Performance: Die Fledermaus

Aotea Centre

Review: Tara Werner


As the decadent young Prince Orlofsky airily announces to his guests at the start of his debauched party, "Chacun a son gout" - "Everyone to his taste."

Director Jonathan Hardy may have tried his utmost to provide the audience with an "enormously big, colourful show which should just be great fun," as he put it. But this National Business Review New Zealand Opera production of Die Fledermaus came across as a compromising mix of clashing styles. It was difficult to tell whether this production was meant to be traditional farce a la Gilbert and Sullivan, a modern comedy with the corner shop humour of Ronnie Barker or just plain old-fashioned slapstick.

The updated, spoken script made a gallant attempt to bring in local jokes and risque comment but clashed violently with the lyrics.

In his attempt to make elements of Johann Strauss' frothy operetta more contemporary Hardy could have gone so much further. Why have Helen Medlyn as Prince Orlofsky looking like the teenage androgynous girl from the virtual reality exhibits in Te Papa, when the whole setting could have been much more futuristic?

And creating the new bat-like character of "Crick," to explain the action, merely implied the audience couldn't be trusted to understand the libretto. Given the confusion of styles it was a tall order to expect the singers to be comedy actors, to dance fluidly, and sing with equal competency.

Hence the production looked and sounded a little amateur, despite the brave efforts of Malvina Major as the irrepressible Rosalinde, Andrea Creighton as her wanton maid Adele, and Richard Greager as the foolish philanderer Eisenstein.

Adrian McEniery as Alfredo, brought the most laughs, while Zane Te Wiremu Jarvis, as Frank the prison governor, could not be accused of being introverted. They were willingly aided and abetted by Peter Elliott as Crick, David Griffiths as the insulted Dr Falke and Joanna Heslop as the cheeky ballet dancer Ida.

While they had little to do in Act 2, the chorus singers seemed to enjoy themselves, while the Auckland Philharmonia, under conductor Dobbs Franks, provided a steady accompaniment throughout the electronically enhanced sound.