The Struggles of ‘Die Fledermaus,’ Part 2

Opera Pacific’s production of Strauss’ “Die Fledermaus” was so awful in 1988 when it was new that it was hard to imagine it could get worse. Enter Charles Nelson Reilly, the stage director for the revival, through Nov. 24 at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, and the awful has become the ghastly.

I’m not talking here about the interpolated spoof of the Three Tenors and their marketing (in a three baritones skit in the party scene), although it would be nice when making fun of opera to have voices that can sing it.

Nor necessarily about the incessant fanny-pinching or the pervasive double-entendres, vulgar behavior, bathroom humor and off-color language that reach a peak with comedian Dom DeLuise as Frosch in the last act.

Nor the long 3 1/4-hour length of the production. Nor the noncredible acting. All these elements contribute mightily, but perhaps one could choose to overlook them.

What can’t be ignored is that Reilly won’t leave the music alone. He forces it into the background with intrusive, stupid, tasteless stage business.

The nadir occurs when Rosalinde sings the Csardas, some of the most lovely music Strauss wrote, while Eisenstein kisses her fingertips, then works his way up to her neck.

She should have slugged him.

Even a beginning stage director would have hesitated to distract attention from the soprano at such a moment. Reilly’s opera credits are, to be charitable, slim. His background is in theater, but he seems to have taken a daytime soap-opera approach to this work.

Adele makes her entrance bent over, backing onto the stage. She punctuates her Laughing Song by slapping Eisenstein with her fan. Rosalinde gives Eisenstein a hefty whack or two, too. Alfred gropes her in the first act. And so it goes.

Although the work was sung in the English translation by Ruth and Thomas Martin (plus uncredited topical references), supertitles were used. A spokesman for the company swore that only the dialogue was amplified, but once again we had cause to wonder.

Brenda Harris sang Rosalinde with a creamy soprano that wore thin, and unfortunately had to carry a fake Hungarian accent into the Csardas.

Baritone Louis Otey strained in the tenor part of Eisenstein, singing as if from the bottom of a hollow barrel and with muddied diction.

Lynette Tapia, an Orange County native, made a querulous-sounding Adele. Even if she had the notes (but not ease in coloratura), they didn’t make an impact; so ditsy was the characterization imposed on her.

Don Bernardini sang Alfred with the requisite Italianate bloom. Karen Morrow brought two halves of an unintegrated mezzo to the role of Prince Orlofsky. Robert Perry brought inadequate breath to Falke.

The veteran Richard Fredricks sang Frank patchily. Jim Rule endured the stuttering indignities of Dr. Blind with stoicism.

Strauss’ music, some of the time, unfolded in a universe parallel and unrelated to the busyness on stage. We could be grateful. John DeMain conducted with propulsion and reasonable style.

No one at Opera Pacific appears to know that ‘Fledermaus” is already the most popular operetta in the world. These “improvements” only demean it.

* Opera Pacific repeats “Die Fledermaus” with the same cast on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa. $22-$89. (714) 979-7000.