Charley's Aunt by Fischer, Ernst, -tól (2022/2022), Rendezte Peter Engel, Dominik Wilgenbus,, Karmester Andreas Partilla, Nabil Shehata, Prinzregententheater, Munich, Germany

The mother of all tabloid comedies has been a hit since its premiere and the title role is a treat for the greatest actors. Although always updated with more or less luck, rooted Charley's aunt is unmistakably in Victorian England. Only when, against the background of the strict morals and prudery of the time of its creation, a false aunt plays for her life, ie for her social survival, does this comedy classic unfold its full quality. Feelings, whether real, false or confused, are always a case for music. Strange insofar as Charley's aunt was not immediately transformed into an operetta, or at the latest in the 20s into a musical comedy! But now the Chamber Opera Munich is there to fill this gap in its tried and tested way, i.e. with wit, charm and full of surprises. The music of Ernst Fischer (1900–1975), who is now almost forgotten, sounds like it was made for this project: it is lively, refined orchestral pieces from the 30s to 50s, the melos and rhythms of which are equally captivating. Fischer's scores, which are both catchy and demanding, suggest a mixture of Paul Hindemith and George Gershwin. As with the Haydn and Mozart pasticcios of the Munich Chamber Opera, Dominik Wilgenbus will place Fischer's compositions in the dramaturgically appropriate parts of the comedy and add text to them. Alexander Krampe will turn the instrumental pieces into vocal numbers and arrange them for an ensemble the size of a salon orchestra. From Charley's Aunt to make a piece of music theater, is the music rather than acoustic decoration - which they, among other things in the film adaptations of the substance with Heinz Rühmann and Peter Alexander - be treated as the most important vehicle of expression. Enriched with this dimension, the shrill travesty becomes a great comedy.