Vancouver Opera's 2024 production of Die Fledermaus. Photos by Emily Cooper Photography.
Overview
DIE FLEDERMAUS
Composer - Johann Strauss II Libretto by Karl Haffner and Richard Genée Premiered 1874 in Vienna Dialogue Adapted By Mark Crawford DATES October 26 – November 3, 2024 VENUE Queen Elizabeth Theatre Vancouver, BC RUNNING TIME Approximately 2 hours and 40 minutes, including one intermission. Join the party: Strauss’ most-beloved operetta kicks off a celebratory 65th anniversary with laughter and mischief. With a title that translates to “The Bat” (sometimes even presented as “The Revenge of the Bat”), you’d be forgiven for expecting some ominous dark fluttering while gravel-strafed voices say intense things indecipherably. But with its huge chorus, boisterous party scene, and rousing songs like “King Champagne”, Strauss’ beloved operetta absolutely radiates charm, wit, and good-natured mischief! An audience favourite since its 1874 premiere, Die Fledermaus remains the most-performed operetta in the world for good reason. This vaudeville and farce-inspired comedy masterwork revels in effervescent odes to drinking, dancing, dining, laughing, and, well, more drinking, while a madcap plot pinballs through masquerade and mistaken identities, romantic dalliances, pranks and payback. Ashlie Corcoran returns to direct her second Vancouver Opera season opener in a row, having helmed the fantastical Magic Flute in 2023, while the high-spirited score is conducted by Vancouver Opera Music Director Jacques Lacombe.
Conductor & Director
Cast In order of vocal appearance
Creative Team
Dialogue Adaptation Mark Crawford Assistant Director Tayte Mitchell Choreographer Shelley Stewart Hunt Intimacy Director Lisa Goebel Set Designer Julie Lévesque Costume Designer Émily Wahlman Lighting Design Gerald King Assistant Lighting Designer Jamie Sweeney Design Consultant Kevin McAllister
Associate Conductor/Chorus Director Leslie Dala Associate Chorus Director/Principal Répétiteur Tina Chang Répétiteur Perri Lo Derek Stanyer English SurTitles™ Sarah Jane Pelzer Stage Manager Michelle Harrison Assistant Stage Managers Emma Hammond Katie Schmidt Apprentice Stage Manager Elsa Orme
Synopsis
Act I
At Rosalinde and Gabriel von Eisenstein’s home, the maid Adele asks to leave work under the pretext of caring for her ailing aunt, though she actually wants to join her sister at Prince Orlofsky’s masquerade ball. Rosalinde refuses. Rosalinde’s old flame Alfred arrives and declares his love to Rosalinde, who resists until he begins to sing. Hearing someone approach, she sends Alfred away, but not before he’s convinced her to let him return later. Gabriel and his lawyer, Blind, arrive from court: Eisenstein has been sentenced to eight days in jail for assaulting a police officer and he must begin serving the next morning. Furious, he dismisses Blind. Gabriel’s friend Dr. Falke convinces him to join him that night at Prince Orlofsky’s costume party. Eisenstein agrees, accepting Falke’s suggestion that he bring his famous pocket watch to charm the ladies. While Eistenstein gets ready, Rosalinde receives a party invitation she thinks is from Prince Orlofsky, but is actually from Falke. As her husband departs, she dismisses Adele for the night and receives the ardent Alfred. Their rendezvous is interrupted by the prison warden Frank, who has come to arrest Eisenstein. To preserve her good name, Rosalinde persuades Alfred to pose as her husband, and believing him to be Eisenstein, Frank takes Alfred to jail.
Act II
The party is in full swing. Adele’s sister Ida is worried that Adele isn’t classy enough, so she decides to present her as “Olga,” a Russian actress. Eisenstein enters, posing as a Frenchman. He immediately recognizes Adele, but she denies it. Frank is also pretending to be French, and he and Eisenstein become fast friends. Rosalinde, disguised as a Hungarian countess, sees her husband flirting with Ida and sings an impassioned ode to her betrayed homeland. When a smitten Eisenstein starts flirting with her, she steals his pocket watch. Ivania teases Falke about how he earned the nickname “Dr. Bat.” Champagne flows, and the revellers dance and sing through the night. At dawn, Eisenstein rushes off to jail, as does Frank.
Act III
Frank arrives at the prison, still buzzing from his evening spent at the party. Frosch, the jailer, is annoyed by her boss’ late arrival, and by the nonstop singing of Alfred in the cell. Ida and Adele arrive, and Adele hopes Frank can further her stage aspirations. Frank sends them off and receives Eisenstein, who’s surprised to learn his cell is already occupied by a man claiming to be him, and who was found in his home with Rosalinde. The lawyer Blind arrives, saying he was summoned to handle a false arrest case. Determined to get to the bottom of things, Eisenstein disguises himself as the lawyer to confront the impostor. Rosalinde rushes in. She tries to secure Alfred’s release, asks “Blind” to press divorce charges against her wayward husband, and is upset when the “lawyer” seems to take Eisenstein’s side. Removing his disguise, Eisenstein accuses his wife of promiscuity. Rosalinde produces his watch, revealing that she was the “countess” he tried to seduce. Falke arrives with partygoers and triumphantly explains that the whole evening was payback for Eisenstein’s previous practical joke. Eisenstein begs Rosalinde to forgive his attempted infidelity, blaming his misbehavior on the party’s plentiful champagne. She refuses at first and threatens divorce, before forgiving him. After a night of merry mischief, all sing a final ode to the joys of champagne.