Germany Johann Strauss II, Die Fledermaus: Soloists, Refrain and Orchestra of Bavarian State Opera / Vladimir Jurowski (conductor). Nationaltheater, Munich, 7.1.2024. (ALL)

Thus far, the nice successes of the newest productions at Munich Opera below the period of Serge Dorny have been works that aren’t a part of the usual repertoire: Warfare and Peace by Prokofiev, The Nostril by Shostakovich, and Brett Dean’s Hamlet. However, sure reinterpretations of classics, equivalent to Verdi’s Aida and Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro, left us considerably unhappy. (Critiques of all of those can be found on this web site.)

This efficiency of Die Fledermaus, a flagship work for Munich Opera – certainly for any opera home – is a superb achievement: one now not misses the legendary Seventies Munich manufacturing of this work by Carlos Kleiber and Otto Schenk.

Barrie Kosky was seen among the many viewers in late November through the revival of Wozzeck, and one might sense an unimaginable quantity of rehearsal led as much as this efficiency. He approaches this work, half-opera – half-operetta, with immense experience, constructed and consolidated on the Komische Oper in Berlin. The motion, the music and dance passages in addition to the dialogues, transfer alongside easily and there’s by no means a boring second.

Eisenstein desires through the overture, jostled by a sequence of dancers dressed as bats. The facades of the homes in Vienna come to life, and it’s revealed that Herr and Frau von Eisenstein reside on Vienna’s Judenplatz, a nod to the considerably hidden Jewishness of the composer. The primary act, within the type of a Feydeau farce, is stuffed with misunderstandings within the bourgeois context of the period, spiced with refined hints. Alfred, making his entrance on stage with a tennis racket, evokes the time when Kleiber appeared dressed as Boris Becker.

The second act, the ball of Prince Orlofsky, blends choristers and dancers in an androgynous ambiance the place gender identification fades. The refrain, singing ‘Brüderlein, Schwesterlein…’, seems in neon costumes and glitter, shifting ahead imaginatively and with out heaviness.

The third act, set in opposition to a scaffolding harking back to what Kosky did on the Berliner Ensemble for Brecht’s Threepenny Opera, surprises with not one, however six completely different Froschs – one talking, 4 dancing, and a sixth … to be found within the video obtainable free for a couple of extra months by way of ARTE Live performance in numerous European nations (however not the UK). Regardless of its brevity, this act is enriched by Kosky with some surprising numbers. On stage, pleasure and contagious professionalism mix harmoniously.

Regardless of the comparatively homogeneous solid, some roles didn’t appear to be solid fairly proper. Countertenor Eric Jurenas, changing Andrew Watts, appeared to underplay his position and lacked the stage presence that a fantastic mezzo-soprano can carry to the character of Orlofsky. It’s fairly an ironic coincidence that Ivan Rebroff was additionally a questionable selection within the legendary studio recording directed by Carlos Kleiber, whereas Brigitte Fassbaender proved to be the driving pressure within the video recording made in the identical corridor.

Diana Damrau confirmed very good performing qualities and plain stage presence however didn’t totally embody Rosalinde. As was the case for Marlis Petersen within the position of the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier, additionally reworked by the Kosky–Jurowski duo, she lacks a sure vocal quantity, and her efficiency of the daunting Czardas within the second act ended on a excessive notice that’s usually averted. Sean Panikkar, within the position of Alfred, was cautious to not unbalance the duets, and was not capable of exploit his vocal capacities to the total.

However Georg Nigl gave us a exceptional interpretation of Eisenstein, enjoying with the textual content and with a fantastic capacity to behave and transfer with ease. Martin Winkler, who performed the position of Kovalyov in The Nostril staged by Kosky, was a vibrant Frank, generously giving of himself, particularly within the third act. Katharina Konradi shone as Adele, with all of the required qualities: a beautiful timbre, a robust type, spectacular quantity, and nice allure on stage.

Within the pit, Vladimir Jurowski revealed the total splendor of the music. The ensemble numbers have been executed with meticulous care and, below his course, reached a subtlety worthy of Mozart. This efficiency was the seventh on this sequence, and the concord between the orchestra and the singers was wonderful, with a extra pure stability than prior to now when the orchestra usually appeared to overpower the voices. This downside, typical of premieres, appears to have been resolved by this efficiency, revealing Jurowski as a real grasp of opera, attentive to his singers whereas giving an excessive amount of freedom to his musicians.

Followers of the nice operetta classics and of Barrie Kosky will meet in February in Zurich, the place he’ll stage The Merry Widow with Michael Volle, Marlis Petersen, and Katharina Konradi. Artists like this are rendering this style extra alive and fashionable than ever.

Antoine Lévy-Leboyer

Manufacturing:
Manufacturing ­­– Barrie Kosky
Set designer – Rebecca Ringst
Costume designer – Klaus Bruns
Lighting designer – Joachim Klein
Choreography – Otto Pichler
Dramaturgy – Christopher Warmuth
Refrain grasp – Christoph Heil

Forged:
Gabriel von Eisenstein – Georg Nigl
Rosalinde – Diana Damrau
Frank – Martin Winkler
Prinz Orlofsky – Eric Jurenas
Alfred – Sean Panikkar
Dr Falke – Markus Brück
Dr Blind – Kevin Conners
Adele – Katharina Konradi
Ida – Miriam Neumaier
Frosch I – Max Pollak
Frosch II – Franz Josef Strohmeier
Frosch III – Danilo Brunetti
Frosch IV – Giovanni Corrado
Frosch V – Deniz Doru
Frosch VI – Oliver Petriglieri

Dancers – Luissa Joachimstaller, Emma Kumlien, Lisa König, Kristina Stebner, Antonia Čop, Danilo Brunetti, Giovanni Corrado, Deniz Doru, Joseph Edy, Jon Olofsson Nordin, Oliver Petriglieri, Jeremy Rucker