Word: waltz
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...variations for orchestra and piano, the musicians crisply passed the theme from one section to another with the vitality and enthusiasm that made the first HRO concert so appealing. The orchestra attacked each new alteration with unfailing skill, making the transition from treacherous pizzicato and spiccato sections into lingering waltz-like melodies seem deceptively easy...
...third movement waltz added a lighter note to the top-heavy symphony, and the interchange of pizzicato notes increased the diversity of texture yet again. By the final movement, the Andante Maestoso, one had seen fleeting smiles pass across the faces of more than a few HRO members, and the toll taken by the the grand volume sustained throughout the finale showed in the flailing of broken bowhairs in the orchestra...
...cast wasn't quite as charming as Strauss' many waltz themes, but, then again, what is? Jennifer Sgroe, as Adele, was more versatile than Margot McLaughlin's Rosalinda; both, however, sang beautifully, and displayed a fine comic gift (but is this rare?) for exposing the stupidity and infidelity of men. John Middleton and Matt Greene were admirable as minor characters, the lawyer Blind and the infinitely sarcastic Frosch. Charles Baad had several great moments as the title character, the "Bat" who was out to settle an old debt of humiliation. Kristina Martin, who sang the role of the impostor Prince...
...impossible to describe how well the text "O goodness me/ what misery/ how dreadful a calamity!" complemented its crazy waltz, while the singers onstage danced what was ostensibly the pachanga. Or the success of the Bat's corny "He is the goose to be cooked...watch while I baste." Even better was the faux-Gallic banter between Eisenstein and Frank, neither of whom spoke French: "affaire?" ... "Camembert!"; "du jour?" ... "I' amour...
...integration of choreography into Act II was effective mainly because the female dancers were so athletic and energetic. The chorus had its best moment during the addictive "Du und du" waltz, which in the "Blue Danube" echelon of ubiquity and whistlability...