Opera Theatre Brings Fun to Stage with Bat Performance

The classic comic operetta “Die Fledermaus” (“The Bat”) by Johann Strauss II will be performed by the Converse Opera Theatre Jan. 26-28 in Twichell Auditorium. Curtain times are 8 p.m. for Jan. 26 and 27; 3 p.m. for the Sunday, Jan. 28 performance.

“This is a well known operetta that is very fun and entertaining,” said Dr. Ronald Boudreaux, associate professor of voice at Converse and director of the Converse Opera Theatre. For those whom have never attended an opera before, Boudreaux says “Die Fledermaus would be an excellent choice. The audience should expect to have a lot of fun. The dialogue is good and the music is well known to general audiences.”

“Die Fledermaus” is based on a French vaudeville and is a typical bawdy, naughty Viennese operetta. The story revolves around an elaborate plot to embarrass one of the characters in the story, Eisenstein. Herr Eisenstein apparently made a fool of Dr. Falke some years earlier by leaving his inebriated friend on a bench after a costume ball. The next morning Falke awakes on a bench still dressed in his costume and has to walk home dressed as a bat.

The story is full of fun, bright and sassy music from the Waltz King, and characters pretending to be who they are not in one of Viennas most beloved operettas. The cast of ten, comprised of Converse students and community performers, will be supported by the Converse Symphony Orchestra and quite a few members of the Spartanburg Festival Chorus.