Last weekend, Annapolis Opera celebrated the opening of its 30th season with an operetta that is an on-stage party celebrating life and toasting the joys of champagne - Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus.
Since premiering in 1874, Die Fledermaus (The Bat) with Strauss' melodic score has continuously celebrated 19th century Viennese life throughout the world.
The story revolves around a party where Dr. Falke has his revenge on Gabriel von Eisenstein for leaving him after an evening of drunken revelry asleep on a park bench dressed as a bat to be seen by several members of Viennese society.
Falke's humiliation prompts him to cook up a scheme that entangles Eisenstein's wife Rosalinde, her chambermaid Adele, a visiting Italian tenor, the prison governor and others in a series of comic complications marked by mistaken identity and infidelity.
From the first notes of its lilting score this Flying Mouse proved the ideal vehicle for the Annapolis Opera anniversary celebration. Conducted by artistic director Ronald Gretz, the famous overture immediately transported us to 19th century Vienna, even before the curtain rose.
On stage, Gretz has assembled a talented young cast with especially strong female members, an exciting tenor and adequate principals.
Alison Trainer was a delight as Adele, singing beautifully and delivering a spectacular "My Dear Marquis" - commonly known as "The Laughing Song" - where she confidently held onto the high E at the end. An actress with a sure comic touch, Trainer was clearly having fun on stage and she looked ravishing in her lovely ball costume.
Angela Fout was excellent as Rosalinde, equally lovely wearing gorgeous costumes befitting a bourgeois Vienna wife who finds tenor Alfred's singing irresistible and knows how to beat her philandering husband at his own game. Fout has a beautiful voice of impressive power that was well displayed in several arias.
Patrick Marques made an exciting Annapolis Opera debut as tenor Alfred, singing Verdi arias with ringing high notes. Marques displayed a fine sense of comedy, playing Alfred as a caricature of the self-absorbed Italian tenor.
Although in his early scenes baritone Terence Murphy seemed a bit detached as Gabriel von Eisenstein, he improved when he sang with Christopher Hutton's Dr. Falke. Murphy also revealed an impressive dancing talent when he joined Hutton in some exuberant moves.
Baritone Hutton sang well enough but lacked the wry sense of fun associated with Falke. Baritone Reginald Allen made an impressive Annapolis debut as prison governor Frank, displaying a sonorous baritone and an appealing natural quality as an actor.
The performance Sunday had some problems of balance in the first act, with instances of the orchestra overpowering the singers. This was especially noticeable in the duet of Adele and Rosalinde, where Fout needed to summon her considerable vocal power to be heard above the orchestra.
It was a fine idea to give cameo roles to Annapolis Mayor Ellen Moyer, founder of Annapolis Opera Martha Wright, past opera presidents Harry and Thea Lindauer, the executive director of Maryland Hall Linell Bowen and Capital columnist Joe Gross. But instead of rushing them off stage immediately after they were introduced, they should have remained on stage at the ball, joining in the fun.
Former Annapolis Mayor Dean Johnson played jailer Frosch and it might have been fun if he had made some humorous post-election comments. After all, this is Die Fledermaus, not Wagner's Goetterdaemmerung, and it's supposed to be fun.
For those who missed the Annapolis version of Die Fledermaus, the Mouse soon will fly again when Baltimore Opera does an English version written by Howard Deitz and Garson Kanin on weekends from Dec. 7-16. For tickets, call the box office at 410-727-6000.