Through Thu 8/8
So, who cares if this work is 87 years old (at least it’s older than me!). It’s a hybrid is what it is. As in “It’s this for a while, then it’s that.” But it all comes out even in the end.
On the other hand, unless you’re a devoted follower of operetta, that may well be the only familiar show title from the last half of OLO’s season. Certainly you’d recognize the composer of Music in the Air, Jerome Kern, and one of his favorite librettists — Oscar Hammerstein II (who also filled this role for South Pacific, the season opener, but with a different composer, Richard Rodgers.) Still, this production is an Ohio Light Opera premiere, although it was first on Broadway in 1932. Kern and Hammerstein also collaborated on one of the best-known and loved musicals of all time, Showboat, which premiered in 1927.
Then too, this one is set in Bavaria, in Edendorf as well as Munich. We meet three of the main characters in the first few scenes: Walther Lessing (Ted Christopher) a composer and father of Sieglinde, a teenager or thereabouts, and her writer boyfriend Karl (Adam Wells). Having been awakened by birdsong, Lessing heads for his piano to write down the notes he heard. When Sieglinde indicates interest in it, she shows it to Karl, who writes words to go with the music. Immediately, they decide to go to Munich to see Lessing’s one-time publisher, Ernst Weber (Spencer Reese, also the choreographer for the production.) This song becomes the big hit of the piece, “I’ve told Ev’ry Little Star.”
Once they arrive in Munich, they find that Weber is very busy with his current production — an operetta by the famous composer Bruno Mahler (Brad Baron) (no relation) with Mahler’s lover, Frieda Hatzfeld (Tanya Roberts). Mahler promptly becomes enchanted by the younger Sieglinde, so Frieda makes a play for Karl. Added to this mix are the new operetta’s producer Herr Direktor Kirschner (Jacob Allen) and his wife, Lili (Hannah Holmes), plus Weber’s secretary Marthe (Hilary Koolhoven.)
At this point, we swerve a bit into screwball comedy (very big at that time), but it’s all superbly handled by stage director Steven Daigle, while Wilson Southerland conducts the OLO orchestra. As usual, the production values were impressive. The versatile colorful set is by Kiah Kayser, with lighting by Brittany Shemuga and costumes by Anne Medlock. The only slight glitch was in the sound system, designed by Sarah Calvert. (Note: the singers are never amplified, but sound is used for announcements and sound effects during the performance. I think this is the first time I’ve ever encountered this particular problem in all the years that I’ve been attending OLO performances. It was noticeable, but not seriously distracting.)
Act II opens with most of the principals at the zoo. Bruno is seriously chasing Sieglinde, so Frieda chases Karl. This prompts Bruno to replace Frieda with Sieglinde, not realizing that she is in no way ready for such a venture. The problem is how to tell her that she must be replaced.
Sometimes the tiniest little bit of fantasy is the one that takes the edge off the drama behind you and becomes the one you’ll remember for a long time after that. In this case, it’s the three brief appearances of the zany Sarah Best, as Hulda, a bubble dancer. She came very close to stealing the show, without ever uttering a note.
Music in the Air has a huge cast — I think nearly everyone in the company has a named part, and there just isn’t room to list them all, but they were all splendid.
This opening performance was the first-ever attempt at supertitles at an Ohio Light Opera production, even though the songs were sung in English. If you were there, you might not have noticed the effort. Sadly, the words were mostly illegible, as they appeared to be thin white type on a darker background, projected on a smallish screen located under the catwalk over the front of the auditorium. It is to be hoped that the next attempt will see bigger, brighter words on an easier-to-read background. In my experience, black letters on a light background are much easier to decipher. Still the effort was a good one, and should not be discarded without further trials.
Music in the Air runs in repertory through Thu 8/8 at the Freedlander Theatre on the campus of the College of Wooster. The Devil’s Rider, with music by Emmerich Kálmán opens on Wednesday, July 17. For tickets, call 330-263-2345 or go to ohiolightopera.org.
[Written by Kelly Ferjutz]
Wooster, OH 44691