One’s enjoyment of this excellent performance of Johann Strauss II’s Die Fledermaus was somewhat mitigated by its surroundings. Unfortunately the Perth Concert Hall, usually reckoned to have the best acoustics in Australia, is currently closed for renovation, obviously needed if the state of the underground car park is any indication. In the meantime, the West Australian Symphony Orchestra is forced to perform elsewhere, and Perth is not exactly replete with appropriate venues. The University of Western Australia’s Winthrop Hall, designed for graduation ceremonies and the like, is not really suitable for symphonic or operatic concerts in terms of its acoustics and layout, but there are not many alternatives. Nevertheless, what appeared to be a full house turned out for the occasion.
Billed as a “concert production”, there was nevertheless sufficient staging to bring this (exceptionally silly) story to comic life. No director is acknowledged, but Andrew Foote is credited with rendering the dialogue and narration into English – Australian English at that – and presumably also the equally entertaining rhymed surtitles accompanying the German language singing. For anyone who might have found the proceedings a bit confusing, actor Michael Loney provided a clarificatory narrative.
With the orchestra on the stage, and the WASO chorus (Acts 2 and 3) packed into one corner, there was limited room for movement, but sufficient on the apron for the principals to negotiate across, on and off the stage. There was appropriate modern costuming, with Adele appearing first in a black and white maid’s outfit, turning up at the ball in a suave red frock. The ladies of the chorus on this occasion wore an array of coloured outfits rather than the usual monochrome.
Everyone involved seemed to enter happily into the spirit of the thing. Asher Fisch, Principal Conductor and Artistic Adviser to WASO for more than ten years now, is celebrated in Australia for conducting the second Adelaide Ring back in 2004, and is certainly better known for that end of the repertoire than Viennese operetta. Starting with a lively rendition of the overture, however, he maintained a spirited momentum throughout. It is a pity that the acoustic heavily favoured the brass; while the singers were never quite drowned out, a lot of musical nuance was obscured.
The role of Rosalinde fitted soprano Rachelle Durkin like an elegant velvet glove. Her large confident voice and her charismatic stage presence allied with a nice sense of comic timing, not to mention a really spectacular crystal encrusted blue gown in Act 2, ensured a delightful performance. Her Czardas and its translation were unusually hilarious (“her rolling seas bordering on her factories”). As Adele, Jessica Blunt sounded a little shrill on her entry, but her voice steadied and bloomed as the evening progressed, with glowing accurate coloratura in a nicely presented ‘laughing song’ (“Mein Herr Marquis”). Prince Orlofsky was well sung by warm-toned mezzo-soprano Ruth Burke.
The men were equally entertaining and robust of tone, with two excellent tenors in Paul O’Neill (Gabriel von Eisenstein) and Andrew Goodwin (Alfred(o)) both having fun and sending out ringing notes. Samuel Dundas as Dr Falke and Stuart Laing as Dr Blind carried their parts equally well. Another celebrated Wagnerian almost stole the show: Warwick Fyfe, seen recently as Hans Sachs, not to mention, Wotan, made a meal of Frank the prison governor. Singing with a commanding bronze baritone, he was a wonderfully ocker [vulgar Australian] figure, becoming drunker as the night went on, and delivering a real knees-up turn. It is safe to say a good time was had by all.
