The Opera/Oratorio Ensemble Class performed a section of Act II from Johann Strauss’s opera “Die Fledermaus” last Saturday night, culminating a semester’s worth of work.
The strong ensemble harmonized beautifully together, proving to be more than up to the challenge of performing the show’s complex and technically difficult vocals. Private Lessons Teacher Priscilla Gale, as well as the assistant music instructor, David Zeng, prepared their singers well.
There were a few standout soloists in the cast, including Tasneem Alam ’07, playing Prince Orlovsky, and Brittany Fowler ’09 as Rosalinda. EunHye Lee ’07 and Eugene Dayanghirang ’07 gave noteworthy performances in the second half of the show. Lee, in particular, deserves praise for performing even after suffering a leg injury earlier in the week.
Lee and Dayanghirang performed an exceptional duet together, a tango number, with a little help from fellow cast member Rachel Salowitz ’07. While Lee sang, Salowitz stepped in to dance with Dayanghirang, and courageously changed from her frilly dress to a slinky black slip on the stage in front of pleasantly surprised audience members.
Steve Sunu ’08, performing as Frank, and Erik Holum ’10, singing the part of Eisenstein, provided moments of uproariously entertaining comedy. The well-matched pair kept the audience laughing throughout the performance.
Memorable costumes and props proved vital to certain scenes. In the final song, “The Promise of Living,” performed by Samuel Harrell ’07, Julianna Sapienza ’10, Robert Boyd ’08, Lee, and Sunu, a pitchfork proved to be as central as the beautiful melodies.
The performance opened with a clever and sidesplitting monologue by Jonathan Short ’09, playing Dr. Falke. He immediately became an audience favorite, and his monologue included a synopsis of the opera that helped situate audience members unfamiliar with the story.
Although Gale translated the songs of “Die Fledermaus” to English from their original German, Short’s introduction nevertheless proved useful for the times when the operatic vocal style made the lyrics difficult to understand.
“It was funny and helpful,” said Ilana Gross ’09. “The background information helped me to understand the intricacies of the opera’s plot.”
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