By James V. Ruocco
Trinity-on-Main Arts Center.
The Bushnell's Belding Theater.
The Garde Arts Center.
"Die Fledermaus," Johann Strauss II's most celebrated opera, will be staged in New Britain, Hartford and New London on December 26 and 30, 2021 and January 7, 2022 by the prestigious Connecticut Lyric Opera. The production is being directed by Jan Mason (Associate Artistic Director of Connecticut Lyric Opera) and conducted by Adrian Sylveen (Artistic Director of Connecticut Lyric Opera and Connecticut Virtuosi Chamber Orchestra).
Mason has directed several operas including "La Boheme," "Tosca," "Don Carlo," "Cosi fan Tutte," "Aida" and "The Marriage of Figaro." Her non-opera credits include staging's of "The House of Bernarda Alba," "Mother Courage," "The Art of Diving," "The Night of the Iguana" and "Dollhouse." Sylveen has conducted more than 35 operas and 70 symphonies around the world in Germany, Switzerland, Israel, Poland, the United States, Cuba and the former Soviet Union.
Taking its cue from the German farce "Das Gefangnis" (The Prison), "Die Fledermaus" debuted at Vienna's Theatre an der Wien on April 5, 1874 and has remained a part of the venue's regular season repertoire ever since. It was performed in New York for the first time under the direction of German composer and violist Rudolph Bial on November 21, 1874 at the Stadt Theatre. The German premiere took place the following year at Munich's Gartnerplatztheater.
Originally sung in German, "Die Fledermaus" is a high-spirited comic operetta set in Vienna during the late 19th century. A marriage of words, music and ideas (the libretto was written by Richard Genee and Karl Haffner), it charts the comic exploits of a dashing Russian count, a chambermaid pretending to be an actress and a champagne-induced ruse concocted by the count's best friend and doctor.
The Connecticut Lyric Opera production will be performed in English with English supertitles. It runs approximately 3 hrs. in length and will include two intermissions.
The popular Strauss score contains 21 musical numbers including "Life is a Song," "What a Night," "How Sad We Are," "What a Feast," "The Laughing Song," "The Tick-Tock Polka," "All I Want Is More Champagne," "Merci, Merci, Merci," "After the Ball," "How Can You Be So Ungallant" and "The Legal Profession."
Headlining the Connecticut Lyric Opera production are Deborah Lifton as Rosalinde von Eisenstein, Daniel Kamalic as Gabriel von Eisenstein, Maria Margiolakou as Adele, Oswaldo Iraheta as Alfred, Charles Eaton as Dr. Falke, Rongjun Li as Dr. Blind, Sung Shin as Frank, Rebecca de Almeida as Orlofsky, Rachel Abrams as Ida, Rob Esposito as Frosch and Joey Taylor as Ivan.
Casey Howes and Jacob Warren of the world-renowned Pilobolus Dance Theatre will make a special guest appearance in the Connecticut Lyric Opera presentation when it is staged at the Bushnell in Hartford. The dancers will be featured in the operetta's classic New Year's Eve Ball sequence during Act II.
"Die Fledermaus" will also showcase dance members of the Ballet Hartford company including Artistic Director Leyna Doran at both the Bushnell and Garde Arts Center performance. They too will be part of Act II's New Year's Eve Ball festivities.
"Die Fledermaus" Tickets & Performances
Opening Night: Sunday, December 26, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. (Trinity-On-Main Arts Center, 69 Main St., New Britain, CT.) Ticket price: $35 @ www.thevirtuosi.ticketleap.com.
Thursday, December 30, 2021 at 7:30 p.m. (The Belding Theater at the Bushnell Performing Arts Center, 166 Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT) Ticket price: $35-$79 @ bushnell.org/ConnecticutLyricOpera.
Friday, January 7, 2022 T 7:30 p.m. (The Garde Arts Center, 325 State St., New London, CT). Ticket price: $29-$45 @ https:// gardearts.org/events/die-fledermaus-2/.
COVID-19 Precautions: For this event, masks will be required of all patrons inside the different venues, as well as proof of full vaccinations. Unvaccinated patrons must provide documented proof of negative PCR testing within 72 hours of the start of the event, or a negative antigen test taken within 48 hours of the start of showtime.
For more information, call (860) 325-2826.
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