Two weeks ago…
(Damn theatres that don’t have wireless….)
DIE FLEDERMAUS
By Johann Strauss Jr
Northwestern University Opera, Cahn Auditorium, Evanston, IL
Directed by Michael Ehrmann
Scenic Design by yours truly
Costume Design by Jana Andersson
Lighting Design by Andrew Meyers
Sound Design by Stephen Ptacek
The story is truly a bit of effervescent high-society fluff…
ACT 1
Mr. Eisenstein is prone to practical jokes, and has recently pulled over a big one on best friend, Falke, which ended with poor Falke fully dressed as a bat, passed out drunk on a nearby beachhead ,miles from home. Falke plots a trap for his friend, but not before Eisenstein is sentenced to a short stint in jail for a public altercation. Falke convinces him to NOT report to prison as planned and entices him to a posh party at Russian billionaire, Count Orlofsky’s villa. Reluctantly, Eisenstein is swayed by the promise of pretty girls to flirt with. He tells his wife that he’s going to report to jail, and instead heads to the party.
Meanwhile Rosalinde, Eisenstein’s wife, has an old flame, and singing teacher of the comic variety, who has reappeared in town and barges his way into the Eisenstein manse, taking up her husband’s clothing as settling in for the duration of her husband’s jail term. Falke tells Rosalinde that her husband hasn’t reported to jail and is attending a party that evening. He suggests that she go to the party, disguised so that she can check out what her husband is up to. She agrees. The police show up to take Eisenstein off to jail, but Rosalinde, wanting to get rid of Alfred, lets them take Alfred off to jail, so that she can escape his advances and get to the party to catch her husband in-flagrante-delicto. The Eisenstein’s maid, has also received an invitation to the party (later revealed to also be the machinations of Falke), and so Adele ‘borrows’ one of Rosalinde’s ballgowns and heads of to the party.
ACT 2
Prince Orlofsky’s villa is a decadent feast of the senses. The Prince is bored with everything… too rich to care about the world around him. Falke piques his interest by saying that Falke can find a way to make him laugh with a little real-life domestic comedy that he’s arranged to play out at the party. Orlofsky says he’ll make Falke rich should he succeed. Eisenstein arrives and is introduced as a French Marquis. Adele arrives and is introduced as an up-and-coming opera singer, and Rosalinde arrives and is introduced as a Hungarian countess, who only appears in public wearing a mask (the better to spy on her husband with). The Marquis (Eisenstein) is introduced to the Singer (his maid Adele), and almost blows their cover, but is saved when Adele sings (the famous Laughing Aria) laughing off his obvious “mistake”. The Marquis becomes enamored of the mysterious Hungarian Countess, and flirts shamefully with her. Rosalinde maintains her composure and takes away his special pocketwatch, as a sign of “the Marquis’ devotion”. There is a sequence of performances for the attendees, which ends with a Toast to Love and to King Champagne. Realizing that it’s incredibly late, Eisenstein calls for his coat and hat so that he can report to jail… where his wife thinks he is.
ACT 3
We now go to the local jail, where the supposed Eisenstein (i.e. Rosalinde’s former lover, Alfred) is holed up in a cell singing at the top of his lungs, annoying the jailor, Froshe. Eisenstein come in to give himself up only to be rebuffed “as we already have Eisenstein in jail”. Confused, Eisenstein learns that a man, claiming to be him was arrested at his home the night before, and that this man, and Rosalinde were very sad and kissing each other on parting. Realizing this his wife must be having an affair, and hearing his wife about to enter the jail, he disguises himself as his lawyer in order to overhear Rosalinde pleading for Alfred’s release. He reveals himself to the horrified Alfred, and the smirking Rosalinde, who then produces his pocketwatch, thereby showing that she knows that Eisenstein was at the party and flirting with a (supposed stranger). He sheepishly begs her forgiveness and says that they must chalk these things up to the inebriation of King Champagne. All is well, restored, and ends happily.
OUR PRODUCTION
The original was written in the 1880s in Vienna, and is often done in that period and style. Michael Ehrmann, the director wanted to give it a different spin… so we set our production in the 1920/30’s’s world of Hollywood silent movies. It’s really was mere happenstance that it’s set in EXACTLY the same world as the recent blockbuster (and Oscar-winning movie, THE ARTIST). We actually started discussions about it months before the movie came out. We looked at a lot of architecture and art of the ART DECO movement. It’s a beautiful and elegant style typified by geometric patterns, and color schemes that (predominantly) leaned towards blacks, whites and silver tones. We also watched the old Fred Astaire movies like Top Hat and High Society.
act 1 living room of the Eisensteins
act 2 - Prince Orlofsky's villa
act 3 - the jail
Characters within the opera were given specific visual traits and tricks of notable Hollywood icons… the lawyer was Harpo Marx, Rosalinde was visually based on Jean Harlow, one of the Orlofsky performers was based on Marlene Dietrich (who sang a HYSTERICAL rendition of I AM TIRED from the movie Blazing Saddles… I know, it was out of context, but it WAS really funny), Froshe was essentially a take on Ralph Kramden from Honeymooners.
The challenge with the set for this show is that there are 3 acts that are set in vastly different locations (i.e. Eisenstein’s living room, the grand salon of Prince Orlofsky, and the local jail). SO in order to keep the worlds visually consistent and working in tandem with each other we used a UNIT SET approach… in that there were a few elements that were onstage the entire time, but there were pieces that came and went for each act in order to delineate the different worlds. The things in common were a diamond shaped platform at center stage and a drop that stretched across the back of the stage. On it was painted a DECO-style cityscape with two posh figures, one male one female, peeking over the ‘scape , grinning seductively at the goings-on. I pulled the two figures from paintings by Tamara de Lempicka, a German-borm American artist that was part of NYC’s high society in the 1920s. Her portraiture very much typifies the elegance, and sculptural splendor of “roaring 20s”.
The “pieces “ were a series of platforms, staircases, and flying walls that were reconfigured to give us the different locations. All done up in shades of black, white and silver, with some hints of RED during the party (act2).
It was a lot of fun to work on, and it seemed like the audiences ate it up!
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