A timeless treasure, ‘The Merry Widow’ returns
Boris Brott brings delightful operetta to Hamilton on Oct. 3
There’s no denying the popularity of Franz Lehar’s comic operetta, “The Merry Widow.”
It was a hit from the get-go, delighting critics and audiences alike at its première in Vienna’s Theater an der Wien in December 1905. The following year, it took Berlin, Hamburg and Budapest by storm. By 1907, it had conquered London, Stockholm, Buenos Aires and New York. Widow-mania swept the U.S., fuelled by touring companies that fanned out to perform the operetta from coast to coast.
Lehar wasn’t the only one to cash in on the operetta’s success — he made $1.5 million (U.S.) off it by 1911. But others capitalized on the craze by selling unauthorized merchandise such as “Merry Widow” hats, gloves, dinner plates and corsets.
What’s not to like about “The Merry Widow?”
Sure, its plot is pure fluff. Set in fin de siècle Paris, the ambassador of the fictitious state of Pontevedro, Baron Zeta, plans to have the womanizing and oftinebriated Count Danilo Danilovitsch marry the wealthy widow, Hanna Glawari, to stave off the financial ruin of their homeland. Let the romantic games begin.
And you’d have to be flatlining not to succumb to its hit tunes such as “Vilja,” “Then off to Chez Maxim” and “Music’s Playing” (“Lippen schweigen” in the original German), not to mention the bubbly, dancefilled score.
Little wonder, then, that the operetta’s box office bonanza continues unabated to this day.
Reason enough for Boris Brott to lead his National Academy Orchestra and a select cast in a BrottOpera period-costume performance of “The Merry Widow” at FirstOntario Concert Hall on Thursday, Oct. 3, at 7:30 p.m.
“I love this schmaltzy music,” Brott wrote to The Spectator. “Actually, my first performance was in Hamilton about 40 years ago. I never tire of it.”
As for casting, the first piece in that puzzle was finding a Danilo.
“I chose David Curry first, as he is a consummate Danilo and has such a history with this piece,” Brott said. “We built the cast and production team together from there from people we love to work with.”
Lebanese-Canadian soprano Miriam Khalil will make her role debut as Hanna Glawari.
“I really enjoy the beautiful music and lyrical nature of this role,” Khalil said.
“The challenge with this role is still being discovered. I expect it will be the lightness and carefree nature of the character and not letting her get too dark or complex.”
Dundas baritone John Fanning will perform the role of Baron Zeta; Daniela Agostino will be his wife, Valencienne; Matt Chittick is her admirer, Count Camille de Rossillon; Jamal Al Titi is the Vicomte Cascada; and Hamilton tenor Bud Roach is Raoul de St. Brioche.
“Widow” has a long performance history of being tinkered with by others. The BrottOpera production belongs to that lineage.
The English translation that will be used as the point of departure is by Jeremy Sams — a translation Curry knows well, having sung it in almost 100 performances as Camille and then Danilo some 15 years ago for the Carl Rosa Opera Company in Britain.
“I have taken this script and pared it down to accommodate the ‘semi-staged’ version that we (BrottOpera) are doing, and it is a first,” Curry said. “I play the narrator and Danilo using narration to bridge where I have removed characters to expedite the story along and accommodate the situation as needed.”
There will be no chorus in this pared-down two-hour version. That may raise an eyebrow or two, or even the hackles of some — though not for Brott and Curry, who are singing from the same page of the hymnal.
When asked how this chorusless version would work, Brott simply answered, “Very well.”
“It is a semi-staged show focusing on the main characters and the story,” Curry said. “When looking at the score, the show really doesn’t have that much chorus in it anyway, and with seven characters all singing, it will work quite well.”
The scenography is by Jacqui Templeton Muir, and Jessica Derventzis returns to stage direct.