Argentina Strauss, Die Fledermaus: Soloists, Chorus and Orchestra of Juventus Lyrica / Hernán Sánchez Arteaga (conductor), Teatro Avenida, Buenos Aires. 11.5.2018. (JSJ)
in Juventus Lyrica’s Die Fledermaus (c) Liliana Morsia
Cast:
Rosalinde – Monserrat Maldonado
Eisenstein – Mirko Tomas
Adele – Laura Penchi
Alfred – Santiago Martínez
Falke – Ernesto Bauer
Frank – Gabriel Carasso
Blind – Patricio Oliveira
Prince Orlofsky – Rocío Arbizu
Frosch – Carlos Kaspar
Production:
Director/Sets – Ana D’Anna
Costumes – María Jaunarena
Lighting – Gonzalo Córdova
Chorus master – Hernán Sánchez Arteaga
With the (hopefully temporary) termination of Buenos Aires Lirica, independent opera in the city is being kept alive primarily by Juventus Lyrica, now launching its 19th season of opera. Its mission unchanged of giving a platform to young singers – in this case the somewhat more experienced of them – and on a limited budget, but there is nothing low scale about the productions.
Over the years there have been few repeats but this, Die Fledermaus, which opens the season is one (previously in 2011), although the production – and most of the cast – by Ana D’Anna is new. The work is waltz king Strauss’s best known operetta with a story full of confusion including a masked ball, set to lively music, here sparkling under conductor and chorus master Hernán Sánchez Arteaga.
D’Anna is a master of weaving a story within a limited set and this was no exception, bringing to life a Viennese atmosphere of luxury and fun. Period dress by María Jaunarena and Gonzalo Córdova’s lighting also helped.
As of course did the cast, all of a uniform level of quality, although with special mention to Monserrat Maldonado’s fine and well sung Rosalinde.
A surprise in this work is the special appearances during the second act entertainment and here we were presented with the pianist Matías Galíndez who accompanied first orchestra leader Serdar Geldymuradov in Piazzolla’s ‘Ave Maria’ then the Paraguayan tenor in a shortened ‘E lucevan le Stelle’ from Tosca and finally Soledad de la Rosa in a gospel singer parody with ‘Battle of Jericho’.
Jonathan Spencer Jones