DIE FLEDERMAUS, Lyric Opera of Chicago 2014
OPERA NEWS – March 2014
“Daniela Fally, also in her American debut, is an Adele of choice at both Vienna’s Wiener Staatsoper and Volksoper; here, she easily demonstrated why with the rock-solid top D that capped her characterful “Spiel ich die Unschuld vom Lande.”
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CHICAGO TRIBUNE | John von Rhein | December 2013
No disrespect to the other principal singers, but has there ever been a more charming Adele than Daniela Fally? This was the Vienna-based Austrian soprano’s American debut as the Eisensteins’ chambermaid, and she proved herself a winning comedienne, Viennese accent and all. Adele’s famous “Laughing Song” was limpidly sung, her high Ds like dollops of schlag atop a steaming cup of Viennese coffee. Instead of the cutesy soubrette mannerisms one usually encounters in this role, Fally delivered a figure of genuine charm and vivacity.
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NEW CITY STAGE | Dennis Polkow | December 2013
Making a stellar American debut, Austrian soprano Daniela Fally as the chambermaid Adele is charming, funny and sings the role gloriously. She has the audience almost literally eating out of her hand from her first notes.
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CHICAGO SUN-TIMES | Wynne Delacoma | December 2013
Lyric’s cast inhabited this fantasy world with merry elan. All the principals looked their parts — (…) Making her American debut was Austrian soprano Daniela Fally, an effervescent bundle of blond curls and prodigious ruffles as Adele, the Eisenstein’s irrepressible parlor maid.
“Fledermaus” is full of catchy tunes, easy to hum but some of them fiendishly difficult to sing. Banse and Fally tossed off their frequent coloratura flights with easy nonchalance. (…) Fally’s virtuoso vocal runs cut the air — and her unfortunate adversaries — like a fast-moving, silvery scalpel.
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DAILY HERALD | Scott C. Morgan | December 2013
Much of what makes this comic chestnut so tasty is a slew of native German-speaking singers (many making their Lyric debut) who enliven the proceedings with a breezy air of continental authenticity.
As the scheming parlormaid Adele, Austrian soprano Daniela Fally is an all-around comic spitfire, being able to dash off high-notes and execute the splits with plenty of deceptive ease.
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CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW | Lawrence A. Johnson | December 2013
Daniela Fally made an outstanding American debut Tuesday night as Adele, the Eisenstein’s resourceful maid. Her voice is on the light side (…) but the petite Austrian soprano is a charismatic, scene-stealing presence on stage, consistently alive to the comedy and plot twists, even doing a floor split twice.
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BACHTRACK | Dan Wang | | December 2013
Luckily, though, there are no real misses, as the production gathers an able cast with a surprisingly diverse range of comic style: Bo Skovhus as the randy Eisenstein, Juliane Banse as a rather serious Rosalinde, and Daniela Fally as the maid Adele. Fally has so much fun on stage you are tempted to forgive her – or director E. Loren Meeker’s – excesses, such as the second time she does the splits onstage. (…) But I wouldn’t want to lose the comic inflections she borrows from musical theater, which fit surprisingly well with her light coloratura. They set the right tone for the night.
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THE CHICAGO MAROON | MJ Chen | January 2014
The Lyric’s Die Fledermaus is Die party of the season
A lively and unforced comedy, this classic operetta finds a star in supporting performer Daniela Fally.
Yet Daniela Fally’s Adele is so charming and so brilliant that the leads seem forgettable by comparison. Her voice is cute, silvery, and uncomplicated—the ideal soubrette sound. Fally nails Adele’s famous “Laughing Song” effortlessly, chirping out some of the prettiest trills I’ve ever heard on stage. As a finisher, she throws in a lofty D6 (that’s two octaves above middle C) with surprising ease.
Fally’s Adele is the sweet, flirty maid to a tee. She really delivers the character’s honesty and simplicity, serving natural humor without overdoing it. Fally sells Adele’s lesser known aria “Spiel ich die Unschuld vom Lande,” in which she plays stock characters to prove her theatrical skills. Just as her voice cycles through country maid, queen, and Parisian wife one after another, her manners shift accordingly. More impressively (for opera, that is), she convinces us that it’s Adele acting rather than Daniela Fally. As a bonus, she throws in a few splits and Broadway-worthy high kicks. She’s the best Adele I’ve ever seen.
