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After 100 years, The Merry Widow gets a fresh makeover!
Jack Helbig and Gregg Opelka's new English translation of Lehar’s classic, now available through AmericanPlaywrights, Inc., opened to unanimous rave reviews.
[Review of MOBILE OPERA premiere, October 24, 2006, Mobile, Alabama]
Language of Love
Thursday, October 26, 2006
By THOMAS B. HARRISON
MOBILE REGISTER
Arts Editor
A quarter of a century was a long time between “Merry Widows,” but Mobile Opera has made the wait worthwhile with a smart, gorgeous production of Franz Lehr’s musical masterpiece.
Under the direction of Bill Fabris, this clever and mildly risqué audience pleaser moved nimbly despite the three-hour running time, and provides a memorably romantic night at the theater.
“The Merry Widow” will have performances at 7:30 tonight and Saturday at Mobile Civic Center Theater. (See information box.) The talent-rich cast led by soprano Jane Ohmes, baritone Corey McKern and bass-baritone David Ward obviously savored the moment.
The musical duties are in the expert hands of artistic director Jerome Shannon, who conducted the Mobile Opera Orchestra with his usual aplomb.
Fabris also likes to move things along, and his cast of singers manages the choreography without mishap. They are ably assisted by the lithe youngsters of LeFlore’s Moving Images Dance Company whose footwork certainly embodies a lyric from the show:
“When you’re swirling and twirling in symmetry,
Is there a meter completer than one-two-three?”
Ohmes is tall and elegant, and she wears her period gowns like a film star; but it is the power and clarity of her voice that commands the stage. “The Merry Widow” has its share of show-stopping moments, most notably Hanna’s achingly beautiful “Vilja” aria near the opening of Act II.
The soprano is well paired with her Count Danilo (baritone Corey McKern), and when the two embrace for the waltz that closes the first act, they speak volumes with their eyes.
Ward is a marvel as the buffoonish Baron Zeta, a randy geezer who is more concerned about the Pontevedrian treasury than the amorous adventures of his young wife (Deborah Selig), who cannot resist the attentions of the glib Frenchman Camille de Rosillon (tenor Jeremy Little).
Ward’s humorous exchanges with his harried attaché Njegus (Christopher Herbert) give the operetta a crazy buoyancy. So do the unctuous, would-be suitors Cascada (Patrick Jacobs) and St. Brioche (Thomas Rowell), who quite nearly steal the show. But Selig’s soprano and Little’s soaring tenor more than hold their own.
Show-stopping moments include the men’s hilarious “Women” number in which the guys make like June Taylor chorines in homage to the “slender, tender gender” that leaves grown men dazed and confused. Terpsichorean precision is replaced by manly determination.
Erhard Rom’s sets are enchanting and cinematic, especially the Act II garden scene featuring a multicolored gazebo that is lit from within.
Yet, beneath the elegant trappings and stunning sets is a sweet-spirited romantic comedy that deserves to be seen and heard and appreciated as a thoroughly professional piece of work.
[Reviews of August 2005 Light Opera Works premiere, Evanston, Illinois ]
The new English translation of Lehar’s classic, now available through AmericanPlaywrights, Inc., opened to unanimous rave reviews in its centennial anniversary production at Light Opera Works, Aug., 2005
“Refreshing ‘Merry Widow’ is a delight. The Merry Widow will turn 100 later this year, but you would never guess as much from the frisky charm the old girl continues to exude. A witty new translation by Chicagoans Gregg Opelka and Jack Helbig steered clear of the ham-handedness to which many versions succumb. Many listeners consider Franz Lehar’s tuneful operetta the greatest Viennese confection of its kind. You won’t get any argument from me after seeing Light Opera Works’ engaging new production.” —von Rhein,
“Lavish ‘Widow’ a sparkling, romantic must-see. There are a slew of reasons to take a peek at Light Opera Work’s lavish revival of Lehar’s The Merry Widow. It features a zesty new English adaptation by Jack Helbig and Gregg Opelka that retains all the echoes of an earlier period but is more relaxed and colloquial. And there are plenty of delicious distractions along the way.”—Weiss,
“Widow hits peak! This is the 100th anniversary of The Merry Widow, and Light Opera Works commissioned a new English translation for the occasion. Jack Helbig updated the book with stylish colloquialisms, and Gregg Opelka retranslated the lyrics, leaving some lines familiar and others sounding fresh and new. In all, Light Opera Works gave this enduring, endearing operetta a production well worthy of a centennial celebration.”—
“Tip of the Week. This is a “Widow” that reveals in sharp relief everything that makes this work the unparalleled masterpiece of its genre that it is. It was a huge risk and undertaking for L.O.W. to commission Gregg Opelka and Jack Helbig to make a fresh translation, but the snappy results justify the extravagance.”—
“Beloved operetta bubbles with effervescent style. The ultimate Viennese light opera is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a new translation of lyrics and libretto by
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