Die Fledermaus – Judith Howarth

I have had a great Birthday weekend at home with my family.  As a treat my Mum and Dad arranged to take me, Matt, Tom and Alex into Liverpool to watch Judith Howarth, my singing teacher and good friend from the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, performing the role of Rosalinde in Die Fledermaus.

I was thrilled to be able to watch her on stage, especially on my Birthday.  Judy was so encouraging and supportive to me whilst studying in Glasgow, and also during my time here in London, having the opportunity to support her from the stalls was a real treat.

We arrived in Liverpool and found the theatre quite quickly which was fortunate as it was quite chilly and the wind was picking up.  Mum and Dad had booked us into the Ambassador Lounge at the theatre as a birthday treat and for anyone attending a performance here I can thoroughly recommend it.  It was lovely and warm inside and the hostess brought us all a welcome drink and you could order nibbles or a snack if you wanted. It was great to be able to leave our bags and coats there and avoid the packed bars before the performance and during the two intervals.  The performance was a matinee which started at 4.00 pm which allowed us all to go out for a celebratory meal afterward.

Family In Opera Lounge
Tom, Dad, Alex, Matt, Me, Mum

Die Fledermaus is an operetta by Johann Strauss II with the original libretto in German.  However, for this production, the WNO ( Welsh National Opera ) used an English translation by David Pountney and Leonard Hancock.  The story is quite comedic with wonderful music and I can strongly recommend it to anyone and especially for those who want to see an opera for the first time.

WNO Programme

WNO :       “Rosalinde is looking forward to a few days carefree time with her lover, while her husband is facing time in prison. Her maid asks to be excused in order to care for a sick Aunt. In truth, all four characters are planning to spend the evening at a magnificent masquerade ball given by the Prince. As the characters are brought together in various guises, we set the scene for a hilarious story of mistaken identity full of splendour, posh frocks, and masks.”

Judy was amazing as Rosalinde with crystal clear coloratura and a legato line to die for.  She gave a very believable portrayal of the character as she drew in the audience and made us laugh and giggle as the story played out. Both Paul Charles Clarke who played the lover Alfred and Mark Stone who played the husband Gabriel Eisenstein brought power and energy to their roles which complemented Judy’s beautiful vocals and wonderful characterisation.  I must also mention Rhian Lois who played the role of Adele, the chambermaid, her comedic timing was excellent and she sang the role beautifully.

The orchestra under the baton of maestro James Southall brought the whole production to life and the ensemble players added a little sparkle to the party scenes in Act II.

The tour moves on to The Bristol Hippodrome on the 17th and 18th November 2017 and then finishes at the New Theatre, Oxford on 1st and 2nd December 2017.

 

Judy and Me After The Show
Me with Judith Howarth after the performance

 

 

73 thoughts on “Die Fledermaus – Judith Howarth”

  1. Sounds like a lovely day, and your family look delighted to have you among them – even your brothers! Take care, and here’s to another year of advancement, triumph and satisfaction, Scorpio Girl.

    Reply

    1. It was a lovely day Martin, my parents love to have us all home together, personally I prefer a solo visit to get all the attention 😁, only joking boys if you’re reading 😋.
      Hope you had a great birthday too 🦂
      All my best wishes,
      Charlotte

      Reply

  4. Burrrrr that looks cold! Hope that you had a wonderful Birthday Charlotte!
    So glad that your family was there to help you celebrate. All my best wishes for a terrific year ahead, Darlene

    Reply

  8. Happy Birthday, dear Charlotte! What a magnificent day you have had! It’s one of my favourite operettas! I wish you to become a new Fledermaus and to make the world happy by your talents & charming voice!

    Reply

    1. Thank you Maria. We really enjoyed ourselves and the boys were a little worried it would be in German and they wouldn’t understand what was going on but I told them there would be surtitles anyway, but it was in English so they felt that was better for them (the heathens 😁).
      All my best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  18. Sounds like you had a birthday weekend you will cherish always. The Met Opera on tour did Die Fledermaus at Northrop with the great Joan Sutherland. And a bat actually flew down from the loft and circled Miss Sutherland as she was singing. She never missed a beat. At intermission I captured the fledermaus using a tennis racket. Miss Sutherland bestowed a kiss upon my cheek. I also worked her in Lucia. Such a grand, and also grande, dame. Such a voice.

    Reply

    1. What a fabulous memory, memories that can’t be bought. I listen to her recordings a lot. I’m really impressed you caught the bat, they’re fast! Quick thinking. I watched Lucia de Lammermoor last night at the Royal Opera House what a fantastic opera I had a wonderful time.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

      1. Had a lot of practice catching bats in that auditorium. We used a tennis racket. Usually they never came down when there were a lot of lights and a lot of people. Lucia at the Royal Opera House. Sounds like a great time.

    1. It was a wonderful weekend, I’ve spent a full week none stop catching up for my missing practice but I wouldn’t have missed my visit home for the world.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  21. Happy Birthday! You are such a lucky young woman. I love reading about your adventures, and it is wonderful to read about the support you get from your family. I love Fledermaus and I’ve been fortunate enough to see it several in different places, and it is always just a joy. Best wishes to you & your family!

    Reply

    1. Thank you very much Peter, it was a lovely weekend, I’ve been flat out practising all week to make up for my weekend off but I wouldn’t have missed seeing my family they gave us all a brilliant time and are simply wonderful.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  24. Charlotte ,so pleased you had a lovely birthday.
    Enjoying all the things you love doing, watching a opera, with all the family,
    Shopping , eating out fabulous.
    Love the photo’s too .😘💐🎂🎉

    Reply

  25. A batty opera, indeed!
    If you get an attack of laryngitis or something, you can always fill in with doing reviews. You are really good at it.
    Corn graduations on the birthday.

    Reply

    1. 🦇, very funny really enjoyed it.
      I’m watching lots of fabulous performances, so much to learn, it was amazing seeing Judy putting the theory to practice. She had to sing running up a spiral staircase amazing skills of projection and breath control.
      All my best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

    1. I wouldn’t have missed a visit home GP, I’ve had a very busy week catching up for lost practice time 😂 hehe. Practice, practice, practice would have been a boring blog post so I waited until I could review the Royal Opera House performance I got a ticket to see last night, it was so amazing I wanted to go straight into the practice room after but I went straight to bed and got up early today instead 😀.
      Best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  27. What ab enchanting way to celebrate your birthday. Lots of great people, entertainment and the promise of life getting better and better. Here’s to this being the best year of your life thus far. And to many MORE happy birthdays for you, dear one! <3

    Reply

  28. Happy Birthday, Charlotte! I love Die Fledermaus, in fact it was my singing teacher’s performance of Adele’s Laughing Song that got me interested in opera in the first place!

    Best regards,

    Cate

    Reply

    1. Thank you Charles. I feel like I’m meeting myself coming backwards if that’s the right expression, finally got a few hours to catch up and relax.
      All my best wishes
      Charlotte

      Reply

  33. Aww.. I missed saying “Happy Birthday” to you. I’m so sorry. I am glad that your family remembered your Birthday 🙂 and this sounds like a great Story for an Opera. Wait… her husband went to prison and she has a lover? What happened to faithfulness? Loyalty? Hmm.., but he isn’t around, so I guess that’s fairly out the window. Best wishes to a new year.

    Reply

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