Bat out of Hell
Reviews of the 2004 Berkeley Opera production
and David Scott Marley's adaptation
"Fresh, funny, and pointedly satiric"
The dot-com boom may have evanesced like champagne
bubbles, but Bat out of Hell, David Scott
Marley's adaptation of Johann Strauss' Die
Fledermaus, is still fresh, funny and pointedly
satiric ... The show triumphed as if it were brand new.
Mr. Marley's work is that rara avis, an updating
that fits the original material perfectly, works on
multiple levels, and translates the essential vitality of
the model to a new audience.
Bat out of Hell is almost entirely
character-driven comedy, more so than the original
operetta. ... Marley's version makes sense of the plot,
moves the show along swiftly, and provides lyrics that
are cleverly rhymed, intelligible, and—most of
all—easily singable.
"Rich in ideas, consistent in execution"
Of the many things you can do with (and to) opera, there
is “updating,” spoofing, and producing a work
really well. Then, there is David Scott Marley.
His 1996 adaptation of Johann Strauss’ Die
Fledermaus, now revived at Berkeley Opera in a
sparkling production, transcends a single approach.
Bat out of Hell switches the action from 19th
century Paris to dot-com-era Berkeley. Marley souses
the work in comedy, irony, satire, and good-natured
humor; and—most importantly—he makes
almost all of it work as a whole.
The best, the most hilarious of Marley’s adaptation
is making Prince Orlofsky into a juvenile version of Bill
Gates, an awkward, maladjusted 16-year-old genius, a
mercurial multi-billionaire CEO. His aria becomes
“Follow your bliss,” with the passage:
“Just because I wrote some code / And made a lucky
strike / Each man I meet becomes my toad / And I do what
I like.”
"Delightful"
Berkeley Opera ended its strongest season in many a year
with a revival of Bat out of Hell, David Scott
Marley’s delightful English-language adaptation of
Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus. Initially
staged in 1996, the adaptation retains many of the
original libretto’s best lines and gags while
moving the action to Berkeley.