THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, November 16, 1995 TAG: 9511170409
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY CRAIG SHAPIRO, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 176 lines
Glasses high, happiness will never die
as long as your eyes beam laughter.
And when life confronts,
dream that just this once
there will be no morning after.
Dr. Falke in ``Die Fledermaus''
THERE IS, of course, a morning after. Always has been, always will be. And that's what intrigues Lillian Garrett-Groag about ``Die Fledermaus.''
On the one hand, Johann Strauss' operetta - the definitive 19th century operetta - is a confection, a bubbly, three-act account of love, deception and one-upmanship set to the lilting music of the waltz king.
On the other, there is something ironic, something bittersweet, something Viennese about it that conspire to create an unease that is undeniable.
Garrett-Groag, who is directing the Virginia Opera production opening Friday night at the Harrison Opera House, is emphasizing the latter. She's even breaking with tradition so ``Die Fledermaus'' will be more, well, traditional.
Since its premiere more than a century ago, it has become routine to stretch out the second-act ball by introducing all manner of special guests. The Met trots out the company's past stars. When the Virginia Opera Association staged its first production in 1982, local humorist Hope Mihalap, in her best Southern accent, barked, ``Kiss my grits!''
``No gags. We don't even have a ballet in the middle of it,'' Garrett-Groag said last week. ``It would be very easy to do a run-of-the mill `Fledermaus,' but I think it deserves more than that. It's a much more complicated piece, and a much more charming and ironic piece, than people think.''
This is the third visit to Norfolk for the Argentinia-born director, also an accomplished playwright and actress. She directed, and translated, last year's world premiere of ``Simon Bolivar'' and made her debut in 1993 with ``Tosca.''
She has a special affinity for ``Die Fledermaus,'' which takes its title from the costume, a bat, worn by one of the leads. Garrett-Groag learned the lyrics as a girl from her father, a native of Vienna.
``He used to say in the waltz, the way people play Viennese waltzes, they didn't know what they were doing. Any other waltz is a three-quarter time and the downbeat is just the downbeat. But in the Viennese waltz, the downbeat is regret. He said if you play it right, you can feel it. At the core of it, you can feel something slightly sad.
``If you hear a good Strauss waltz, there's something about it about times gone by. The waltz, I think, is very young. It's about youth, and youth, being what it is, goes. There's something about time running out that I find in Strauss, and certainly in `Die Fledermaus.' ''
When the operetta opens, Eisenstein, described as a gentleman of private means, is berating his lawyer. He's been sentenced to eight days in the hoosegow - seems he can't control his temper - but Eisenstein gives the jailer the slip and attends a masquerade party where he unknowingly tries to seduce his new wife, Rosalinda. Meanwhile, Rosalinda's old flame, Alfred, sits in jail pretending to be Eisenstein!
The evening is one long ruse orchestrated by Eisenstein's friend Dr. Falke. Years ago, they attended a party, Eisenstein dressed as a butterfly and Falke as a fledermaus. Falke drank too much, passed out and Eisenstein had him carried to a park in the middle of Vienna. When he awoke, he had to walk home, dressed as a bat.
While the tone is light and the music glorious, there is something more at work, Garrett-Groag said. She attributes it to time and place.
``We have to think that Strauss overlapped with Freud, and there was a reason for that,'' she said. ``Strauss was part of a bourgeoisie that was getting to be very comfortable. People had more money due to the industrial revolution. People had more free time and more unease, and Freud would not have happened if that was not the case.
``He was an exact, direct result of people having more money and more time to face the void - that tremendous unease of the modern world.''
For those same reasons, Garrett-Groag sees contemporary applications in ``Die Fledermaus.''
``We're reaching the end of a century, too. We have the same problems,'' she said. ``How many marriages do you know that are second or third marriages? The interesting thing about Strauss' music in this particular piece is whenever it's incredibly beautiful, (the characters) are lying. Every single time.
``You cannot ignore that tremendous contrast, that tremendous paradox. I find that tension between the beauty of the music and the content of what they're saying interesting.
``There's always an end to the ball. There's always a 12 o'clock. That's the feeling we want from this `Fledermaus.' We're reaching 12 o'clock and we have to dance as fast we can, as hard as we can, before the chimes ring.''
Interpretation aside, ``Die Fledermaus'' requires something of its cast that may surprise those whose idea of opera is a 300-pound soprano planted squarely on both feet while she belts out her aria.
And that's acting. The operetta is driven by its story as much as its music. It even includes spoken dialogue.
``If opera was only about singing, we'd just buy the CD and stay home,'' Garrett-Groag said. ``The tough thing about `Die Fledermaus,' and it's the same in straight theater, is that comedy is possibly the hardest thing to do, especially elegant comedy.
``Among anything else, it demands agility - agility of the mind and agility of the mouth.''
Douglas Webster, who makes his Virginia Opera debut as Eisenstein, is up for the challenge. His theater credentials include ``Les Miserables'' on Broadway, but he'll also draw on his considerable experience as a recitalist.
``When you do 20 to 30 songs in an evening, you have to make sense as to why you chose this particular path,'' he said. ``It's a theatrical mindset. You can't just go, `OK, these are my four Schuberts. Here are my required French pieces.' It's not like a diving event, where you have degree of difficulty followed by artistic intent.''
Webster said he's seen too many productions in which Eisenstein was one-dimensional. Rounding out the character - making him more than an ``overbearing jerk'' - enables ``Die Fledermaus'' to be more than fluff.
``There's got to be something likable about him, something that happens within the piece that's dynamic so the audience gets something out of it,'' Webster said. ``He's kind of like a puppy. He really wants to get out of the fence, but once out, he doesn't know what to do.
``He also has this tension inside - his responsibility to his wife, his position in the aristocracy. I think everyone has that tension, where they would rather duck their responsibilities and run away for a little bit.''
Amy Johnson is a familiar face to local audiences. Her credits include ``Simon Bolivar,'' ``La boheme,'' ``Norma'' and ``Don Giovanni.'' She's taking the same approach to Rosalinda.
``It helps if you have something to balance out all the humor and fluff and frolic,'' she said. ``If you can show another side of the character, it keeps them from being shallow.''
Rosalinda likes to be the life of the party, ``the one dancing on the table at the end of the night,'' Johnson said. She also knows the rules of society, and that she has to follow them. The last thing she would want is to be the subject of gossip.
But there's more to the character, something universal like Webster's Eisenstein.
``I think a more poignant aspect is her husband is kind of an embarrassment,'' Johnson said. ``We all make choices. Do you go with your head and heart, or do you go with just your heart? Or do you go with just your head?
``There are certain aspects in all these relationships that people can relate to.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/The Virginian-Pilot
Director Lillian Garret-Groag, left, Amy Johnson (Rosalinda) and
Douglas Webster (Eistenstein).
Photo
Johann Strauss
Graphic
JOHANN STRAUSS
Born Oct. 25, 1825, in Vienna; died June 4, 1899, in Vienna
Son of Johann the Elder, who made the waltz the pride of The
Paris on the Danube
Johann the Younger's most popular waltzes, including ``The Blue
Danube'' and ``Tales From the Vienna Woods,'' were written in the
1860s.
Strauss, then in his early 40s, began writing operettas to meet
the challenge of Frenchman Jacques Offenbach.
``Die Fledermaus,'' his third operetta, was a huge success when
it premiered April 5, 1874, at Theater an der Wien.
Throughout his career, Strauss credited his talent to Vienna,
``in whose air float the melodies which my ear has caught, my heart
has drunk in and my hand has written down.''
by CNB