Silly Little Country

Toronto Operetta Theatre's Merry Widow

Wednesday night's production of "The Merry Widow" by Toronto Operetta Theatre was not quite as enjoyable for me as it apparently was for Richard Ouzounian.
Much of what I enjoyed was exactly what he praises in the review linked to - Lehar's music, some of the comedy - , but there were elements of frustration as well. His general praise for the singing went too far for me.

The way she sings "Vilja," turning a folk tale into a saga of personal longing, is sheer magic.

I think I understood about three words of the lyrics in 'Vilja', which is hardly conducive to being caught up in what can be a magical song. And I thought diction was a general problem in all the singing, with the exceptions of Keith O'Brien as Njegus, Stuart Howe as Rosillon, Louisa Cowie as Olga (for the few lines she got), and, often, Theodore Baerg as Danilo. Keith O'Brien's 'Quite Parisian' was perhaps the highlight of the show. Much of the rest of the time I, and the two people I went with, were struggling to figure out what was being said in any of the songs. This simply does not help in an operetta.

Oddly, Elizabeth Beeler's diction was excellent in 'Love Unspoken', which is of course a perfect place for it to arrive. Another piece of Lehar magic.

If I were scoring with stars, I would give three out of four, rather than Ouzounian's four.

The real problem may be that I was spoiled by a production not so long ago exhibiting NONE of these weaknesses, and also characterized by the sort of exuberance that can show up in student productions, and is much harder for a professional company to achieve.

posted by Alan Adamson @ 6:59 AM