The Merry Widow

Theatre Royal, Glasgow, 30/4/2025

Orchestra of Scottish Opera; Chorus of ‘The Merry Widow’; Stuart Stratford (conductor); Paula Sides (soprano); Alex Otterburn (baritone); Henry Waddington (bass-baritone); Rhian Lois (soprano); William Morgan (tenor); Matthew Kellett (baritone); Matthew Siveter (bass); Jonathan Forbes Kennedy (baritone); Ellie Neate (soprano); Connor James Smith (tenor); Christopher Nairne (baritone); Amy J Payne (mezzo-soprano); Francis Church (baritone); Rosie Lavery (soprano).

In a new co-production with D’Oyly Carte Opera and Opera Holland Park, Scottish Opera closes the 2024-25 season with a trilogy of summer operettas, kicking off with Franz Lehar’s ‘The Merry Widow’, a smash hit in 1905 when it premiered and no less loved now. There will be four night-time and one matinee performance in Glasgow, two in Inverness, three (plus one matinee) in Edinburgh, and two in Aberdeen, after which the production will run for the last third of June in Holland Park. The novel reimagined mise-en-scène, with the Pontevedrin diplomatic mission in Paris transformed to the mob household of 1950s New York mafioso godfather Don Zeta, unlocks a wealth of sitcom possibilities which are richly exploited, with writer/director John Savournin’s dialogue in his new English translation supported by (largely redundant) English surtitles, while David Eaton’s lyrics seamlessly and wittily serve the superficially modified plot without distorting the music. Such chestnuts as “bada-bing, bada-bang”, “sleeping with the fishes” and “horses’ heads” festoon the text and aid the whimsy. But the familiar “will they/won’t they” rocky second-chance romance of estranged old flames Danilo (now the Godfather’s right-hand man) and the eponymous Hanna (a Tennessee farmer’s daughter, recently the sole beneficiary of the fortune of her deceased lemon-growing magnate husband’s estate in Sicily) still plays out as in the original. Lehar’s delightful melodies and scoring are unchanged. The satire of marital infidelity and the hypocrisy of social mores is intact, but with the added element of Cosa Nostra omertà. The ingenious and sumptuous design is by takis, lighting is by Ben Pickersgill, and choreography is by Kally Lloyd-Jones. The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, The Chorus of The Merry Widow’ and a full cast of principals are conducted by Music Director Stuart Stratford – his first time for this operetta. This review covers the opening night in Glasgow on 30th April.

English bass-baritone Henry Waddington (an excellent curmudgeonly lawyer Doctor Kolenatý in ‘The Makropulos Affair’ in February) delivered a characterisation that was both convincing and comedic as godfather Don Zeta. The operetta opens with his 50th birthday party in his penthouse apartment with views of the Manhattan skyline, the walls adorned with great artworks (art cognoscenti will recognise all as famous art thefts). His birthday present from his wife Valentina and loyal underlings is a brand new cement mixer (no doubt for the fashioning of ‘cement shoes’ for his enemies) – just one of the many visual gags setting the comedic tone from the outset. He has invited young heiress Hanna, intending to ask Danilo to woo her, in part as a reward to him for his loyalty, but principally to capture her fortune for his mafia clan. He is unaware that they have ‘history’. As well as comedy, and whilst not in sung solos, it is a role rich in dramatic chagrin, first at the thwarting of his schemes, but worse at the suspicion of his wife’s infidelity - Henry Waddington gave us all this in spades with excellent clarity of diction. When he admits his failings as a husband and Valentina’s fidelity is revealed, their tender reconciliation is sweet. Musically though, the octet of male voices in the middle of Act II, bemoaning the lot of the man who can’t live without a woman, yet “there is always a dame in charge”, was a musical and choreographic highlight, not to mention comedic, when reprised with a corpse tied in a shroud joining the line. So good, it was the natural choice for reprise with full chorus after the curtain calls.

Paula Sides (a delightfully naive Cunegonde in Scottish Opera’s brilliant ‘Candide’ in 2022) was a captivating, vivacious Hanna. She is surprised to re-encounter old flame Danilo as the Don’s lieutenant and their exchanges are barbed. Their union vetoed by his mafioso uncle, they had drifted apart and she had married a millionaire. He thinks she is cynical and shallow; what rankles most with her – to the point of exasperation – is his inability to express his feelings… But the flame has not died. The role of Hanna has so many beautiful arias and duets. On her arrival at the party, she is pestered by a (wittily choreographed) army of suitors (for her wealth, of course) and the updated lyrics are full of hilarious double-entendre one-liners (e,g. “Just keep those pistols lowered, boys”), delivered with absolute clarity. In Act II, set in the garden in front of her Sicilian villa, to which the entire cast have flown to pursue the unfinished business of Act I, after a song of welcome, she sings the evergreen ‘Vilja’, a Slavic folktale about a beautiful woodland spirit who captivates a young hunter before vanishing from his embrace – a hint to Danilo about lost opportunity, which hits home as he joins in at the hunter’s words before leaving abruptly.. This was gorgeous with teasing rubato and tenuto at the cadences, supported perfectly by Stuart (Stuey ‘the Stick Man’ Stratford), the chorus and the orchestra, with one of many beautiful violin solos from Anthony Moffat. Later in the act, tender reminiscences and an affectionate waltz make one wonder if the ice will melt (her marching aria, ‘Silly little soldier, why can’t you be bolder’ was a delight), but the spell is broken and they part again. A selfless act by Hanna to extricate Valentina from a compromising situation seems to reinforce Danilo’s stuffy negative opinions, prompting her to observe: “You know, for a Wise Guy, you can be stupid sometimes”. An excellent performance.

I’ve not seen English baritone Alex Otterburn since his tour-de-force as Eddy in Mark Anthony Turnage’s ‘Greek’ in 2018, so it was great to welcome him back to Scottish Opera as Danilo. Two arias tell us of his exhausting ‘work’ life as the Don’s ‘enforcer’ (hilarious lyrics replace the job description of an embassy attaché) and where he goes to relax (in the company of the girls at Maxim’s, a swish night club) and, perhaps, forget. When he and Hanna meet again, both play it cool, verging on frosty. He insists on calling her ‘Mrs Glawari’, while she calls him ‘Danny’, much to his irritation. His boss’s “offer you can’t refuse” to woo the heiress, he dismisses as impossible, but he does agree to do whatever’s necessary to neutralise the various other greedy suitors. He is determined not to pursue her for her fortune, but she sees his diffidence as a front for pathological avoidance of commitment. Possible echoes of the sexual tension between Bruce Willis’ and Cybill Shepherd’s characters in the 1980s TV series ‘Moonlighting’ did have me wondering whether this was a conscious element of the excellent direction. Another possible echo, this one in the libretto, is of Oscar Wilde’s ‘Lady Windermere’s Fan’, where a billet-doux written on a mislaid fan causes the Don to task Danilo with finding out which of the married women at the Sicilian villa is having an affair. Although none of the three wives he asks has mislaid a fan, all three imagine themselves rumbled and blurt out a confession – a revelation which does nothing to repair his negative impression of women and marriage. Hanna’s apparent (but bogus) engagement is the last straw and he flies back to New York to lick his wounds and drown his sorrows at Maxim’s Only when, at the end of Act III in a sumptuous Maxim’s set, Hanna reveals that the terms of her inheritance mean that she loses it when she remarries does he finally declare his feelings. The punchline is that the wealth passes to her new husband instead. Happy ever after. Another great performance.

Welsh soprano Rhian Lois (a fabulous Zerbinetta in ‘The Strauss Collection’ in March, not to mention an unforgettable soprano line in MacMillan’s ‘Christmas Oratorio’ with the RSNO in November 2023) was a bubbly Valentina (Valencienne in the original), Zeta’s wife, and easily the best New York accent on stage all evening. Her conflicted reciprocation of the affections of French jazz singer Camille de Rosillon generates all of the farcical elements of the plot (which is pretty well all of it). He writes “I love you” on her fan, which she then loses. Its subsequent discovery sets in motion a search for the guilty paramours. In Sicily, she finally succumbs to his seduction (having written the response "I'm a respectable wife" on the recovered fan) and they retire to Hanna’s balcony room at the villa overlooking the garden, even as Zeta, Danilo and his capo Nicky arrive to catch them in flagrante. Quick-thinking Hanna switches places with Valentina, emerging with Camille and announcing their ‘’engagement’, much to Danilo’s disgust and Camille’s surprise, whereupon Valentina returns ostensibly wondering what all the fuss is about. The illusion of her innocence is preserved. In Act III at Maxim’s, she performs a raunchy dance with the Griselles for Zeta’s entertainment, one of the many excellently choreographed numbers in the production. When Hanna and Camille show up (separately) and it emerges that they were never engaged, the penny drops and Zeta demands a divorce. But when Valentina’s message on the fan is revealed, he relents and repents and they are reconciled. Despite the contortions of the New York accent in the role, Rhian’s coloratura is exquisite, blending beautifully in her arias with violin and oboe solos. A treat for the ears.

Tenor William Morgan (Freddy in ‘Marx in London!’ last year and an unforgettable eponymous Candide in 2022) was the amorous Frenchman Camille and delivered a rom-com characterisation that would not be out of place in ‘Allo, ‘Allo. His aria of devotion to the lovely Valentina, which she joins in duet, was delicious, with yet another of Lehar’s exquisite violin solos. Savournin also gives him a few juicy one-liners, none more risqué than, offering to elope with her to Paris: “I’d like to take you up the Louvre”. Camille is lucky to escape with his life at the end of Act III, when Zeta’s instruction “Take him outside, hail him a taxi for the airport.” is interrupted at “Take him out …”.

Even the less prominent roles have moments to shine. Zeta’s capo, Nicky Negus, who seems to know everything that is going on, was played by London-born baritone Matthew Kellett, in his Scottish Opera debut and a strong comedic performance. Ordered by Zeta to scale the trellis by the side of the balcony to gain entry to the locked bedroom wherein Valentina and Camille’s tryst is ongoing, he struggles fumblingly, made all the funnier when Hanna and Valentina swapping places accomplish the same with ease. The fierce but incompetent rivalry between newcomer ‘apprentice’ hoodlums Sam Briochi and Carmelo Cascada (played by Scottish tenor Connor James Smith and Scottish baritone Christopher Nairne respectively) was comedy gold. Three ‘international’ gangsters and their wives added colour. Russian mafioso Kromov and his wife Olga (bass-baritone Matthew Siveter in his Scottish Opera debut and multi-talented English mezzo Amy J Payne) delivered a strong deadpan comedic performance (with great Russian accents) but the highlight was their Russian dance as part of the ethnic dances at the beginning of Act II, accompanied by the chorus in harmony – prompting a hugely merited ovation from the audience. Olga battering her husband when he dared to suspect her of infidelity was also a comedic gem. Bogdanovitch and his wife Sylvia (Scottish baritone and RCS graduate Jonathan Forbes Kennedy – Carlino the fake notary in ‘Don Pasquale’ last year – and soprano Ellie Neate in her Scottish opera debut) are also part of Zeta’s trusted circle. The third mob couple are Pritischitsch and his wife Paulina (Liverpudlian baritone Francis Church - Gedge the vicar in ‘Albert Herring’ last year and a compelling ‘Big Man’/Banco in Paisley Opera’s ‘Macbeth’ the year before – and the wonderful Scottish soprano Rosie Lavery) It has been my pleasure and privilege to follow Rosie through her time at RCS in a series of fine performances, a compelling characterisation of Bea in Jake Heggie’s ‘Three Decembers’ standing out as particularly special. Sadly, her glorious mane of red hair was concealed by a blonde wig for this role (Praskowia in the original),

At 2 hours 30 minutes with one interval, this is not a short operetta, yet the production is so pacy and chock-full of visual and aural delights that I had no sensation of the passage of time. The sets are ingenious – rotating 3 huge panels during the interval after Act I transforms Zeta’s penthouse to the sun-drenched façade of Hanna’s Sicilian villa. During Act II, the backs of the same panels are transformed to the lavish interior of Maxim’s, ready to be rotated again for Act III. The choreography and movement direction are uniformly superb. Visual and verbal humour are continuous – so much so that having attended the Dress Rehearsal, I found that there were things to notice in the Opening Night that I’d previously missed. The chorus of mobsters, waiters, dancers and musicians, trained by Susannah Wapshott, were brilliant as ever. This production is a triumph. It deserves to play to packed houses throughout its run. Very highly recommended.

Photo credit: Mihaela Bodlovic