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Eliza Doolittle aus Bayern München
Gärtnerplatz Theater
06/19/2025 - & June 21, 22, July 5, 6*, 12, 13, 2025
Frederick Loewe : My Fair Lady
Nadine Zeintl*/Julia Sturzlbaum (Eliza Doolittle), Michael Dangl (Henry Higgins), Erwin Windegger (Colonel Pickering), Robert Meyer (Alfred P. Doolittle), Merlin Fargel*/Jeremy Boulon (Freddy Eynsford‑Hill), Jutta Speidl/Gisela Ehrensperger* (Mrs Higgins), Dagmar Hellberg (Mrs Pearce), Ballett des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz
Chor des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz, Pietro Numico (chorus master), Orchester des Staatstheaters am Gärtnerplatz, Andreas Partilla/Oleg Ptashikov* (conductor)
Josef E. Köpplinger (stage director & lights), Rainer Sinell (sets), Marie‑Luise Wales (costumes), Peter Hörtner (lights), Michael Heidinger (lights), Karl Alfred Schreiner (choreography), Michael Alexander Ring (dramaturgy)
M. Dangl, N. Zeintl (© Marie-Laure Briane)
Lerner and Loewe’s enduring 1956 musical My Fair Lady remains one of the genre’s most popular. This is not limited to the Anglosphere, as My Fair Lady and commercial musicals in general are undeniably popular in several European countries. In fact, since the fifties, Broadway musicals have been popular in German‑speaking countries. This makes sense, as musical theatre is the natural extension of operetta.
Another notable factor is the German and Austrian origins of Broadway musicals. With the collapse of the Austro‑Hungarian Empire and with rising tensions in Central Europe, there was a massive immigration from Vienna as well as from Germany to the United States. The artists and intellectuals of the Viennese and German diaspora brought this remarkable, typically Austro‑German genre to America, particularly to New York and Los Angeles. Broadway greats Oscar Hammerstein II (The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Carousel, Oklahoma!, The King and I), Jerome Kern (Show Boat) and Frederick Loewe (My Fair Lady, Paint Your Wagon, Camelot, Brigadoon) were all sons of German immigrants.
Check the opera season of smaller cities in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, and you will find Cats, A Chorus Line, Les Misérables or Evita as ubiquitous as La bohème, Carmen and Rigoletto. In such major markets as Vienna or Munich, a secondary theatre that specialises in operettas also regularly produces musicals. In Munich, that secondary theatre is Gärtnerplatz Theater, where this performance was presented. It does not try to compete with the Bayerische Staatsoper; rather, it specialises in operetta, light opera (in the vernacular) and musicals.
Based on George Bernard Shaw’s play Pygmalion (1913), itself inspired by the Greek mythological figure, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe’s My Fair Lady became a huge hit following the release of George Cukor’s 1956 film version starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison. Any revival of the musical is bound to be measured by the high standard set by these two iconic actors.
The present production passed the test with flying colours, thanks to the immense charisma of the two principals, Austrians Michael Dangl and Nadine Zeintl. Henry Higgins is more an acting than a singing role. Dangl was a perfect fit for the role, thanks to his formidable stage presence and unique ability to be a pedantic, intolerant old bachelor while remaining amiable. Though not a professional singer, Dangl can certainly carry a tune, as he did in Act I’s “Bin ein Mann wie jeder Mann” (“I’m an ordinary man”). His mostly parlando Act II song “Ich bin gewöhnt an ihr Gesicht” (“I’ve grown accustomed to her face”) was truly stirring.
As for Zeintl, she is an unstoppable ball of fire. From the instant she appeared on stage as the flower girl in a Covent Garden market, she was utterly magnetic. This woman has abundant charisma in addition to a well‑schooled powerful voice, with particular ease in the upper register and strong lower notes that she used marvelously to express her rage (which she often did). Act I’s “Wäre det nich wundascheen?” (“Wouldn’t it be lovely?”). Her thick Bavarian accent was thicker than any cockney slang. Her Act I “Es grünt so grün” (“The Rain in Spain”) was even more amusing than the English original.
Unfortunately, the musical’s most celebrated song “I could have danced all night” did not come out as gloriously in translation as “Ich hätt’ getanzt heut’ Nacht,” not because of any shortcoming on Zeintl’s part, but for a clumsy translation that didn’t work too well musically. This is a frequent challenge in translated works, whether in opera or musicals, that is evident in Verdi’s Don Carlo, Rossini’s Guglielmo Tell and Donizetti’s La favorite, all Italian translations of works originally written in French, and less effective in the language of Dante. The German lyrics here were not properly paired to the music, hence the final result lacked spark, especially glaring in the best‑known songs one is familiar with (and who isn’t?). Exceptionally, Eliza Doolittle’s second song, the more pensive “Ohne dich” (“Without you”) was appropriately emotive.
Most importantly, Dangl and Zeintl had remarkably infectious chemistry, considering this is not a Broadway production that would typically play for months. This performance was the fifth of only seven, and Zeintl alternated with another singer.
The supporting cast was excellent, including the non‑singing parts, such as Swiss mezzo Gisela Ehrensperger, as Henry Higgins’ wise old mother, whose mere facial expressions were more effective than any boisterous singing. Likewise, Dagmar Hellberg was an effective and imposing Mrs Pearce, reminiscent of Mrs Hudson in the Sherlock Holmes television series.
Italian actor/director Erwin Windegger was a dignified Colonel Pickering, who proved capable of carrying a tune in his Act II duet with Henry Higgins, “Sie sind’s” (“You did it”).
Robert Meyer, former director of Volksoper Wien no less, was a larger than life Alfred P. Doolittle, Eliza’s father. He impressed with his decent voice and striking stage presence in his Act I song “Mit’nem kleenen Stücken Glück” (“With a little bit of luck”) as well as Act II’s ironic “Bringt mich pünktlich zum Altar” (Get me to church on time).
German tenor Merlin Fargel exuded aristocratic charm as Freddy Eynsford‑Hill, a role he acted better than he sang. Despite an appealing voice, Fargel was the only one in the cast who sang German as if he were an American on Broadway, i.e. in an unappealingly nasal and exaggerated way. This style of singing, commonly encountered in Germany, makes little sense, as the language of Goethe is not nasal and is infinitely more melodious than diphthong‑rich English (or French, for that matter).
The sober sets were effective thanks to a rotating stage that enabled efficient changes of scenes. Mrs Higgins’ interior palm garden was especially appealing. The scene at the races (Ascot) was well‑conceived to look posh without too many props. Henry Higgin’s home was rather austere, exactly what one would expect for an old bachelor. The costumes were true to the period (just before WWI), especially the ladies at Ascot and Eliza’s dress for the Embassy Ball, which we hear about but do not see.
Overall, this was a well-produced version of this perennial musical, featuring very capable, strong performers. As a German speaker, I wasn’t deterred from hearing My Fair Lady in a language other than the original. As we were in Munich, Bavarian replaced cockney, the effect of which was highly amusing!
Ossama el Naggar
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