The Florida Grand Opera delivered a production of Die Fledermaus with a level of polish and class that would hold its own in any major city on the planet. Every part of the company works in harmony, from the performers to the design team, creating a seamless and confident theatrical experience.

Die Fledermaus was one of the most entertaining operas in recent memory.

It was captivating, epic, and genuinely funny.

It ran the full range of storytelling.

It’s an opera, yes, but one with an unusual amount of play woven between the music. The dialogue across three acts grounds the audience in character and mischief before the production lifts into full operatic flight, dropping viewers into sweeping moods that feel almost cinematic. Then it returns, once again, to story. The result is something silly, clever, and deeply joyful. There’s plot, betrayal, and lies, but all in the name of fun.

It’s easy to see why this opera has become a New Year’s Eve tradition in Vienna.

Meanwhile, back at home, one of South Florida’s best-kept cultural secrets is catching an opera at the Florida Grand Opera on a Tuesday night. The company’s schedule is delightfully unconventional. They open on Saturday, a Sunday matinee, dark on Monday, and close on Tuesday. There’s something quietly magical about sitting in a grand hall at 8 p.m. in peak season, when the rest of the country is frozen and Miami is alive with visitors and possibility. It’s hard to imagine a better way to spend a Tuesday evening.

This was culture at full volume. Dance, song, theater, costume, lighting, comedy, romance, and a full orchestra breathing life into the room.

Die Fledermaus

At the heart of the story is Dr. Falke’s elaborate revenge on his friend Eisenstein. Years earlier, Eisenstein humiliated Falke by abandoning him drunk in a public park while dressed in a bat costume, earning him the nickname “Dr. Bat” and making him the laughingstock of Vienna. That old prank becomes the fuel for an entire night of elegant chaos at Prince Orlovsky’s ball.

And what a ball it was.

The Florida Grand Opera stages it in a grand, Art Deco, 1920s, Great Gatsby–style world that feels decadent, glamorous, and joyfully over the top.

The cast is stellar. Ginger Costa-Jackson’s Prince Orlovsky stands out as bold, gender-bending, and extravagantly playful, grounding the production in decadence and humor. Jesus Garcia shines as Alfred, the mischievous trickster and hidden lover, while soprano Rebecca Nelson commands the stage as Adele, her voice ringing out with confidence and charm.

This is the kind of storytelling that deserves to be celebrated loudly, especially for new audiences discovering how thrilling opera can be.

Prince Orlovsky’s ball becomes a spectacle, a party, and a celebration of art, excess, and theatrical joy.

In its 84th year, the Florida Grand Opera proves once again that excellence is not an accident.

Bravo.