Class, elegance and pure joy from start to finish! The Merry Widow truly is a visual and orchestral delight
Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow is a classic operetta which encapsulates excitement, beauty, romance, heartbreak and comedy. Edinburgh Festival theatre enjoys the glitterati at its best this week with sublime orchestral and vocal talents from all involved.
Godfather Don Zeta’s (Henry Waddinton) plot to secure his family fortune in New York when he moves in on recently widowed Hanna Glawari’s ( Paula Slide) inheritance is more than a simple financial transaction. Hoping to mend the ongoing feud with the Sicilian mafia, Don Zetas idea to arrange a marriage of his newly appointed consigliere Danilo to the merry widow Hanna Glawari seems a dead cert to solving future problems. Unbeknown to him Danilo and Hanna are more than passing acquanitances. In fact, as their romantic history unfolds it is clear their past daliance is not as estranged or as “over” as they had both thought.
Across the 3 acts we travel from New York city to Sicily and back to New York witnessing their romance rekindle and develop along with a comical sub plot scandal involving Don Zetas wife Valentina (Rhian Lois) and her damning fan carrying a love note from her lover Camille de Rosillon( William Morgan) a famous french jazz singer. The escapades are high energy and at times laugh out loud funny as Val and her lover Camille try to hide their secret affair whilst we learn not all mafia wives are as loyal nor as discreet. The merry widow represents what it is to be free and uncaring about what one thinks although it is her unwavering love for Danilo that drives her back to him throughtout the story.
Slide’s beautiful rendition of Hanna are enchanting to behold. She embodies southern belle meets mob wife with effortless grace and class. Madame Glawari entrance number is one of the top moments in the performance as she commands the stage with unwavering grace and beauty wrapped up in glitter and her down-to-earth Tennessee humour. She stays true to who she is and her vunerbility makes her both loveable and relatable. Her moments with Danilo (Alex Otterburn) are beautifully delivered as both performers equate each other in vocal range, power and talent. Otterburn’s nice guy meets mafia top dog characteristics are well played and entertaining to watch.
Ensemble moments with cameo roles and other mafia bosses are particularly funny if not a tad overly slapstick. Some moments feel more broadway musical in their delivery than an operetta and with the extra dialogue it is possibly a little excessive with a running time of 2 hours and 40 minutes. However, the English translation is a triumph throughout as the plot is easy to follow and one can simply relax and be entertained from start to finish. The costumes and sets attention to detail are visually sublime. Takis has excelled themselves on a truly colouful and glorious visual full of sparkle for all to enjoy. Along with the excellent choices of lights by lighting designer Ben Pickersgill one can almost feel the heat of the Sicilian sun!
The choice of setting as a 1950’s gangster movie is clever and fits well into the original story without deviating from the authentic messages of the piece and its musical direction. With exceptional orchestral conducting by Stuart Stratford along with the artistic direction of John Savournin both have succeeded in the execution of creating an upbeat modern merry widow which is both a joy to behold and without a doubt an absolute must-see performance.