Die Fledermaus

Susanna Phillips, Paulo Szot & Christopher Maltman in Die Fledermaus

Die Fledermaus: 2.5/5 Stars

Johann Strauss Jr.’s frothy operetta Die Fledermaus (The Bat) premiered in Vienna in 1874 and has been delighting audiences with its lush, tuneful waltzes ever since. The story of a vengeful man whose devious plot backfires on him, Die Fledermaus was seen on Broadway as Champagne Sec in 1933 (starring Peggy Wood and Kitty Carlisle) and has graced the stage of the Metropolitan Opera three times since 1905, with new or revised productions in 1950, 1986 and 1998. Now, it does so a fourth time with the new staging that debuted on New Year’s Eve. Ordinarily, though I see many productions each year, I don’t write about operas in Next Magazine. But the Met’s new production of Die Fledermaus boasts such a Broadway pedigree it cries out for coverage.

The Broadway crossover starts with Die Fledermaus’ director and new lyricist, Jeremy Sams (Amour, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and 13); its new book writer, Douglas Carter Beane (Cinderella, The Nance and Lysistrata Jones); and two of its stars, Tony-winner Paulo Szot (South Pacific) and multiple Tony nominee Danny Burstein (Golden Boy, Follies, South Pacific and The Drowsy Chaperone). Although beautifully sung, Beane’s new libretto—filled with contemporary references and ham-fisted jokes—combined with Sams’ clumsy lyrics and flat-footed direction almost sink a show that should sparkle and fizz.

Despite having gained a few pounds, the rakishly handsome Szot is an utter delight and sings magnificently as Dr. Falke, a disbarred lawyer seeking revenge against his friend Gabriel von Eisenstein, well played by Christopher Maltman. Szot and Maltman both understand that Die Fledermaus, with its extended “book scenes,” is as much musical theater as it is opera. Einsenstein’s wife, her former lover and her maid are all ably portrayed by Susanna Phillips, Michael Fabiano and Jane Archibald, respectively, with Fabiano’s ringing tenor especially impressive. Everyone ends up in jail, of course, where the jailer, played by Burstein, gets laughs due to the sheer force of his talent, not Beane’s script. But as misguided as Beane’s book is, it pales in comparison to Sams’ clunky new English lyrics that can’t hold a candle to Howard Dietz’s lyrics for the Met’s 1950 production, which was directed and written by Broadway veteran Garson Kanin.

Why the Met didn’t simply revive that gem of a translation with a savvier director than Sams, I’ll never know. Still, this Die Fledermaus can be recommended for its rapturous music and exquisite production design.

Die Fledermaus plays through February 22 at Metropolitan Opera (Lincoln Center, MetOpera.org).