Music: Johann Strauss

Adaptor: Jeff Clarke

Director: Jeff Clarke

Choreographer: Jenny Arnold

Musical Director: Jeff Clarke

Reviewer: Jimmy Hardwick

The Public Reviews Rating:

Do the British ‘get’ opera? The question, which appears in the program for this production of Die Fledermaus, is a good one and one which I think I many people would answer in the negative. Apart from the pleasant and incredibly English Gilbert and Sullivan, Britain has rarely been at the forefront of the opera world. Add to this the apparent British distaste for learning other languages and the results become clear. Little wonder then that in the 19th century the Germans called Britain ‘das land ohne musik’, the land without music. So this excellent translation and adaptation of Johann Strauss’ 1874 farce is to be welcomed. And, thankfully, this is a fantastically funny production.

The plot of Die Fledermaus is not a complex one and in many ways represents a classic farce. A man, Eisenstein, seeks one last night of womanising before he is incarcerated for three weeks (in this adaptation he is going to drug rehabilitation). Unknown to him, his cleaner, his wife and the doctor in charge of the rehab clinic are also going to the same party. Encouraged by the friend he humiliated a few years before by leaving him tied up to a lamppost as a bat (the fledermaus of the title), Eisenstein makes a series of passes at his heavily disguised wife. It makes for quite a lot of confusion and misunderstanding the next day.

This production is blessed with excellent performances throughout. Andy Morton as Eisenstein plays his character almost as a successful Del Boy (particularly when it comes to toe curling attempts at speaking French). Eisenstein is not a likeable character but Morton has certainly made him an amusing one. Lisa Anne Robinson is a convincing Rosalinde; rich, bored and distrusting of her husband.

Stephen Svsnholm plays Falke (the fledermaus himself) with a wry detachment that I think suits the part. Even as he is friends with the people around him, you get a sense of Falke almost laughing at their weaknesses. Helen Massey is wonderful as Adele, the maid who gets to go to the ball. Philip Cox (Frank), Simon Butteriss (Orlofsky), Gareth Dafydd Morris (Alfred) and Ilana Jacobs (Dr Blind/Ida) provide great support and add a great deal to the the production.

The music (arranged by Tony Britten) keeps the play ticking along at a good speed. Strauss style waltzes and fast arrangements are mixed with amusingly modern references with the entire cast (especially Gareth Dafydd Morris) proving to be more than equal to the task. But the main thing audiences will take away from Die Fledermaus is just how funny it is. The cast are clearly having a great time and know how to get the laughs from the audience; Eisenstein and Frank’s French accents have to heard to be believed. A period of improvising between the second and third set was brilliant and certainly some of the funniest theatre I have seen. Jeff Clarke’s production is rude in a ‘carry on’ kind of way; it would be hard to be offended by it. As this is only playing for four more nights at the Lowery I highly recommend you catch it, the British might not ‘do’ opera but we certainly ‘do’ saucy!

Die Fledermaus runs until 20th Feb.

Die Fledermaus – Lowry Theatre, Salford, 3.4 out of 5 based on 9 ratings

Tags: Andy Morton, Die Flaudermaus, Gareth Dafydd Morris, Helen Massey, Ilana Jacobs, Jeff Clarke, Johann Strauss, Lisa Anne Robinson, Opera, Opera della Luna, Philip Cox, Salford, Simon Butteriss, Stephen Svsnholm, The Lowry