Opera Theatre presents 'Die Fledermaus!'

By Marc Speir
University News Service
March 29, 2007

The Texas State Opera Theatre will present Johann Strauss’ comedy Die Fledermaus! 8 p.m. Friday, March 30 and Saturday, March 31 at the University Performing Arts and Conference Center (UPACC) at Texas State University-San Marcos.

Under the tutelage of director Samuel Mungo and guidance of voice faculty member Cheryl Parrish, the Texas State School of Music production will feature both undergraduate and graduate students.

Many students involved in the production are from Mungo’s opera workshop class. Admittance to the class is by audition only, and serves to provide singers with performance opportunities as well as to teach movement and acting for opera, and to allow the study of opera repertoire and literature that students will encounter throughout their careers.

Mungo spent eight years as a voice instructor for New York’s famed Actor’s Studio Drama School at the New School University and four years on the voice faculty at New York University. He brings his experience in improvisation and acting games to aid in the transition of converting singers into comfortable actors.

The timeless masterpiece Die Fledermaus! revolves around one man’s desire for retribution on his best friend after a practical joke made on him three years earlier. He enlists the services of his friend's wife, a maid, a prison warden and a Russian prince to help him secure a comical revenge.

The proceedings all take place in the midst of a party full of champagne, waltzing, eccentric characters, excessive carousing and mayhem.

The full production will be sung in English with tickets costing $10 for the general public and $5 for students and seniors. For more information or to buy tickets in advance, call the School of Music at (512) 245-2651. For directions to the UPACC, please check out:  www.maps.txstate.edu/driving_maps/upacc_driving.html