What’s So Grand About Grand Opera?

Seattlest had two very different opera experiences this past weekend, and we wanted to share both with you. (We know Seattlest’s own MVB has already favorably reviewed one of them, but we wanted to add our own two cents.)

Here’s the thing about Die Fledermaus (aka “The Bat”). Yes, it’s enjoyably light and funny, but it has moments that fall flat. An operetta (which is the category Die Fledermaus falls into) requires more acting than most operas, mainly because some lines are spoken. It’s easier to forgive repetitive or badly translated or poorly delivered lines when they’re masked by music. But these faults seem more sour when they’re laid bare.

Also, it was not quite correct stylistically. Classic Viennese waltzes are fast, which these were, but there is also sometimes a slight stretching between the 2nd and 3rd beats of the last measure of a phrase (this would be so much easier to explain if we could sing it to you). However, Gerard Schwarz played it straight, rather than adding this little stretch, and that made it a little less interesting. Style is, of course, something musicians love to argue over.

To be sure, there were some very enchanting moments. Sarah Coburn, as Adele, sang beautifully throughout the whole production. Her second act aria was particularly bewitching. Also, our seats were ridiculously good – we’d like to take this moment to give a little shout out to the BRAVO! Club (which gave us our sweet seat discounts).