which they all have been invited by Prince Orlofsky.

In this version the year is 1932, Roz and Gabe live on New York's Upper East Side, and the masquerade is a costume party at a speakeasy. As guests partake freely of bootleg liquor, Strauss' choral number "A Toast to King Champagne" fits right in.

It was Opera Institute Director Sharon Daniels who came up with the inspiration for the transatlantic change of venue. "There are similarities," she says, "between this era and the decadent period in Vienna when Fledermaus was premiered."

The stage design mimics the appearance of 1930s black-and-white cinema, although colored lights and brightly hued costumes are introduced in Act II. What has not changed in this version of Fledermaus is the complexity of the score and the verbal acrobatics it puts the singers through. Allison Voth, a CFA assistant professor and principal coach for the Opera Institute, explains that a Viennese operetta typically contains many unnotated fluctuations in the speed of the music, such as a luft, where the music slows and then moves ahead again.

"With many of our young singers and musicians, this is a very new style that we have had to teach them," Voth says. "It also requires a lightness of articulation with what is often many notes to play or sing. The overall effect of the style is that the music sounds like a delightful piece of fluff, which it is, but not without great expertise and a whole lot of hard work on the part of all the musicians."

Performers have the added complication of singing in dialects. During the costume party of the second act, Orlofsky is a Russian immigrant who runs the speakeasy, Roz is disguised as a Hungarian countess, and Gabe affects a bad French accent in his guise as a marquis. Added to this melting pot is Alfredo, Roz's Italian suitor, and Adele, her chambermaid from Brooklyn.

While the second act is the most challenging portion of the show for the cast, it is also the most fun. In the original operetta, a ballet was staged for the prince at his party, but it has become traditional for directors to add whatever amusements and diversions they please. In this case, the revelers are treated to a performance of "Three Little Maids" from Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado and a can-can number from Lehar's The Merry Widow.

In Act I, Falke tempts Eisenstein, who has been sentenced to an eight-day prison term for a civil offense, to attend a party and flirt with the ladies instead of going to jail immediately. When Eisenstein agrees, they both start dancing.

In addition, Metropolitan Opera mezzo-soprano Sandra Eddy (CFA'99,'02) will make a cameo appearance. "She's coming in costume, as if she's doing a role offstage from the Met in 1932," Daniels explains.
The entire cast dances a waltz in the second act; the scene also includes a tango number and a spot of polka. Coaching these interludes is CFA Associate Professor Judith Chaffee, the BU Opera Institute's movement specialist and choreographer, who also heads the movement training program in the school of theatre arts.

"One of the things I love about working with opera singers is that they have an intuitive sense of rhythm," she says. "That's really what dancing is -- walking and being able to turn and shift your weight to rhythm."
The Opera Institute is an elite program of study for those aspiring to professional singing careers. Master's level opera students as well as undergraduates join those from the institute in CFA opera productions.
Two casts of lead characters take turns performing, one set on Thursday and Saturday, the other on Friday and Sunday.

"We have outstanding singers," Daniels says, "and it would be terrible to not let them all have opportunities."

The Boston University Opera Institute and Chamber Orchestra present Die Fledermaus, directed by Sharon Daniels and conducted by William Lumpkin, at 8 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 18, 19, and 20, and at 3 p.m. on Sunday, April 21, at the Boston University Theatre, 264 Huntington Ave. Tickets are $15 and $10 for the general public; $5 for senior citizens. Tickets for faculty, staff, and students are free at the door with a BU ID on the day of the performance, subject to availability. Daniels expects the show to sell out and strongly advises purchasing tickets in advance. For information, call 617-266-0800.

The BU Women's Guild is holding a champagne reception at the theater before the opening night performance, April 18, at 7 p.m. to benefit a scholarship fund for BU graduate women students over 30. Information: 353-9253 or nmccrack@bu.edu.

12 April 2002
Boston University
Office of University Relations