Review by Howard Reich
“The Csardas Princess” will be performed at Folks Operetta July 13-15 and July 20-22. (Folks Operetta)
Folks Operetta – previously known as Chicago Folks Operetta — launched its 2018 season over the weekend with an expanded mission and an ingenious revival.
Writing in the program notes to its production of Emmerich Kalman’s “The Csardas Princess,” artistic director Gerald Frantzen observed: “Over the past 13 years, it was impossible to ignore that almost all of the operettas we had translated and reconstructed were created by Jewish composers or librettists.”
More specifically, most of these works were penned by Jews persecuted or murdered during the Holocaust.
“With our history of restoring these works,” added Frantzen, “it was only natural that we turn our attention to operas by Jewish composers of his period.”
Thus was born Folks Operetta’s Reclaimed Voices series, with “The Csardas Princess” as the first installment. Penned in 1915 with librettists Leo Stein and Bela Jenbach, “The Csardas Princess” at first glance might seem like a trifle in which various combinations of mismatched lovers eventually stumble their way to the right pairings (or something close to that). But the Hungarian composer’s score, with its endless ribbons of exquisitely crafted melody and oft-dark shades of Eastern European harmony, heighten the meaning and import of “The Csardas Princess.”
Add to this the harsh class conflicts that underlie the romantic shenanigans, plus the knowledge that Kalman eventually had to flee Europe to escape the Nazis, and you have a seemingly frothy work with far deeper resonances.
Folks Operetta’s production at Stage 773 kept the proceedings light but not frivolous, thanks to ingenious choreography in a constricted space, remarkably fine ensemble singing and several deftly turned comic performances. Bass-baritone William Roberts emerged as the comedic centerpiece of the production as Boni, whose amorous attentions prove quite malleable; soprano Katherine Petersen sounded radiant as Sylva, the love interest of various suitors; and lyric mezzo-soprano Emma Sorenson displayed a striking voice and whimsical spirit as the giddy Stasi.
Sung in English, the libretto has been peppered with modern-day bits of social commentary that reflect the spirit of the genre, an observation echoed by the composer’s daughter, Yvonne Kalman, who spoke with me at Sunday’s matinee.
Though the antics occasionally teetered dangerously close to camp, and though Mark Taylor deftly conducted an instrumental ensemble that sometimes proved too loud for vocal solos (no surprise, for the band was sequestered in a space behind the stage), these were minor issues.
More important, Folks Operetta has embarked on an auspicious new beginning.
“The Csardas Princess” continues with performances Friday through Sunday and July 20-22; at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.