Lyric Opera serves up a delightful, funny 'Fledermaus'

'Die Fledermaus'

Daniela Fally as Adele performs during the second act of a dress rehearsal of the Johann Strauss Jr. operetta's "Die Fledermaus." (Anthony Souffle/Chicago Tribune / December 6, 2013)

Who would have thought that the strongest overall ensemble effort of the Lyric Opera season so far would be "Die Fledermaus"?

Many companies, Lyric included, have treated the perennially popular Johann Strauss Jr. operetta, with its irresistible waltz tunes and familiar plot involving amorous antics among the Viennese upper crust, as a brainless parade of tired gags and groaners, a silly diversion to pass the time between helpings of Strauss' greatest hits.

No so here. Just ahead of the holidays, Lyric unveiled a new-to-Chicago production of "Fledermaus" Tuesday night at the Civic Opera House that had the audacity to take this wonderful work seriously. The 1870s period-sitcom plot may be predictable, but the champagne hasn't lost its sparkle nor the music its ebullience.

This "Fledermaus" is, in short, a singing and dancing delight, with plenty of laughs that arise naturally out of the comic situations and don't feel forced. It's the fifth time around for Strauss' melody-rich Viennese confection at Lyric, and most certainly the best.

Having decided to present "Die Fledermaus" in the original German (with English surtitles), Lyric further ensured authenticity by assigning three of the leading roles to Austrian and German singing actors. The spoken dialogue falls as nimbly off their tongues as you would expect from native German speakers. What's more, the crisp dramatic pacing of director E. Loren Meeker, spirited conducting by Ward Stare and spot-on performances in general keep the show perking along with no conspicuous longueurs throughout the 3 ½-hour (with two intermissions) duration.

From the moment we spot Alfred (Michael Spyres) shimmying up the trellis of the Eisensteins' two-story Viennese townhouse for what he hopes will be a tryst with the lady of the house, Rosalinde (Juliane Banse), wife of the philandering Gabriel (Bo Skovhus), we know we're in for a good time. By the time the central plot, which hinges on an elaborate deception pulled on Eisenstein by his friend Dr. Falke (Adrian Erod), kicks in, we are long since hooked.

No disrespect to the other principal singers, but has there ever been a more charming Adele than Daniela Fally? This was the Vienna-based Austrian soprano's American debut as the Eisensteins' chambermaid, and she proved herself a winning comedienne, Viennese accent and all. Adele's famous "Laughing Song" was limpidly sung, her high Ds like dollops of schlag atop a steaming cup of Viennese coffee. Instead of the cutesy soubrette mannerisms one usually encounters in this role, Fally delivered a figure of genuine charm and vivacity.

The men gave her a good run in the laugh department.

Skovhus cut a tall, charismatic figure as Eisenstein, reprising a role he sang here in Lyric's 2006-07 season. Vocally he was in strong baritonal fettle, and there wasn't a moment when he was not grabbing the role in his teeth: Watch this Viennese Don Juan sidling up to his wife, who's disguised as a mysterious Hungarian countess, at Prince Orlofsky's ball, dangling his pocket watch as bait. He was very funny as well in the second-act hijinks with the prison warden, Frank (Andrew Shore, a splendid comic actor, in his element here) where each masqueraded as a member of the French nobility.

Rosalinde marked Banse's American operatic debut as well as her first assumption of this vocally demanding role. Opening-night nerves may have resulted in a certain brittleness on top early on, but the alluring German soprano mustered enough dexterity and power to produce a winning czardas, backed by Hungarian-style dancers prancing to Daniel Pelzig's choreography. (A more elaborate ballet, set to Strauss' "Spanish March," had almost all the principal singers tripping the light fantastic.)

You won't hear Alfred, Rosalinde's lovelorn former flame, sung with greater sweetness or ease, or portrayed with more succulent ham, as Spyres does here. Listen to Alfred, whom Rosalinde persuades to impersonate her husband for fear of staining her virtuous reputation, rattle through snatches of Italian tenor arias from his jail cell: a choice bit indeed.

Among the rest of the cast, Erod was crisply sung and spoken as Falke, David Cangelosi made the most of Dr. Blind's comic business and Emily Fons sang well as the chronically bored Orlofsky. Julie Anne Miller, a promising mezzo-soprano now in her first year with the Ryan Opera Center program, was appealing as Adele's sister, Ida. Chicago-based actor Fred A. Wellisch reprised his very funny Frosch, peppering the jailer's drunken monologue with topical references including a sly crack about the current mayor of Toronto.

Stare, the former principal trombone of the Lyric Opera Orchestra, drew energized but rhythmically flexible playing from his former colleagues. The elegant production by Wolfram Skalicki (sets) and Thierry Bosquet (costumes) originated at the San Francisco Opera in 1990 but is eminently serviceable and hardly shows its age. There's a comfortably traditional look and feel to the show, with decors you could imagine someone actually living in. The chorus sings enthusiastically and the high-stepping dancers are similarly first-rate.

Frank Rizzo's witty projected English titles are essential to putting the show's plentiful wit across to the audience.

If the very thought of enduring yet another "Nutcracker" or "A Christmas Carol" at holiday time makes your teeth ache, consider this a viable, indeed delightful alternative. Eight performances remain.

Lyric Opera's "Die Fledermaus" continues through Dec. 21 before resuming Jan. 10 and running through Jan. 18 at the Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker Drive; $34-$244; 312-332-2244,

Twitter @jvonrhein

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