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by Sigmund Romberg, directed by Guillermo Silva-Marin

Toronto Operetta Theatre, Jane Mallett Theatre, Toronto

November 1-3, 2024

“Gaudeamus igitur”

Toronto Operetta Theatre is presenting its fourth production of Sigmund Romberg’s greatest hit The Student Prince (1924) to celebrate the work’s 100th anniversary. The piece is filled with one classic number after another, all beautifully sung by the cast and the TOT Chorus. The Student Prince was the longest running Broadway show of the 1920s, running longer than even Jerome Kern’s seminal musical Show Boat of 1927. The current TOT production demonstrates that the work still has the power to move and delight audiences today.

I discussed the plot of the operetta in my review of the TOT’s previous production of The Student Prince in 2015: “Based on a German play from 1901, The Student Prince of the title is Karl Franz, heir to the throne of the fictional kingdom of Karlsberg. The Prime Minister Count von Mark permits Karl Franz to go out into the world for one year to study at the University of Heidelberg as long as he remains under the surveillance of his old tutor Doctor Engel, who himself attended Heidelberg.

“Once in Heidelberg, Karl Franz immediately falls in with a group of students known as the Saxon Corps under the friendly leadership of Count Hugo Detlef. The students’ main gathering place is an inn run by Herr Ruder, whose niece Kathie works as a waitress and is revered as a goddess by the students. Inevitably, Karl Franz and Kathie fall in love, even though the prince has been betrothed since childhood to a Princess Margaret. Karl Franz’s feeling that he is at last free of the dictates of the court is interrupted when Margaret and her mother the Grand-Duchess make a surprise visit. Just when Karl Franz resolves to flee Heidelberg with Kathie, he receives the news that the King is dying and that he must return to court immediately. Karl Franz is thus caught in the familiar operetta dilemma of love versus duty”.

In 2015 when TOT last staged the operetta, it was easy to think of the difficulties of a royal in love with a commoner and unhappy with court life as just a fantasy. Then, in 2018 Prince Harry married Meghan Markle and the topic became part of everyday news and continues to develop. The plot of the operetta now has a real-life analogue.

More than that, however, what really makes the operetta continue to resonate is its insistence that people must live in the present and enjoy each moment as much as they can. The operetta may seem to be steeped in nostalgia. Doctor Engel’s oft-reprised song “Golden Days” about his fondly-remembered time at Heidelberg seems to reinforce this theme. Yet, librettist Dorothy Donnelly deliberately writes a scene in which Karl Franz, now King, returns to Heidelberg to relive his pleasant days there. Forcing his regathered friends to sing their old songs is shown to clash with his memories. Too much time has passed. The situation has altered. The past cannot be reclaimed. Unhappy endings are unusual for American operettas, but The Student Prince dares to have one which still carries a strong emotional impact.

TOT was faced with a difficulty in rehearsing The Student Prince when its leading man, Jacob Abrahamse, came down with Covid. Always a champion of Canadian talent, TOT contacted over two dozen Canadian tenors, but all were either otherwise engaged or unwilling to learn the role on such short notice. The company, thus, turned to the US where it found emerging tenor Xavier Flory, who agreed and managed to learn and memorize the role of Prince Karl Franz in only five days. Flory proves to be a real discovery. Though understandably not quite at home on stage, Flory sings with a clean, pure tenor with ringing top notes. He conveys all the passion of the famous “Serenade” (“Overhead the moon is beaming”) and the song “Deep in My Heart” beautifully.

As the Prince’s beloved Kathie, Brooke Mitchell (she/they) is a delight throughout. They have an unusually high soprano which has no difficulty with the role’s frequent coloratura passages. As is usual in operetta, the soprano is often called upon to sustain high notes over the singing of the entire ensemble. Mitchell tosses off these high notes again and again with ease. Mitchell is also a fine actor and makes Kathie a more complex character than is usually the case. Michell always had Kathie convey some apprehension whenever she is with Karl Franz as if she secretly believes that a relationship between someone so high born with someone of her lower status can never really work out.

Another notable singer in an especially fine cast is Ryan Hofman as Doctor Engel. Hofman has a strong, warm, resonant baritone ideal for such a wise and caring figure. His voice lends a glowing aura to “Golden Days” which makes the song tug at the heart whenever it appears.

The main comic figure of the operetta is the Prince’s valet Lutz, here played with gender-blind casting by Karen Bojti. Bojti wrings all the humour from this imperious figure who is more snobbish than the person he serves. Bojti is such a fine singer that it’s rather too bad that Lutz has no song to sing. Unlike previous productions, director Guillermo Silva-Marin has made more out of the relationship between Lutz and the footman Hubert, here played with great comic timing by Taylor Gibbs. In fact, this is the first time I noticed that Hubert’s leaving Lutz’s service to marry Gretchen is the comic parallel to Karl Franz’s desire to leave the court to marry Kathie.

Princess Margaret and her dalliance with her social inferior Captain Tarnitz is another parallel to the principal couple, though a rather bitter one. It sets us up to dislike the Princess and feel sympathy for the Captain. Romberg, nevertheless, has given the pair the loveliest waltz of the show, “Just We Two”, which soprano Minerva Lobato as the Princess and tenor Luca McCauley as the Captain sing with style and verve.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of this production is the excellent trio singing of tenor Marcus Tranquilli and baritones Handaya Rusli and Joseph Ernst, who play the Prince’s three friends at Heidelberg. Their gorgeous a cappella rendition of the traditional student song “Gaudeamus igitur” is one of the highlights of the show. Those who know Medieval Latin will realize that this song happens to sum up the theme of the operetta since its first two lines translate as “So, let us rejoice / While we are young”.

The singing of the TOT Chorus is always a pleasure, but in this production the Chorus is particularly strong and their blending of voices exquisite. Kate Carver led the 10-member TOT Orchestra. Just as Silva-Marin never allows the pace of the spoken dialogue to drag, so Carver never allows the tempo of the music to dawdle with the result that the whole piece has a strong forward momentum. Carver continues this pace during the orchestral interludes for scene changes, the orchestral playing being a pleasure in itself.

The Student Prince used to be staged every year at Heidelberg Castle starting in 1974. This tradition ended in 2011 with the start of the withdrawal of the United States Army from is base in the city. In Canada, it is only TOT that has presented the piece on a regular basis. Be sure to catch one of the last performances if at all possible.

Christopher Hoile

Photo: Handaya Rusli as Von Asterberg, Joseph Ernst as Lucas, Brooke Mitchell as Kathie, Marcus Tranquilli as Court Hugo Detlef and Taylor Gibbs as Hubert; Brooke Mitchell as Kathie and Xavier Flory as Prince Karl Franz; Xavier Flory as Prince Karl Franz. © 2024 Gary Beechey.

For tickets visit: www.torontooperetta.com.