The next OCU mainstage opera will be “Die Fledermaus” and will feature a gender-nonconforming character.
“Die Fledermaus” is a comedic German operetta composed by Johann Strauss II. The show follows “Gabriel von Eisenstein” as he and his friend “Falke” get invited to a ball. Unknown to Eisenstein, however, is that Falke is plotting a light-hearted prank on Eisenstein, and what follows is a complex situational comedy.
Dr. David Herendeen, director of opera and music theater and director of “Die Fledermaus,” said the show was chosen because it is a very common show for opera houses to perform.
“We picked it because it is a great tool to train and prepare our students for the world,” Herendeen said. “We are also using it in the rehearsal process to talk about how the world is changing and how this old, established operetta can be used to explore the changing dynamic of the world in the best of ways.”
Herendeen said this version of the show will include a gender-nonconforming character through the portrayal of “Prince Orlofsky.”
“The prince is what they call a ‘pants-role.’ It’s a young man portrayed by a woman,” he said. “Since it is a pants-role, we are going to name it ‘Prin Orlofsky,’ not princess or prince, and we’re going to present it as nebulous, as gender-unspecific.”
Herendeen said one of the challenges for reinterpreting a character as gender-nonconforming is changing the dialogue and music to fit that character trait.
“We’re finding little ‘hims,’ or there is one line about ‘for the past 60 years man has done this.’ How do we make neutral that, so we changed it to ‘friend,’” Herendeen said. “This is the education that is most important for us because what are we doing? How do we enter into this discussion?”
Jordyn Younger, music theater/vocal performance junior, plays “Adele” in the show and said the idea to revise the traditionally pants-role character to be gender-nonconforming is a brilliant one.
“It’s wonderful,” she said. “I think it is great that we are able to incorporate some of these more progressive ideals from our culture today into a work from so long ago and being able to show our values and our understanding of the human experience.”
Younger said rehearsals with Herendeen have been going well.
“This is my first show with Dr. H,” she said. “He has a much different directing style than I think a lot of people I have worked with, but it’s really great just because he really cares so much and is obviously invested in this show.”
Jackson Holtkamp, vocal performance senior, plays “Gabriel von Eisenstein” and said the comedy is one of the challenging aspects of performing the show.
“With comedy, it’s really difficult to stage because you have to time everything so specifically, so that’s probably been the biggest challenge, just all the comedic aspects,” Holtkamp said.
Younger said the show is accessible to people who have not seen an opera before.
“It’s nice because this actually has some dialogue in it, which most operas don’t,” she said. “It’s also in English, which is helpful because if you have never been to an opera and you go and you see one in a foreign language, it can be a little overwhelming.”
“Die Fledermaus” will perform at 8 p.m. on Feb. 21-22 and 3 p.m. on Feb. 23 in Kirkpatrick Auditorium in Kirkpatrick Fine Arts Center.
Tickets can be purchased online or at the ticket office in Edith Kinney Gaylord Center.
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