On paper this looks like a sparkling cast for Fledermaus, and Sir John Barbirolli always seems to have had a naturally instinctive talent for directing a Viennese waltz. Whether inserting The Blue Danube as a prelude to the third act was an ideal touch seems questionable. Certainly on the next tour it was moved forward to the party scene and choreographed as part of Orlofsky's entertainment - surely a more satisfying solution.
The cast consisted largely of company regulars, down to Doris Lemon in the tiny role of Ida, here renamed Molly in the Kalisch version. The only new recruit is the effervescent coloratura soprano Nora Gruhn as Adele - the following season she returned in that role, while adding Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier.
Cast details from a programme in Edinburgh City Library.
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