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Stage

The incredible lightness of 'Die Fledermaus'

Fluffy, frivolous and fun, this classic from imperial Austria is the very definition of what operetta should be.

By JOHN FLEMING
Published December 28, 2006

ADVERTISEMENT [Times photo: Bob Croslin] Charlene Closshey, from left, plays Sophie, Elizabeth Claxton is Adele and Jacob Pence is Frank in Die Fledermaus, playing Friday and Saturday night at St. Petersburg’s Palladium Theate

Die Fledermaus, or The Bat, is a classic operetta. Which raises the perennial question: How does operetta differ from opera?

"The difference is that in operetta you stand on the furniture," says Jon Truitt, who is directing the Johann Strauss II operetta, which has two performances at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg this weekend.

Truitt, a baritone who is also playing the role of Eisenstein normally played by a tenor, is joking a bit about standing on the furniture, though he guarantees that will happen in his staging. He defines the operetta form as something like a halfway house between opera and musical theater.

For one thing, unlike most opera, a work like Fledermaus has spoken dialogue. "There's just a general lightness to the approach of operetta," Truitt says.

The Strauss operetta is Viennese froth, a tuneful high-society comedy premiered in 1874. The bat of the title is a reference to a costume once worn to a party by Eisenstein, one of many turns in the basically incomprehensible plot.

Fledermaus is known for its effervescent music, not its dramatic logic, and Truitt has done some editing on the libretto.

"This is the third production I've been involved in, though the first time directing, and this is third script that I've used," he says. "So I don't feel like the script is sacred.

"I rewrote parts of the script to make it a little leaner, to make the plot more clear and give the characters a little more realistic motivation. I replaced or removed some anachronistic lines, just to make it funnier."

Fledermaus is not really a work that can be reconceptualized; it is what it is, a period piece from imperial Vienna. "You can't really update it or deconstruct it because it's basically straight frivolous comedy," Truitt says.

The spoken dialogue can be a challenge for opera singers. "It's different for sure," Truitt says. "You have these really difficult, virtuosic musical pieces, but a lot of our rehearsal is spent on the dialogue, just to get the timing, the stagecraft down. To get something to come off and be funny with singing actors, it seems like it takes more time."

The operetta will be performed in English, though some of the songs are in German, for which English supertitles will be provided.

Back together again

Fledermaus reunites much of the creative team responsible for an enjoyable production of Rossini's Barber of Seville in June. Mark Sforzini, the composer and principal bassoon with the Florida Orchestra who also is artistic director of opera at the Palladium, will conduct.

Truitt, who teaches voice and opera at the University of Evansville in Indiana, learned a few things from directing Barber at the theater. "From a technical standpoint, this show will be better just from my knowing the space better," he says. "It helps just knowing where the sightlines are and where the audience can see things best."

The company had an unfortunate setback recently when Fred Furnari, a bass-baritone from Boston playing Frank, was in a car accident and suffered a broken leg. He was replaced by his cover, Jacob Pence.

The cast includes Truitt's wife, Beth, a soprano playing Rosalinda. "It's usually once every couple of years that we get to do something together,' he says. "So this has been a very pleasant experience."

Preview

Die Fledermaus

The operetta by Johann Strauss II, has performances at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Palladium Theater, 253 Fifth Ave. N, St. Petersburg. $10-$50. (727) 822-3590; www.mypalladium.org.

[Last modified December 27, 2006, 11:27:23]