You can’t be serious. Not always. With seven heavy operas slated for this season, the Los Angeles Opera chose to open with a rip-de-do version of Offenbach’s “The Grand Duchess.” Garry Marshall of Hollywood was called in as adapter and director and he has dumbed down this operetta with gags, puns and pratfalls. His sitcom, “Laverne and Shirley,” was high-level comedy by comparison.
What makes this production enjoyable, however, are not the silly jokes and posturing, but the lavish sets, the marvelous costumes and the exciting choreography. In addition, the music is charming and the singers are amazingly well cast, from the standpoint of looks.
Everyone in the production gets into the swing of things, mugging and wiggling their way through the schmaltzy story. The Duchess of Gerolstein falls for army private, Fritz, who is in love with a peasant girl. She promotes him from private to commander-in-chief but he is too dumb to realize that there might be an ulterior reason.
Fortunately, the duchess is played by the wonderful Frederica von Stade, the pride of the mezzo-sopranos. Although she is a little past her prime, she is still formidable both as singer and actress. Seeing her in a series of magnificent gowns almost makes one forgive everything else. Paul Groves has the task of acting the goofy innocent and he does it with the aplomb of a Buster Keaton. He has a strong tenor voice and is capable of singing well while undergoing various embarrassments.
The three stooges in this production, out to undo Private Fritz, are John Cheek as General Boum, Anthony Laciura as Baron Puck and Paul Vogt as Baron Grog. The reliable Rod Gilfrey is tall and handsome as befits a Prince Paul and again exhibits his fine baritone voice.
For some reason, Jason Graae leaps on and off the stage playing the resurrected composer, Jacques Offenbach. “I’ll be Bach Offen,” he announces, to prepare the audience for the humor to come.
The sets, and there are many, are all garishly wonderful as devised by Heidi Ettinger. New costumes are introduced in each scene and they are spectacular. Credit goes to Constance Huffman. Vincent Paterson is responsible for the creative choreography of the soldiers, the peasant girls and the various acrobatic performers. The formations of the soldiers are wonderful. Emmanuel Villaume conducted the Los Angeles Opera Orchestra and brought a lively beat to the lovely music.
Certainly no expense has been spared, production wise. Whether the opera company should invest in any more Hollywood directors is debatable.