Evening star., 1951-12-26
By Alice Eyersmon

There is no better way to top
off a Christmas celebration than
to hear Johann Strauss "Die
Fledermaus. We did not realize
that yesterday afternoon. but
around IL o'clock last night we
were convinced that the opening
performance of die Fledermaus
at the Gayety Theater rounded
out the day in a perfect manner
The mind held some reservations
at first, for there were those awe
inspiring words metropolitan
Opera version" heading the pro-
gram, and in spite of the operetta s
success at the Met last season, we
had to be shown that singers of
grand opera caliber could be
lfrolicsome and gay in the style to
which the Viennese were acccus-
toned.
Set your minds at rest. The
metropolitan Opera version" is
delightful. 1t is lots of fun. it is
splendidly sung and acted. and
the English text by Carson Kanin.
and the lyrics by Howard Dietz.
are just what the opera world
has been waiting for. The Nets
manager, Rudolph Bing. deserves
a Christmas card with more than
Seasons Greetings" on it for
sending his touring company out
over the country and to Wash
ington for the holidays.
In the first place, the profess
sionalism of the entire produc-
tion is a pleasure. Next is the
quality of the singers voices, all
of which are much above the
average and excellently trained.
And lastly. the details Of staging
land acting are worked out to the
finest point. 1t is in the Viennese
spirit of another era, sophisti-
Gated, animated. and with the
light touch that never makes
anything too obvious or over
stressed. True, the costumes
showed the wear and tear of
weeks on the road and the
scenery. for all its adequacy. as
designed by Rolf Gerard, could
have been more elegant. And
there was very real sorrow that
only about half of the delightful
lyrics was understandable as
sung by a cast all, or nearly all.
native Americans.
The version provided by DietZ
and Kanin Is normal English
with no nonsensical distortion to
fit the music or to supply the
spoken words. 1t has a humorous
twist. a bit racy at times, but
carrying the impact that catches
the audience and brings the well
come, spontaneous laughter.
The songs come through as genu-
inely as those Of a light opera
libretto and much more sanely.
If there were nothing else to be
said about die Fledermaus," 1t
would stand as a triumphant use
Of the English language to mir
ror the subtletries of q foreign
text.
Vocal honors were shared
equally by Regina Resnik as Rosa
linda, and Virginia MacWatters as
the maid, Adele. Miss MacWat-
ters will be remembered as the
dignifled sosoist with the National
Symphony some three years ago.
No one would suspect from that
appearance her fine, natural gift
for comedy. In this respect, she
outshone the rest of the cast. for
her difficult assignment was filled
most capably and with the joyous
ness of one on a lark. The music
for the part is the most taxing Of
the operetta bit she sang its rou-
ladies' easily and with finish. Miss
Resnik's voice is a fine one with
secure free high tones. Her por-
trayal of Rosalinda, if not so
spontaneous on its comedy side,
was spirited and colorful.
John Tyers, who sang last sum-
mer at the Watergate with the
Philadelphia Civic Grand Opera
Company. came close to stealing