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| Alexander Lewis - Julie Lea Goodwin and the cast of Opera Australia's "The Merry Widow" |
Composer: Franz Lehar – Librettists: Viktor Leon, Leo
Stein.
English translation by Justin Fleming.
Conductor: Vanessa Scammell – Director &
choreographer: Graeme Murphy AO
Creative Associated: Janet Vernon AM – Assistant
Director: Cameron Mitchell
Set Designer: Michael Scott-Mitchell - Costume Designer:
Jennifer Irwin
Lighting Designer: Damian Cooper – Sound Designer: Jim
Atkins
Presented by Opera Australia – Joan Sutherland Theatre,
SOH July 8th – Aug.18th, 2026
Opening night performance on July 8th reviewed
by BILL STEPHENS
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| Julie Lea Goodwin (Hanna Glavari) and the male chorus of "The Merry Widow" |
From its Perth premiere in 2017, Graeme Murphy’s exquisite staging of Franz Lehár’s delightful 120-year-old operetta for the Opera Conference was clearly destined to become an audience favourite.
This revival at the Sydney Opera House powerfully
demonstrates why.
From the outset, Michael Scott-Mitchell’s sumptuous Art Deco
set, enhanced by Jennifer Irwin’s lavish costumes and beautifully lit by Damian
Cooper, offers a constant feast for the eyes.
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| Julie Lea Goodwin (Hanna Glavari) and the dancers of Opera Australia's "The Merry Widow" |
Murphy makes full use of Irwin’s flair for designing
costumes for dancers, by creating a series of gorgeous dance sequences:
faux-traditional folk dances for the Pontevedrian party scene, cheeky can-cans
for Maxim’s grisettes, and swooning waltzes for Hanna Glavari and Danilo
Danilovich.
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| Julie Lea and the cast of Opera Australia's "The Merry Widow" singing "Vilja" |
His finely nuanced direction brims with imaginative ideas,
and his handling of the duets is masterly. It is hard to imagine a more
breathtakingly romantic staging of the second-act story-song, “Vilja” which
climaxes with Julie Lea Goodwin as Hanna Glavari seated on a giant water-lily
frond, held aloft by four dancers in a Monet-inspired setting watched by Danilo
from the shadows of the summer house.
Both Julie Lea Goodwin and Alexander Lewis are not only fine
singers but also excellent dancers. With performers of such versatility, Murphy
clearly relishes the chance to surround them with superb dancers and choreography
that showcases their talents.
June Bronhill, herself an acclaimed Hanna Glavari, once observed
that the only way to make operetta work was to play it truthfully. Goodwin and
Lewis clearly understand this.
From the moment Goodwin appears as the wealthy young widow hoping
to rekindle a former love affair, her dazzling smile and lustrous soprano voice
radiate star power.
Lewis is a superb match as her reluctant paramour. Their
scenes together generate a captivating frisson rarely seen on operatic stages,
making them a bewitching pair and giving the production a compelling central
focus.
Alexandra Flood and John Longmuir are also beautifully matched,
singing superbly and playing “A Respectable Wife”, Valencienne, and her ardent
would-be lover, Camille de Rosillon, with charming conviction.
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| Richard Anderson (Kromov) - David Whitney (Baron Mirko Zita) - Tom Hamilton (Konrad Pritschich) - Iaian Henderson (Raoul De St. Brioche) -Alexander Lewis (Danilo Danilovich) - Alexander Hargreaves (Diminik Bogdanovich) -Nathan Lay (Viscount Nicolas Cascada) singing "Women, Women, Women" in Opera Australia's "The Merry Widow" |
The first-rate supporting cast includes David Whitney as
Baron Mirko Zeta, alongside Benjamin Rasheed (Njegus), Richard Anderson
(Kromov), Alexander Hargreaves (Bogdanovich), Jane Ede (Sylviane), Iain
Henderson (de St. Brioche), Nathan Lay (Cascada), Helen Sherman (Olga Kromov),
Tom Hamilton (Pritschich), and Dominica Matthews (Praskovia). All clearly
relish the opportunities in Justin Fleming’s witty libretto to create
delightfully silly, blustering characterisations.
Under Vanessa Scammell’s baton, the Opera Australia
Orchestra gives an impeccable performance, capturing the authentic Viennese
lilt of Franz Lehár’s irresistible score and ensuring this production will remain
a treasured memory for all those fortunate enough to experience it.
Photos
by Carlita Sari
This review first published in CITY NEWS ON 13.06.26
