Die Fledermaus

If you ever want to introduce someone to opera, show them this. It's certain to hold their interest and make them hungry for more. Sometimes it's sung, sometimes it's spoken, sometimes it's in German, sometimes French, or Italian, or English... Keep up if you can! It's fast-moving and downright hysterical.

Keep an eye out for a particularly delightful pair of performers during the cabaret in Act Two... No, I'm not talking about the dancers.

Watching this flawless production of the operetta Die Fledermaus put a much-needed smile on my face. The music is just delightful from start to finish, from the overture to the champagne chorus, and although I love Strauss's music, this made me appreciate it even more. The dialogue sparkles just as much as the music, and was constantly fast-moving and hysterically funny, Alfred in the last act especially.

The production, from 1984, is exquisitely designed with wonderful sets and colourful costumes. And the singing was just superb, with Hermann Prey wonderfully energetic in the role of Eisenstein, and Kiri Te Kanawa in perfect voice as Rosalinde. Hildegarde Heichele is fine as Adele, and Dennis O'Neill, with a lot of improvisation in the mix was hilarious as Alfred. And Doris Soffel is a sheer delight as Prince Orlofsky.

The choreography by Frederick Ashton and David Drew was expertly done, as you expect from Ashton, who in his time was an inspirational choreographer. The title of my review comes from the critic who praised the production as "under Placido Domingo, Strauss's zestful and tuneful comedy fizzes along like musical champagne". In this case, this summed up Domingo perfectly, who despite looking different than he does when singing Caveradossi and Pinkerton, makes an impressive and understated British debut as conductor.

Overall,a very funny and just wonderful production, that I have enjoyed more than any other opera production I've seen. 10/10 Bethany Cox

The film of the Johann Strauss opera Die Fledermaus (1984) brings together soprano Dame Kiri Te Kanawa as Rosalinde, and bass-baritone Hermann Prey as Gabriel von Eisenstein. The movie was shot in The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. Tenor Placido Domingo conducted.

When you bring together fabulous stars like Te Kanawa and Prey, a young, brilliant conductor like Domingo, and the production values of Covent Garden, you definitely have a winning opera to present to the audience and to the public on DVD. I don't see how this filmed performance could have been better.

The problem for me is that I don't really like Die Fledermaus. It's a comic opera, so nobody expects too much from the plot. However, this German version of a French farce just doesn't work at all for me. However, the blame for this rests on the shoulders of Strauss and his librettist, not on the performing artists.

My suggestion is to seek out this film and watch it if you like great opera singing. Ignore the plot, because it's tedious. If you're not a fan of opera, I wouldn't start with this movie. Yes, it's harmless and it won't scare people off. However, if you want a beginning opera that is really funny, with great music, try Daughter of the Regiment or The Elixir of Love.

Start with the thoroughly wonderful and tuneful music of Johann Strauss, Jr., and add the performances of some of the greatest singers in recent history, conducted by the magnificent Placido Domingo, and you have a TV movie to put all other TV movies into the darkest of shades.

(They all are great, but my favorite in this superlative cast was someone at my first viewing new to me: Hildegard Heichele, who plays Adele. You have to watch her, and watch her even when she is in the background. What a thoroughly delightful actress, and what a magnificent singer.)

Can you say "Bravo"? Oh, you will, you will.

The two previous reviews are some of the best I've ever seen at IMDb, written by two people of knowledge and with taste. And there should be more like them -- more reviewers and more reviews of such skill.

As the first review says, if you want to introduce someone you like to great music, to opera, to beautiful spectacle, "Die Fledermaus" is the right choice, and this TV movie might be the perfect version. (It has quite a bit added, but it merely makes this better, it just adds to the fun) It's readily accessible in several ways, including being right there at the click of a few buttons on YouTube.

Oh, please do yourself a huge favor: Find this version and watch it. You'll possibly sing along, or hum along, or at least try to conduct, but for sure you'll be nodding your head and/or tapping your feet in pure joy. I certainly did. And will again.

I do not want to go into the details of the story encase this is your first introduction to "Die Fledermaus" by Johann Straus. However, it is a lighthearted tale about a man Dr. Falke "Her Dr. Fledermaus" (Benjamin Luxon) getting back in his friend Gabriel von Eisenstein (Hermann Prey) for an embarrassing moment. The story starts off quite simply and gets more complex as it goes turning into a farce, then a bit of slapstick, then into a revelation, and the last laugh.

This is my favorite version of the story as all of the people here are well known today. During the second act, they even deviate from the story to allow a lot of the individual performers to perform individually such as Dame Hilda Bracket & Dr. Evadne Hinge singing "Three Little Maids" from The Mikado, and Charles Aznavour's "She"; it is a fun break. Even the conductor, Placido Domingo, gets a chance to enter back here and into several other parts of the play.