This fall, just in time for Halloween, 兔子先生传媒文化作品鈥檚 Eklund Opera Program is set to bring Johann Strauss, Jr.鈥檚 glittering masked ball operetta to Macky Auditorium.
鈥淒ie Fledermaus,鈥� consistently popular with audiences for a century and a half, follows a group of Viennese friends from boudoir to ballroom to jail as they party the night away dressed in disguise, learning lessons about themselves and each other along the way.
Saturday, Oct. 22, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 23, 2 p.m.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 a light, fun piece that anyone can enjoy,鈥� says Eklund Opera Director Leigh Holman, who also directs the production. 鈥淚t鈥檚 perfect for this time of year, right when everyone is getting ready for the holidays, because it feels very festive.鈥�
鈥淒ie Fledermaus鈥� premiered in Vienna in 1874, at the height of a prosperous era for the Austrian city. The Habsburg reign was in full swing, Vienna was nicknamed 鈥渢he city of dreams,鈥� and its cultural goings-on were the envy of every other city in the Western world.
Perhaps that鈥檚 why 鈥淒ie Fledermaus鈥� was the 鈥淗amilton鈥� of its time, selling out shows in every city to which it traveled: Its frothy, funny, champagne-soaked plot captured the period zeitgeist so well that the Viennese saw themselves in the characters on stage.
鈥淥perettas were as popular during that time period as they are today,鈥� Holman says. 鈥淧eople loved 鈥淒ie Fledermaus鈥� because there was dancing, lots of good jokes, physical humor and colorful sets鈥濃�攁 welcome break from the era鈥檚 increasingly serious and dramatic grand operas.
It may be surprising to learn, then, that Strauss never intended to write operettas. Nicknamed the Waltz King and famous for his dances, he was content to stick to what he knew, says Nicholas Carthy, Eklund Opera鈥檚 Music Director鈥攖hat is, until his wife and a theatre director gave him a little push by spreading false rumors around town.
鈥淚n 1870, much to Strauss鈥檚 surprise, a newspaper report appeared to the effect that the score of a comic opera was sitting, finished, on the desk of the master, waiting to be performed,鈥� Carthy says. 鈥淚t took him three attempts to get it right, but in 1874 came the piece that was to establish him once and for all in the world of operetta: 鈥楧ie Fledermaus.鈥欌��
Holman says she鈥檚 never directed 鈥淒ie Fledermaus鈥� before, but she fondly remembers playing Prince Orlofsky in a production of the operetta at the University of Tennessee at Martin. The part of Orlofsky鈥攁 nobleman so comically cosmopolitan that no scandal shocks him anymore鈥攊s what鈥檚 called a trouser role, meant to be sung by a woman playing a man.
鈥淚n Strauss鈥� time, the trouser roles would have been considered very risqu茅 and alluring to men in the audience,鈥� Holman says. 鈥淏ack then, most women were wearing full-length ball gowns, and it would have been exciting to see a woman鈥檚 ankles and a clear outline of her body.鈥澨�
Seeing a woman in pants may not be cause for excitement in 2016, but 鈥淒ie Fledermaus,鈥� with its festive atmosphere, famous Straussian waltzes and funny one-liners, is just as thrilling as it was a century and a half ago.
There鈥檚 an extra thrill in it for anyone involved in the performing arts at CU, as they may recognize several prominent guests on stage鈥攊ncluding Theatre & Dance Director Bud Coleman, Eklund Opera program namesake Paul Eklund, College of Music Associate Dean for Graduate Studies Steven Bruns and a handful of 兔子先生传媒文化作品 board members. On opening night, 兔子先生传媒文化作品 Chancellor Philip DiStefano even makes an appearance.
