Download Chicago, Lyric Opera: "The Merry Widow"

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Chicago, Lyric Opera: "The Merry Widow"
Chicago, Lyric Opera of Chicago, 2015-2016 Season
“THE MERRY WIDOW”
Operetta in three acts originally in German, sung in English
English translation by Jeremy Sams
Original libretto by Victor Leon and Leo Stein, after Henri Meilhac’s comedy L'Attache
d'Ambassade
Music by Franz Lehár
Hanna Glawari RENEE FLEMING
Count Danilo Danilovich THOMAS HAMPSON
Baron Mirko Zeta PATRICK CARFIZZI
Camille de Rosillon MICHAEL SPYRES
Valencienne ANGELA MANNINO
Raoul de Saint-Brioche JONATHAN JOHNSON
Vicomte Cascada PAUL LA ROSA
Njegus JEFF DUMAS
Kromov JONATHAN WEIR
Olga JENNIE SOPHIA
Pritschitsch FRED ZIMMERMAN
Bogdanovich MICHAEL WEBER
Praskovia GENEVIEVE THIERS
Sylviane MCKINLEY CARTER
Maitre D’ JONAH D. WINSTON
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Lolo ARIANE DOLAN
Dodo ALISON MIXON
Jou-Jou EMILY PYNENBURG
Frou-Frou ANNELISE BAKER
Clo-Clo JEN GORMAN
Margot CATHERINE HAMILTON
Orchestra and Chorus of Lyric Opera of Chicago
Conductor Sir Andrew Davis
Director and Choreographer Susan Stromer
Sets Julian Crouch
Costumes William Ivey Long
Original Lighting Paul Constable
Lighting for Lyric Chris Maravich
Sound Design Mark Grey
Chorus Master Michael Black
Stage Band Conductor Francesco Milioto
Fight Director Nick Sandys
Production owned by The Metropolitan Opera
Chicago, 3 December 2015
The Merry Widow was Franz Lehár’s first major success for the operetta stage and is second
only to Johann Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus as the most popular and well-loved work of this
genre. Musicologists and other serious types tend to sneer at operetta but no less a critic than
the Wagner scholar Ernest Newman once said: “The best possible singing and playing is no
whit too good for the best of Lehár’s music.” Lehár scored a hit in 1902 with his “Gold and
Silver” waltz, a composition he sold for a modest price, which would go on to make a fortune for
the publishing house that purchased it. Lehár learned from his mistake and from then on kept a
tight rein on the sale and copyright of his music. Indeed, he became one of the most financially
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successful composers of all time. But Lehár’s immense good fortune could not spare him the
impact of cataclysmic world events unfolding throughout
his lifetime. Despite his prestige, the composer narrowly escaped tragedy during the Nazi
regime. Although he was Roman Catholic, Lehár’s wife Sophie was Jewish and much hostility
was directed towards him personally and his work. Hitler, however, enjoyed Lehár’s music
immensely and Goebbels intervened directly on his behalf. In 1938, Mrs. Lehár was given the
title of “Ehrenarierin” or “honorary Aryan by marriage.” Nevertheless, there were repeated
attempts to have her deported. This ever-present anxiety was such that Sophie carried a
cyanide capsule on her person for the war’s duration. While not a fanatical supporter, Lehar’s
stance toward the Nazis is clouded by the same ambiguity and moral uncertainty as that which
befell Richard Strauss, Carl Orff and other composers active during this period. In fact, he
made a point of presenting Hitler with a leather-bound copy of the score for The Merry Widow
as a 50th birthday present in 1938. To his credit, Lehár tried to use his influence to save the
lives of several Jewish colleagues, including one of his former librettists. Unfortunately, even a
composer of Lehár’s renown was powerless to prevent their destruction during the holocaust.
The plot of The Merry Widow is concerned with the fortunes of the Balkan state of Montenegro
or as it is referred to in the operetta, “Pontevedro.” The regional politics involved here are
complicated and reflect the tensions which eventually erupted into World War I almost a decade
after the work’s premiere (ironically, The Merry Widow was playing in repertoire at Lyric Opera
with Alban Berg’s Wozzeck, a vastly different piece shaped by the same zeitgeist). The work is
set in Paris, during the sophisticated era of the Belle Époque. Lehár is thus able to capitalize
artistically on two distinct cultures. The Pontevedrian element is captured through the use of
polonaise, mazurka and the Balkan ‘kolo,’ a
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communal dance of the region. In contrast, the glittering world of Paris is reflected in his use of
the waltz, galop and can-can. For an essentially self-taught composer, Lehár was a gifted
orchestrator. The Merry Widow is scored for a large ensemble, with a robust contingent of
exotic instruments, including glockenspiel, guitar and 3 tamburizzas. Other composers envied
Lehár’s enormous popularity and attempted to emulate his style. For example, Puccini
originally conceived of La rondine as a frothy operetta and intended it to score a huge success
with the Viennese public. While there is no question regarding the musical quality of The Merry
Widow, its enduring success is also due to the allure of the title character. It is the ultimate
vanity piece for a leading lady and has attracted all manner of celebrities. The work has been
adapted numerous times for the cinema as a vehicle for various stars, including Mae West,
Jeanette MacDonald and Lana Turner. In the operatic world, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf made two
different complete recordings of the work. Her rivals Hilde Gueden and Lisa della Casa
recorded competing versions, as did Dorothy Kirsten. More recently, mezzo-sopranos have
undertaken it, including Frederica von Stade and Susan Graham. Even jazz legends like Cleo
Laine have reveled in the opportunity to wear glamorous gowns, waltz around the stage and
embody the archetype of prima donna to the hilt. Curiously, Renée Fleming, Lyric Opera’s
current choice, seemed embarrassed, even impatient, with the role’s inherent fascination,
resulting in what must be counted a low point in her performance history with the company to
date. Now in the twilight of a long and distinguished career, Fleming exuded little of the carefree
exuberance or extravagant whimsy necessary to enliven the proceedings. How odd that a
soprano who has achieved
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ultimate fame in her profession seemed so hell bent on exuding bland likeability and “girl next
door” demureness. She managed her greatly reduced vocal resources with care and caution,
producing the occasional stretch of pretty singing but sounding underpowered and anemic
throughout. The vocal range was still within her possibilities but high notes resolutely failed to
bloom and there was little of the radiant lyricism so notable during her prime years. Even
Fleming’s appearance struck an ambivalent note: beautifully costumed by William Ivey Long
but sporting a series of unflattering, matronly wigs. As Danilo, Thomas Hampson delivered a
consummately professional performance but was hard to take seriously as a dedicated
hedonist. The unofficial successor to the legacy of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hampson has long
enjoyed a reputation as a musical intellectual. But like Fischer-Dieskau, he is most at home in
the lofty sentiments of German lieder and seemed uncomfortable with the material at hand,
often lapsing into an all-purpose frat boy frivolity rather than the rakish worldliness required.
Like his co-star, Hampson had his moments of threadbare vocalism but was more generous
with his limited supply, negotiating the high tessitura with admirable skill. For those who
admired their joint appearances in Massenet’s Thais for Lyric Opera back in 2003, Fleming and
Hampson sadly displayed no chemistry together on this occasion. The librettist for The Merry
Widow once quipped about the famously erotic waltz number “Lippen schweigen” or “Lips are
silent” that “it’s in ¾ time--causing one to lose three quarters of one’s virtue.” Here, the
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moment fell flat. This starry duo communicated all the sexual tension of the Professor and Mary
Anne from Gilligan’s Island, with a grinning smugness equally worthy of a television sitcom. The
secondary couple were in somewhat better hands but also suffered from a lack of
sophistication. Substituting at the last minute for an indisposed Heidi Stober, Angela
Mannino seemed extraordinarily poised, fitting seamlessly into the ensemble. Her Valencienne
boasted confident singing but lacked dramatic profile, being neither charming sociopath nor
earnest birdbrain. As Camille, Michael Spyres delivered the finest vocalism of the afternoon
but cut a distinctly unromantic figure onstage, with little compensation by way of seductive
characterization. All the soloists had to contend with Jeremy Sams’ tortured translation,
crammed to excess with enough self-regarding witticism and word play to all but steal focus
from the dramatic proceedings. In a large supporting cast, Patrick Carfizzi did what he could
with the thankless part of the chronically anxious Baron Zeta, while Jeff Dumas as Njegus
scored most of the laughs heard from the audience through his strong comic timing. Other
embassy figures were well taken by Jonathan Weir, Fred Zimmerman and Michael Weber.
Jonathan Johnson and Paul La Rosa made dashing suitors for the hand of Hanna, while
Genevieve Thiers led a humorously delineated trio of Pontevedrian wives. The staging tried to
make a case for individualizing the various grisettes but they remained faceless and
interchangeable fixtures of the once-notorious Chez Maxim.
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Susan Stroman’s production was disappointing in the extreme, registering like a dated relic
from the era of regional dinner theater rather than a brand new production on loan from The
Metropolitan Opera. For a celebrated Broadway director, Stroman settled for dull stage pictures
with awkward arrangements of soloists and chorus alike. In contrast, her choreography injected
much needed life and vitality onstage. Julian Crouch’s sets, with their one-dimensional flats
and painted perspectives, bordered on amateurish. The Lyric Opera Orchestra played well
enough for its Music Director Sir Andrew Davis but he led a straight-jacketed account of the
score, missing notes of schmaltz and schwung in his overly pedantic approach. In summary,
Lyric Opera’s take on The Merry Widow lacked a heroine of compelling allure in a production
that came off as leaden when it should have been intoxicating. Photo Todd Rosenberg
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