IU Opera goes batty for ‘Die Fledermaus’

The singers at the Jacobs School of Music are set and ready to put on their newest performance of Johann Strauss’s operetta “Die Fledermaus,” or “The Bat” in English.

Conducted by maestro Constantine Kitsopoulos and directed by Joachim Schamberger, the show combines classic opera arias with English dialogue to tell a comical story of revenge.

“This is a very fun opera where the actors on stage are actually encouraged to act drunk on stage,” said graduate student Victor McMillan, who plays the devious Dr. Falke.

McMillan’s character is left on a park bench naked, wearing only a bat mask, by his best friend Eisenstein. Now he seeks to play an elaborate practical joke on Eisenstein for revenge. This leads to chaos and delight as the two of them attend a ball led by the crazy Russian Prince Orlofsky, played by senior Kelly Glyptis.

“I love my role because I get to play Russian roulette with Eisenstein on stage as well have my body guard break a glass bottle over one of the patron’s heads,” Glyptis said.

The show implores many of these on-stage effects, including a champagne tower poured quite loosely by Glyptis’s character.

“Strauss is known as the king of the waltz,” said McMillan, “and this can be heard in most of the arias in “Die Fledermaus.”

Strauss’s father was the creator of the waltz and so Strauss implored many waltzing techniques into his opera, right down to the music and dancing in the grand ballroom scene.

“The music is nice and light, which is perfect for a young voice,” said graduate student Molly Fetherston , who plays Ida.

This works well given the humorous themes of the opera such as lusty romance and semi-adultery, in which Eisenstein flirts with a Hungarian countess who is, in fact, his wife Rosalinda in disguise.

Many of the major roles in this opera were cast during the summer to give all of the performers ample time to practice. The performers then spent three weeks prior to the performance continuously staging and practicing their parts from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a dinner break in the middle.

“It’s an intense process that builds strong bonds between all of us,” McMillan said.

Authentic gowns, suits and even a prince outfit made by the IU costuming department allow the performers to blend in with each scene. The set designs range from a simple house to a starlit ball. The sets can expand and contract to fit the needed amount of performers on stage.

“The attitude for each show is different,” Glyptis said. “Other performances act like they are all in love with one another, while our group all act like we are partying on
spring break.”