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Die Fledermaus

Published Thursday 24 November 2005 at 10:25 by Edward Bhesania

Updated to the roaring twenties, Paul Curran’s production of Strauss’s frothy operetta is a winner. His cast, drawn from the RCM’s Opera School, shows remarkable resilience and concentration on stage, in what is a snappy and demanding work, whose extensive dialogue can easily trip singers up between the sung numbers.

The principal characters in this ‘second’ casting are of consistently high standard. Joe Roche sings Eisenstein with a brilliant, ringing clarity, though occasionally becomes unstuck when singing loudly at the top of his range. The glamorous, sharply-bobbed Pumeza Matshikiza as his wife Rosalinde maintains an air of moral superiority despite her own philandering. She steals the show at the Act II ball, equally comfortable in entertaining the guests while either reclining upon or dancing atop a grand piano.

Perhaps it is Eliana Pretorian’s Adele that steals the show overall. She inhabits her feisty, flirtatious femme-fatalish character with complete naturalness, yet her vocal agility is impressive. As Prince Orlovsky, whose ball everyone is dying to attend, Patricia Helen Orr’s rich, centred mezzo lacks nothing in character. And Andrew Conley’s Dr Falke is a marvel of physical co-ordination put to the service of comic expression. His Act I duet with Eisenstein is a no-holds-barred, music-hall saluting hoot. Other RCM students had a chance to shine during the ball, too, with a jazzy violin and guitar duo and a Jerome Kern medley.

The RCM Opera Orchestra, under Michael Rosewell, played with alertness after a ragged overture but lacked in panache what it possessed in energy. Regardless, this is a fine team effort, brilliantly executed, and another feather in the RCM’s operatic cap.

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