This weekend everyone who is too stingy for opera has a chance to take in a show. The Madison Opera will present two shows of \Die Fledermaus"" with tickets available through a pay-what-you-can program. This will be the final opera performed in the Oscar Mayer Theatre. Anyone with a few dollars can take in a fine production of the sort of show they otherwise might not see.
Tina Frailey, publicist for the Madison Civic Center, said previous shows with the pay-what-you-can program have been very successful. Last year's ""Romeo and Juliet"" sold a record number of pay-what-you-can tickets, she said. The challenge this year is to move beyond a familiar production.
""'Romeo and Juliet,' of course, was a standard show-a lot of people had seen it in either a movie format or a play format,"" Frailey said.
As a comic opera, ""Die Fledermaus"" is very accessible for folks who might consider themselves non-opera fans, Frailey said. The show is in English and there are also subtitles for those who are new to opera.
Written by Johann Strauss, ""Die Fledermaus"" stars Robert Orth as Eisenstein, a rich and married man from Vienna caught in a lawsuit. He is convinced by his friend Falke to forgo jail to attend a grand Prince Orlofsky party. Meanwhile, his wife Rosalinda (Brenda Harris) disguises herself as a Hungarian countess and attends the same party.
Her caller Alfred (Thomas Murphy), who has been serenading her, is taken off to jail when he is mistaken for Eisenstein. Rosalinda's costume fools her own husband, who flirts with her, not knowing it's his own wife. The mistaken identities provide some good-hearted revenge and rollicking farce as well as plenty of humor.
Elaine Staley, office administrator with Madison Opera, said she is anticipating the show because the pay-what-you-can program has a thriving history.
""It will be a great show,"" she said. ""We've been very fortunate over the years to have excellent productions.""
Staley said the excellent voices and good acting of the lead characters will make ""Die Fledermaus"" and opera to look forward to.
""Come one, come all,"" she said. ""It's a tremendous show, it really is.""
Tickets are still available through the pay-what-you-can program, but must be picked up at the Madison Opera office, 333 Glenway St., between 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. There is no per-person ticket limit. Regular tickets are available at the Madison Civic Center Box Office between $15 and $87.
