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The major female roles in particular
were outstandingly sung. Donna Ellen (Rosalinde), Anna
Siminska (Adele) and Lorena Espina (Prinz Orlofsky)
left virtually nothing to be desired. Michael Heim’s
Eisenstein led the way among the men both vocally and
dramatically ... The staging and décor were
enchantingly inventive, while conductor Herbert Mogg
kept things going with a swing. In short: go and enjoy
both the delightful theatre itself and a performance
of Fledermaus.
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Where else couid you spend the interval
in a space like the Schönbrunn Palace courtyard?
Where else to experience Viennese music in such an
imperial setting? … Company director Martin Turba
has succeeded in presenting operetta not as cheap nostalgia
for the tourists, but in a way that’s valid in
the context of modern theatre … The excellent
protagonist is Michael Heim, whose virtuosic physical
style puts him naturally at the centre of the action … with
the other characters orbiting wittily and playfully
around this comic centre of gravity. Even the prison
scene is not overdone, with dramatic method behind
the slapstick …The music is also finely tuned;
it really is in experienced hands with Herbert Mogg.
His well-considered tempi enable the singers to get
their words across clearly. The action never stands
still, even though many of the vocal performances are
well worth careful attention ... especially the bright,
flexible tenor of Santiago Bürgis.
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Volker Vogel has staged a production
of Die Fledermaus at Schönnbrun that is witty,
brave and full of ideas ...
Anna Siminska ... vocally and dramatically brilliant
as Adele … Michael Heim’s vocally impeccable
display ... Donna Ellen’s performance of the
Csárdás overwhelmed not just her husband,
but the audience too ... The splendid performance of
the young chorus ...
The three hours flew by. Herbert Mogg and the orchestra
accompanied superbly. It wasn’t just Strauss’ tunes
that led to the audience’s enjoyment – and
to the sustained applause at the end of the evening.
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Is Harald Serafin looking for a successor
for the lakeside operetta festival at Mörbisch?
We’ve found him: Martin C. Turba! ... For the
last ten years he has been running operetta festivals
with great success, making the festival at Bad Ischl
into an event of considerable stature between 1999
and 2003 and, each summer since 2005, enlivening the
theatre at Schönbrunn … with operetta of
the highest quality. The staging of Johann Strauss’ Die
Fledermaus by the German director and Wagner-singer
Volker Vogel is close to world-class, boasting a cast
of which any major house could be proud, and with no
less a figure than Herbert Mogg on the conductor’s
podium ... The ensemble’s freshness and sense
of enjoyment enthuses the audience.
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Intendant Martin Turba has put together an ensemble
in which just about everything comes together … Michael
Heim (Eisenstein), who unites comic talent with a fine,
strong voice ... Donna Ellen, equally convincing as
Rosalinde. Alfred (Santiago Bürgi) displays latin
charm and a honeyed Argentine tenor voice. No wonder
that he has Rosalinde at his feet. The role of the
cheeky chambermaid Adele seems tailor-made for the
young Polish soprano Anna Siminska. She is witty, makes
all the right points and exudes charisma … Herbert
Mogg conducts the orchestra with a sense for the right
tempo … and a flair for operetta and floating
waltzes.
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