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Strauss Maus

Photo by Scott Hinrichs

Drinking Buddies: Layna Chianakas (center) gets a boost from his
party guests in "Die Fledermaus."

Opera San José waltzes around with 'Die Fledermaus'

By Anne Gelhaus

As produced by Opera San José, Strauss' Die Fledermaus is an enchanting visit to the world of 3/4 time. Conductor David Rohrbaugh and his orchestra establish the mood with the first downbeat. The operetta's familiar overture is vibrant and lively enough to induce audience members to keep time with a wagging foot or a nodding head.

It's a fitting introduction for Maureen Magill's Adele, who sparkles in both voice and countenance (all principal roles are double-cast). Her opening song sets the tone for the rest of the performers, and by and large, the cast maintains a party mood throughout the show.

The operetta is, after all, a homage to excess, in which the protagonists all plot and scheme their way into a bash thrown by Prince Orlofsky (Layna Chianakas), a young man who is already bored with the range of entertainment his kingdom has to offer.

To make the prince laugh again--and to pay back his friend Eisenstein (Matthew Kirchner) for a previous practical joke--Dr. Falke (Andrew Eisenmann) arranges for an amusement at Eisenstein's expense. By the end of the evening, Dr. Falke has made half the party guests into somewhat willing victims of mistaken identity.

Digressions such as adultery and drunkenness are treated casually in Strauss' world, and stage director Jay Julian keeps this lighthearted approach in mind. Under Julian's direction, characters who would be loathsome to meet in person come across as laughable on stage. The love-struck Italian tenor Alfredo (John Bellemer), who constantly serenades Eisenstein's wife, Rosalinde (Lori Ann Phillips), is not someone who most women would want to come courting, but it's damn funny to watch him try to woo someone else from a safe distance.

Save for Alfredo's love songs, Die Fledermaus is sung in German, although Julian has translated the dialogue into English. Overall, the cast handles the shifts well, and the operetta flows smoothly between the spoken word and the sung lyric. Of course, the transitions are helped along by Strauss' lush melodies and energetic musical lines; he was one of the few composers to make German sound like a romance language.

The look of Opera San José's production matches its romantic sound. Peter Crompton's set designs make the tiny stage of the Montgomery Theater appear positively opulent, an image that's somewhat tarnished when the party-goers finally do waltz and have trouble avoiding not only their partners' feet but the feet of the couple next to them.

Sherrol Simard has remounted Barbara Murray's costumes from the company's 1989 staging of Die Fledermaus. The designs have stood the test of time well. The gentlemen all look dapper in their top hats and tails, and the women are dressed to impress in ball gowns and wigs designed by Sara Beukers. One does have to suspend disbelief, however, when Adele "borrows" Rosalinde's best dress for the party, since Magill stands about a head shorter than Phillips.

It's also a good idea to ignore the operetta's gaping plot holes, especially in the third act, when Eisenstein poses as his own lawyer to try to get Rosalinde and Alfredo to admit to indiscretions. To cover her tracks, Rosalinde introduces Alfredo as her husband, even though she knows the real lawyer defended the real Eisenstein the previous day.

With gaffes like that, it's best for audiences to defy logical thought for the evening and just sit back and enjoy the music and merriment. As one wag put it during intermission, "This is a comic opera. Everyone 'fesses up and forgives each other at the end."

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Die Fledermaus plays Tuesday-Saturday, except Nov. 23-24, at 8pm and Sunday at 3pm through Nov. 26 at the Montgomery Theater, San Carlos and Market streets, San Jose. Tickets are $32-$42. (408/437-4450)


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