LOVE OR DUTY?

F. J. Hartland

In keeping true to its name, Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera ends its season with just that—a  light opera, the operetta The Student Prince with music by Sigmund Romberg and  updated book and lyrics by Dorothy V. Donnelly.

Dr. Engel (Ed Dixon), tutor to the Prince (Chad Johnson), convinces the monarch to allow the Prince to spend a year at the University in Heidelberg, living a “normal” life.  There the Prince meets a charming barmaid Kathie (Jacquelynne Fontaine) and forgets about his engagement to Princess Margaret (Shana Farr).

Which will the Prince choose—love or duty?

Johnson makes for a dashing Prince with his good looks and powerful tenor voice.  Looking every inch the college professor, Dixon also has a commanding singing voice.

It is easy to see why everyone falls under the charms of Kathie because Fontaine plays her with such charm and wit.

Director and choreographer James Brennan creates some wonderful stage pictures with his chorus, particularly in the closing moments of “Come Boys” and also in the famous “Drinking Song.”  Perhaps “Montage” is the emotional zenith in terms of singing and staging, earning a warm and very vocal response from the audience.

Adding hilarity to the production are Tim Hartman as Lutz, valet to the Prince, and Patrick Richwood as Hubert, the much put-upon valet to the valet.

Hartman pulls out all the stops in creating the pompous and vain Lutz.  Sometimes the choices seem inconsistent with the character, however, and it seems uneven.

Richwood is a delight, using a great deal of physical humor and slapstick.

As Old Joseph, Gene A Saraceni has a charming turn as the wine steward—a useless position in a German beer garden!

The sets by Robert Bingham are large and impressive—but some of the scene changes on opening night were rather slow.

In The Student Prince the voices are grand and the look is spectacular.  But in the end, the characters are somewhat two-dimensional and the story is somewhat simplistic…but I suppose that’s what light opera is all about.

The Student Prince runs through August 8 and brings the CLO Summer Season to a close.