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Johann Strauss II, Die Fledermaus:  (Concert Performance) Soloists of the London Lyric Opera, Philharmonia Chorus, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Conductor: Madeleine Lovell. Cadogan Hall, London. 19.6.2009 (MMB)

Gabriel von Eisenstein (tenor) Charne Rochford
Rosalinda, his wife (soprano) Sarah Redgwick
Alfred, a singer (tenor) Garrie Davislim
Dr Falke, friend of Eisenstein (baritone) Simon Thorpe
Prince Orlofsky (mezzo-soprano) Lise Christensen
Frank, governor of the prison (baritone) Jeffrey Black
Adele, Rosalinda’s maid (soprano) Ana James
Ida, her sister (soprano) Debra Morley
Dr Blind, Eisenstein’s lawyer (tenor) Nicky Spence
Frosch, a gaoler (spoken role) Bernard Horsfall
Party guests and servants - Members of the chorus

Liszt  – Hungarian Fantasies for piano and orchestra (included as part of the action in Act II): Leslie Howard (piano), Royal Philharmonic Orchestra/Madeleine Lovell


Die Fledermaus (The Bat) is  Johann Strauss II’s most brilliant work for the stage to my mind. The music  beautifully melodic, with tunes that stay present in one’s mind forever, and also witty and at times satirical, perfectly matching the story. The plot of Die Fledermaus is based on a French “vaudeville”, Le Réveillon (1872) by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, which in turn was based on Richard Benedix’s Das Gefängnis (The Prison) from 1851. Karl Haffner created a German version of Le Réveillon and sold it to Maximillian Steiner, at the time director of the Theater an der Wien. Steiner gave Haffner’s work to Richard Genée to make it into a libretto. Genée and Strauss began collaborating and in October 1873, Strauss conducted a benefit concert that included his own Csárdás für Gesang to a text by Genée. The piece was successful and would become Rosalinda’s show stopping Csárdás aria in Act II of Die Fledermaus. Legend has it that, highly motivated by the success, Strauss composed the rest of the music for the operetta in only forty-two days! This is not proven fact but the premiere is and it took place, in the Theater an der Wien, on 5^th April 1874.

As I have already mentioned, Strauss’s score is  witty and intelligently composed, perfectly matching the original German libretto which displays similar qualities. Sadly, the London Lyric Opera presented the piece in an English translation, written by Leonard Hancock and David Pountney. Good though their text is, full of subtle ironical nuances and effective comic turns, the English language never fits the music adequately; there is always a false ring to the sung words  which spoiled some of the enjoyment for me. To the translators’ credit, they chose words with similar sounds to the German originals, particularly in some of the best known pieces, but never quite succeeded: the music and translated words did not always combine harmoniously as they do in German. This wasat its most obvious in the celebrated Act I finale, introduced by Alfred: Trinke, Liebchen appearing as Drink with me; and most of all in the final ensemble in Act II, Brüderlein, Schwesterlein. “Brother mine, Sister mine” is a fair transliteration but just does not have the same impact. To be fair though, it is very difficult indeed to do better without access to the German diminutives effectively. I have often wondered why libretti need actually need translations since in reality the practice does not make any great to understanding the story. Better perhaps, as in the case of much Singspiel opera done in English, that the spoken dialogue was translated leaving the sung words in the original. Or so it seems to me.

Having said all this, the London Lyric Opera offered an enjoyable though not always memorable presentation of Die Fledermaus. The programme described it as a concert performance, but a semi-staged production would probably be a more accurate description, as the singers really acted their roles and some of them were in costume. The real stars of the night though, were not the solo singers but Strauss’s music and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who delivered an excellent performance, under  Madeleine Lovell's baton. She is a young, graceful and exciting conductor who led the orchestra and the chorus into an intelligent, expressive and elegant rendition of this popular work. Ms Lovell had an intuitive understanding of Strauss’s witty score and ensured that the music made its full impact on a delighted audience. The Philharmonia Chorus did full justice to the music too, giving a solid, excellent rendition of their powerful pieces during Act II, as various guests and servants at  Prince Orlofsky's party.

Among the soloists, Ana James  as Adele, and Sarah Redgwick as Rosalinda, deserve special attention. Ms James delivered possibly the outstanding performance of the evening. She was a member of the Royal Opera's Jette Parker Young Artist Programme and its influence showed throughout. She gave an accomplished, dramatically expressive performance, playing a sassy, very funny Adele, with some superb singing, especially in her final big moment, during Act III. Ms Redgwick made a very interesting and insightful, and at times moving, Rosalinda. She sang with easiness and style, displaying an assured coloratura and excellent comic timing. Her rendition of the famous Csárdás, in Act II, demonstrated what a fine singer she is, and also her ability to connect and effectively project the character to the audience. Charne Rochford, as Eisenstein, showed a special gift for comic roles: he has a huge talent for physical comedy, creating an expressive, hilarious and appropriately ridiculous portrait of the character. Unfortunately, his singing did not always match his acting skills; at times, his voice did not carry over the orchestra and occasionally whilst one could clearly see that his mouth was moving no sound was barely audible.

The remaining singers did their jobs effectively. Jeffrey Black’s warm baritone made an agreeable Franck and Simon Thorpe was a convincing Dr Falke. Lise Christensen created an interesting Prince Orlofsky, particularly when singing the difficult high notes of Chacun à son gout, as the higher register of her voice is solidly assured. Her lower middle range, which forms the basis of the aria, was sometimes a little weak and seemed not to possess enough dark tone to be completely effective in this role. The speaking part of Frosch, the gaoler, was wonderfully played by Bernard Horsfall;  his appearance though brief was unforgettable.

One wonderful and unexpected moment occurred during Act II, at Orlofsky's party  with a real performance on stage of Liszt’s Hungarian Fantasies as part of the entertainment provided by the Prince for his guests. The Royal Philharmonic and Madeleine Lovell were  joined on stage by the great pianist and scholar Leslie Howard. His performance of Liszt’s fiendishly difficult piece was lively, colourful and stylish displaying an understated but dazzling virtuosity which grabbed one’s attention. Mr Howard delivered an outstanding performance, perhaps the greatest highlight of the evening.

In all, London Lyric Opera gave a pleasant performance of Strauss’s masterpiece, beautifully supported by Ms Lovell and the Royal Philharmonic who delivered the score with meaningful insight. Though not always memorable, the singing was certainly enjoyable, as the public’s affectionate applause demonstrated at the end. The vast majority of the audience, including me, left Cadogan Hall with  satisfied smiles on their faces and a warm feeling in their hearts. In  our troubled times, that was well worth the cost of a ticket and the effort of travelling to the hall.

Margarida Mota-Bull


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