✭✭✭✩✩

by Johann Strauss, Jr., directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin

Toronto Operetta Theatre, Jane Mallett Theatre, Toronto

December 28, 2005-January 8, 2006

"Mix-and-Match in Old Vienna"

Before there was “Mamma Mia,” there was “Wiener Blut”.  The New York critics who have lately been decrying the so-called “jukebox” or “catalog” musical based on the back catalog of a composer or pop group seem to forget that pastiche music theatre is not a new phenomenon.  “Wiener Blut” from 1899 is based on the back catalog of music by Johann Strauss, Jr. and has been in production somewhere in the world ever since.  Clearly, what counts is the quality of the back catalog and the cleverness used in fashioning it into a cohesive story.

This is what has kept “Wiener Blut” alive for so long, though its first years were rocky.  Strauss originally wanted to arrange and orchestrate melodies from his former compositions himself, but was too unwell to do so.  The task fell to Adolf Müller, the house composer and conductor at the Theater an der Wien.  Indeed, Strauss died more than four months before the work opened and it proved a complete fiasco.  Only after its revival in 1905 with a revised book did it gain entry into the repertoire. 

The story set at the time of the Congress of Vienna (1814-15) involves the mistaken identities among three couples--the estranged Count and Countess Zedlau of the miniature state of Reuss Gleiz Schleiz; the dancer Franzi, who is the Count’s mistress, and Prince Ypsheim, who falls in love with her; and the Count’s secretary Josef and the dancer Pepi, who wants to punish Josef for his neglect.  The story blames all the infatuations and mix-ups on the intoxicating influence of Vienna itself, on “Wiener Blut” (literally, “Viennese Blood” but meaning “Viennese Spirit”).

As directed by TOT General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin and conducted by Kevin Mallon, the operetta is musically and dramatically a lot of fun and proves a delightful entertainment for those who wish to end the old year or begin the new with the sparkle of Vienna.  The show is strongly cast with two crucial exceptions who prevent the production from reaching quite the level of infectious giddiness it ought to have.  These are tenor Mark DuBois and soprano Katerina Tchoubar as the Count and Countess.

DuBois has given innumerable fine performances over the years and would seem an ideal candidate for the Count.  Yet, at least on opening night, he seemed mentally preoccupied and, though able to float lovely high notes, his singing in general seemed to require great effort, thus rather undermining the desired impression of in operetta of suavity and grace.  As for Tchoubar, while her upper register is clear and rich, her lower register lacks the power to project through the small TOT orchestra.  When we add to this her very indistinct consonants, most of what she sang was unintelligible. 

This is a pity since Silva-Marin seemed to look at the Count and Countess plot more seriously than usual.  After all, the two have been separated for four months, with each blaming the other.  DuBois acted the part well in his major confrontation with the Countess, but Tchoubar seemed content to act her part only on the most generalized level.  Playing up the real dissonance between husband and wife helps cut the sentiment, makes the plot less trivial and gives the couple something substantial to overcome by the end.  It’s too bad the two singers were unable to capture this vision on stage.

Luckily the other four principals were in fine form and made the evening a pleasure.  Soprano Jackalyn Short is best known to Toronto audiences for her appearances with Opera Atelier.  It was a pleasant surprise to see her lend such a solid vocal and dramatic presence to Franzi.  She found much more in the character than in other productions I’ve seen.  Franzi does have an underlying anxiety that she will be cast aside either because the Count with reconcile with his wife or because of new flame he thinks he’s found in Pepi.  Short thus gave the piece the kind of dramatic heft it needs while the pinpoint accuracy of her runs and high notes supplied vocal fireworks in abundance. 

Unlike when he appeared as the rather formal Prince Sou-Chong in the TOT’s “Land of Smiles” in 2002, it’s now evident tenor Marcel van Neer feels thoroughly at home on stage.  His portrait of Josef, who is so obsessed with “order and good governance” in the midst of growing chaos, revealed a perfect sense of comic timing and true comic flair.  If Short got the dramatic side of the operetta exactly right, van Neer did precisely the same with its comic side while still fully displaying his customary beauty of tone and phrasing in a truly memorable gem of a performance.

Supporting Short and van Neer were fine performances, vocally and dramatically, from Carla Huhtanen as very peppy Pepi and Sean Watson as a comic Prince Ypsheim.  Huhtanen with a crystal clear voice and bubbly personality gave us a delightfully dotty Pepi, who could sing such nonsense refrains as “Dui, Dui, Duri! Dui, Dui, Duri!” and make them seem perfectly natural.  Watson was a treat as the stuffy Prime Minister of Reuss Greiz Schleiz, who finds his stern façade cracking in the anything-goes atmosphere of Vienna.  Nicole Bower and Rosalind McArthur as two guests at the embassy sang the lovely duet “Geht's und verkauft's mei' Gwand” that opens the third act.

Over the years the TOT has perfected the art of elegant, minimalist staging.  David Rayfield’s large hinged French doors when ingeniously folded in various configurations skillfully suggested the three locations the work requires.  Cameron More’s lighting enhanced the mood of each scene.  Silva-Marin’s direction was lively and straightforward.  His updating of the scandals at the Congress of Vienna to reflect the government sponsorship scandals detailed in the Gomery Report was very funny, à propos and could even have been pushed farther. 

Conductor Kevin Mallon is most associated with the period instrument band, the Aradia Ensemble.  Leading the TOT’s fine 16-member salon orchestra, Mallon drew a clear, clean sound and chose precise tempi that washed away any encrustations of sentiment clinging to this familiar music to make it sound fresh and exciting.  The score may be a pastiche, but playing of such conviction proved why it has been so popular for so long.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: This review is a Stage Door exclusive.

Photo: Sean Watson and Katerina Tchoubar.  @2005 Gilberto Prioste.