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by Franz Lehár, directed by Peter Konwitschny

Komische Oper

July 1, 6, 10, 14, & 18 2007

Two days after the Staatsoper concluded its season with “Parisfal”, the Komische Oper, also in the former East Berlin, had its final premiere of the season, a new production of Franz Lehár’s operetta “Das Land des Lächelns” (“The Land of Smiles”).  Berlin may have three opera houses, but unlike Leipzig, Dresden, Vienna or Budapest, it does not have a dedicated operetta house.  Before unification the old Metropol-Theater, also in former East Berlin, served that function, but after unification plans to turn it into an operetta house came to nothing.  Therefore, it was with great anticipation that the public looked forward to a new operetta production. 

The event was extremely disappointing, an example of “Regietheater” as its worst.  Director Peter Konwitschny believes in staging musical works so that they reflect the times in which they were written.  Therefore, for him, operettas have as much right to be staged as operas.  Unfortunately, from that laudable point of view, proceeded unbelievably perverse results.  “Das Land des Lächelns” from 1929 tells the story of the aristocratic Lisa (Tatjana Gazdik) who falls in love with the Chinese Prince Sou Chong (Stephan Rügamer), who is on a diplomatic mission to Vienna.  It’s clear from the libretto that Lisa is primarily attracted to Sou Chong because he is “exotic” and represents something completely outside the confines of her coddled Viennese environment.  She follows the prince back to his homeland despite the warning from her father that East and West can never meet.  So, too, does the comic Graf Gustav “Gustl” von Pottenstein (Tom Erik Lie), also in love with Lisa, who hopes to win her back but instead falls in love with Sou Chong’s sister Mi (Karen Rettinghaus). 

In Konwitschny’s version, East and West is just a metaphor for male and female.  He shows us Rügamer being made up as Sou Chong during his first big number just to underscore that the orientalism of the piece is just a disguise.  When the scene changes to China, Konwitschny introduces eight “Guests of State” who happen to be a caveman, Julius Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin, Idi Amin and Truman (looking rather more like Bush).  During what is supposed to be a ballet of Chinese women, Konwitschny has the eight each show off his contribution to human destruction from the club to the sword to the atomic bomb.  Interesting as it is to see Hitler portrayed on a German stage, one does have to ask what these eight “guests” have to do with the story. 

Then in Act 2, Konwitschny inserts a purely spoken section from Heiner Müller’s “Herzstück” when the women of the company enter dressed as female refugees from all places and times (Mi is dressed as an American Indian), who then sit and lament men’s unfaithfulness.  Before this, during what is an otherwise innocuous song sung by Mi, Konwitschny’s has several men dressed as Tschang, Sou Chong’s guardian, rape several women dressed as Mi.  We have now been sufficiently hit over the head with a clichéd feminist world view that men are bad and women are good.  Just to reinforce the obvious, Konwitschny changes the work’s ending by having Sou Chong order the deaths of Lisa and Gustl, rather than allowing them to escape as in the original and suffering the loss of love with his sister. 

If the director were really interpreting the piece as a part of its time, he would interpret it as is without having to interpolate extraneous matter or to alter the conclusion.  Not only that, the context in which Konwitschny places the operetta is so broad (men versus women) that it could apply to any work and is hardly a specific interpretation of “Das Land des Lächelns”.  Obviously, Konwitschny is simply forcing the operetta to be what he wants it to be and what that is has more to do with his ego than with anything in the words or Lehár’s music. 

This is especially sad since Kirill Petrenko and the Orchester der Komischen Oper provide an absolutely gorgeous account of the score giving it the strength and richness of Puccini or Richard Strauss.  Despite all of Konwitschny’s tomfoolery that often pointlessly interrupts the flow of the music, the piece is very well sung.  Rügamer has a light, lithe tenor, Gazdik has a full voice though her power seems to come and go, Lie has a very attractive light baritone and Rettinghaus is a delightful Mi.  When Konwitschny came out for his bow, I expected the house to ring with booing.  Surprisingly there were bravos among the boos, perhaps because the performance was being broadcast live. 

The show plays until July 20 and is part of the repertoire of the Komische Oper’s next season.  If you love operetta and this work in particular, do not see this production.  It will only make you angry that some directors think their clichéd ideas are more important than the works they direct.

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review appeared in TheatreWorld (UK) 2007-07-28.

Photo: Stefan Rügamer as Prinz Sou-Chong. ©2007 Monika Rittershaus.