Music by Franz Lehar
Music arranged by Melvin Tay
Directed by Ylaria Rogers
Conducted by Louis Sharpe
National Opera Canberra
Q Theatre, Queanbeyan to August 25.
Reviewed by Len Power 23 August 2024
This well-known operetta, first performed in Vienna in 1905, was a good choice for National Opera. It has remained in the international repertoire constantly since its first performance. With its gorgeous musical score and colourful, easy to follow story, it is a firm audience favourite.
Opening at a ball in the embassy in Paris of the poverty-stricken Balkan principality of Pontevedro, the ambassador, Baron Zeta, is scheming that his first secretary, Count Danilo Danilovitsch, will marry a guest at the ball, widow, Hanna Glawari. This will ensure that the large amount of money she has inherited stays in the country. Unfortunately, Count Danilo is more interested in spending his time these days at Maxim’s, a popular Paris nightclub.
This production is notable for the high standard of singing by the principals and chorus. As the widow, soprano Sarah Darnley-Stuart sings the role beautifully and is a commanding presence, giving a charming and believable characterization as the widow.
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| Wally Allington (Count Danilo) and Sarah Darnley-Stuart (Hanna Glawari, the widow) |
At the opening night, the cover for the role of Count Danilo, Wally Allington, gave a strong, confident performance and sang it very well. There was also fine singing by Damian Arnold as Camille de Rosillon and Alira Prideaux as Valencienne, but the ‘open fly’ gag for Camille was crass and has no place in operetta.
Max Gambale gave a nicely sinister performance as Bogdanovitch, the military attache, and sang very well and the Grisettes, from Kix Arts Productions, wowed the audience with “The Girls at Maxim’s” dance number.
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| Alira Prideaux (centre) with the Grisettes |
The minor characters and chorus all sang very well but there was a lack of depth and even an awkwardness in the performances of many of the company. It was not enough to just be able to sing well, these upper-class sophisticates needed distinctive characterizations of style and elegance.
The chamber orchestra, conducted by Louis Sharpe, gave a sensitive performance of the score. Designed by Eryn Marshall, the setting with its drapery gave height and a sense of grandness to the upper-class society locations, but the central rostra with the side steps looked more of a compromise rather than a grand entrance. The women’s costumes, co-ordinated by Helen Wojtas, were well chosen and colourful while the men’s costumes were dull and uninteresting.
Nevertheless, the charm of this show, particularly its music and singing, managed to overcome the uneven acting and made it an entertaining evening, showing why this operetta is still popular with audiences.
Photos by Peter Hislop
Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.
