DIE FLEDERMAUS. Director: Christine Crouse. Conductor: Jeremy Silver. Choreographer/Movement Director: Ananda Fuchs. Cast: Students of Opera UCT with Guest Artist Alan Committie and Members of the Cape Town Philharmonic Orchestra. Venue: Pam Golding Theatre at the Baxter, Cape Town.
BEVERLEY BROMMERT reviews
Youthful energy artfully disciplined by professional rigour and expertise has resulted, not for the first time, in a rewarding production from Opera UCT.
There could hardly be better material to showcase the talent of this company’s performers: coinciding with the bicentenary of its composer Johan Strauss, Die Fledermaus requires not only proficiency of execution, but also convincing ebullience to convey its pervasive, insouciant mischief.
Director Christine Crouse has opted for a contemporary setting of the 19th century operetta and transferred it from Vienna to Cape Town. This has the double merit of suggesting the timelessness of nouveau riche fun, while making the work acceptable to those who might all too easily dismiss Die Fledermaus as an irrelevant period piece.
Irreproachable accompaniment from the CPO’s well-seasoned musicians under the direction of Maestro Jeremy Silver provides reassuring support for young vocalists, their performance offset by top-class packaging: staging (Allegra Bernacchioni), costumes (Gavin Rajah), and lighting design (Josh Lindberg).
Sparkle and frivolity
An additional dash of professionalism is supplied by the unexpected participation of comedian Alan Committie, whose spontaneous wit spices up the final act for the benefit of innocent audience members who may have failed to grasp that this whole exercise is a joke. To be enjoyed unreservedly.
All this sparkle and frivolity, as well as the beguiling lyricism of the popular melodies, tend to distract one from the brilliance of Strauss’s orchestration and vocal writing, all in the service of drama; each character’s identity is as musical as it is theatrical. Which brings us to the interpretation brought by individual members of the cast to their respective personae.
Opening night had baritone Themba Mdlalose as Dr Falke, the eponymous fledermaus), giving an excellent account of his role both vocally and dramatically: confident, humorous and convincing.
The trio of Setsoane Ntseki (Rosalinde), Sisa Mjekula (Gabriel Von Eisenstein) and Iviwe Boms (Alfred) joined forces in portraying the central triangle of wife, husband and lover. All appropriately cast, and Mjekula in particular seemed entirely at ease as the volatile Gabriel, although Ntseki and Boms did not offer consistent clarity of diction and vocal projection, particularly in the first act before they had warmed to their performance. Fortunately their well rehearsed body language (courtesy of movement director Ananda Fuchs) compensated.
A finale replete with whimsy
Carmen Traut as the feisty maid Adele shamelessly upstaged her fellow performers, a show stealer in the second act with a bravura aria; Nica Reinke’s Prince Orlofsky showed why this young mezzo-soprano carried off first prize in the 2025 Aviva Pelham Operetta Competition.
Baritone Jaco Koegelenberg mastered the comic aspect of his role as Frank with assurance, giving an impression of unforced enjoyment in keeping with the spirit of proceedings.
As for Alan Committie, whose interpretation of the cameo role of jailer Frosch comes close to hijacking the entire production, his effortless flow of topical satire enlivened a finale already replete with whimsy – an inspired inclusion from director Crouse.
As the saying goes: “A problem? The answer is … champagne”.
That sums up the mind-set of a work whose lyrical lack of gravitas has charmed audiences for decades, and is likely to continue doing so well into the future.
What: Opera UCT stages Die Fledermaus
Where and when: Baxter Theatre from 23 to 26 October 2025
Tickets: Webtickets
WS
