Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Opera Review: The Merry Widow

By Mark-Brian Sonna of MBS Productions

The best way to describe the performance of Dallas Opera’s The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár is by comparing it to a champagne cocktail: It is light, effervescent, sweet, and with enough alcohol to give it a delicious and giddy punch!

This operetta is beloved by many for a good reason. The music is actually hummable, catchy, and fun. The frilly storyline about a wealthy widow from the fictional country of Pontevedro that must marry another Pontevedran so that her wealth stays in the country, otherwise the country will go broke, is so silly it delights. This thin plot serves as an excuse to parade a string of tunes that have become recognizable to those who aren’t in the opera know. If you ever feel daunted by the prospect of going to an opera, go see this show. It is a great way to introduce this intimidating art form to a novice. One can’t help but smile and tap one’s feet when you have Can-Can dancers doing an encore of the famous ditty “Girls, girls, girls!”

Dallas Opera pulled out all the stops on this one. The cast is first rate, and the production values sizzle. When the curtain is first raised, the entire audience gave a collective “Wow!” and immediately broke out into applause. Each time the curtain was raised to reveal the next set the reaction was replicated. The sets are the most spectacular I’ve ever seen in my life and came from the Utah Symphony and Opera. It is a huge Art Nouveau installation. There are a total of 3 set changes, each one progressively more jaw-dropping then the next. When we get to the Maxim’s of Paris set, you simply can’t believe your eyes! The costumes were provided by the San Francisco Opera, and it too was beyond anything I’ve ever seen before. They coordinated beautifully with the sets, one would never think they came from two different locations. The use of Edwardian fashion was so superbly executed that I can’t ever recall any other production, be it film or stage that equaled the breathtaking allure of wardrobes. Think of the movie Titanic and how beautiful the sets and costumes were; this production surpasses that film.

With all this competition on the design front you need some amazing talent to be able to compete and better the visual feast. I’m very glad to report they found it. Ruth Ann Swenson didn’t just “play” the role of the Merry Widow, she was the Merry Widow. She is world class. She has an impeccable soprano, and a melodic delivery that is goosepimple-inducing. I know there is some microphone usage to help augment the performance voices, but she needed to be louder. It wasn’t that I couldn’t hear her, but everyone else in the cast operated at a louder volume so her softer level got drowned out a bit when she wasn’t singing a solo.

Rod Gilfrey was a wonderful count Danilo as was Andrew Shore in his role of Baron Mirko Zeta. In fact the entire cast was exceedingly good. The only quirk is that no one agreed on what accent to use. Some spoke with a British accent, others with an American accent, and others created a faux Pontevedran accent. Because of the light-hearted nature of the show, it was okay that the accents were all over the place, but not all the performers maintained their accents throughout, so some would start off as British, run into an American and then do Pontevedran.

One other cast member that I must single out was Jamie Offenback. He stole the show with his comic timing. He also dances remarkably well!

Graeme Jenkins who is the resident conductor for the Dallas Opera had a blast conducting the score. His enthusiasm spread to the musicians and to us the audience.

Candace Evans was the Stage Director. All I can say about her directorial debut is: BRAVA! The Dallas Opera never fails to dazzle in the production components, but normally, the biggest weakness is in the stage direction. Ms. Evans staged this beautifully. You can tell she comes from the world of dance for she understands the use of the human body on a stage to aid in the story telling. The blocking made sense, she kept a constant pace, she used the space effectively and created visual compositions that appealed to the eye and reinforced the plot. At one point Count Danilo and Anna, the Merry Widow, play a game of one-upmanship; Ms. Evans had them slowly circle one another like two animals preying on each other, seeing who would give in first; this visual metaphor was comical and perfect! I beg of the Dallas Opera that they use Ms. Evans again in future productions.

The Merry Widow is one of the best productions the Dallas Opera has put on in recent years. Go see it!

Purchase tickets online or by calling 214-443-1000.

Pegasus News content partner: Mark-Brian Sonna Productions

• Arts > Fine Arts > Opera

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Mike Orren Staff

Note that if you buy tickets online with the discount code "Pegasus 20," you get 20% off your ducats.

11 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )