The Merry Widow/Glyndebourne
Franz Léhar’s operetta, written in 1905, is actually a musical and really marked the end of one genre (the operetta) and beginning of another (the musical).
The story is simple.
Hanna Glawari (Danielle de Niese) is the rich widow from Pontevedro, in Paris for a party at the Pontevedro embassy to celebrate the Crown Prince’s birthday.
There is a run at the national bank and if la Glawari withdraws her funds from it the whole economy will topple. She is pursued by predatory French diplomats after her money but the Pontevedro ambassador (Sir Thomas Allen) wants to steer her away from those to the Count Danilo, also from Pontevedro but something of a rake, who makes his first appearance drunk after a night cavorting at Maxim’s.
Danilo had rejected her in Pontevedro as she was only a farmer ‘s daughter but – a great beauty – she had married a wealthy banker.
Underpinning a rather silly set of events is the contrast between promiscuous France and the earthy Balkans.
This is reflected in the second act – a party given by Hanna to celebrate the Pontevedro national day – in which she dances a folklore number with Danilo and sings the most famous song of the Opetetta Vilja.
The director is Cal MacCrystal whose CV includes a posting at the Crazy Horse in Paris. He gives the operetta a more British treatment with echoes of a Whitehall farce, high camp Carry On films and No Sex Please We’re British.
The performance did not get off to a good start as we had to evacuate the auditorium minutes before the curtain was due to rise.
We trooped back in and Tom Edden (as the factorum Njegus of the Ambassador) was the warm-up man.
He was more Kenneth Williams than Joel Gray in Cabaret and not that funny, nor appropriate as – understandably – the audience were confused.
Danielle de Neese has real star quality and sang and danced beautifully.
Yet she is not a household name like Maria Callas or Kiri te Kanawa. Perhaps her voice is not quite at their level. There was something of the old fashioned musical with the extravagant sets and rich costumes. Yet I did not enjoy this production as much as more conventional opera Glyndebourne ones.
As an associate – and now a full – member over 10 years it’s interesting to see the changes.
The dress code of a dinner jacket is neither mandatory nor ubiquitous. It’s also expensive. Top tickets are £200 plus but this Merry Widow would be an expensive production. There is an impressive list of supporters and sponsors and Glyndebourne does not go cap-in-hand for Government support.
Nonetheless, there is a challenge for the third generation of owners – Gus Christie – who is married to Danielle de Niese to satisfy traditions and bring on a new generation of country house opera lovers.