The Merry Widow
- TV Movie
- 2005
- 2h 30m
YOUR RATING
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Did you know
- ConnectionsVersion of A Viúva Alegre (1909)
Featured review
Christmas turkey
There is life in this old warhorse, as I discovered when I watched the 2002 film version starring Yvonne Kenny and Angelica Kirchschlager. On the strength of it I went to see Welsh National Opera's new production starring Lesley Garrett. These days Lesley Garrett is better known as a cross-over diva but I am a great admirer of both her singing and acting ability, so I was keen to see this, her first straight operatic role in five years. Sadly the production was a disaster receiving savage notices from most of the opera critics in the national press. The BBC presumably bought it sight unseen. When they realized what a turkey they had, they buried it one lunchtime in the post-Christmas schedules.
The faults of the production are even more evident in this film production than they were in the live performance. Most of the budget seems to have been exhausted in engaging the services of Miss Garrett and in making the series of spectacular costumes that she wears. The sets are tatty and most of the cast are third-rate, giving the impression that the diva is making a guest appearance in an amateur production in one's local scout-hall.
The directors are Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser the Gallic duo who seem to be making a speciality of cut-price opera productions for British companies. The sets have no depth to them, all of the action being crushed into the front of the stage. This is mystifying given that the production was originally designed for the stage of the new Cardiff Millennium Theatre. Act II in this production is set not in Hanna's garden but in her house, so the summerhouse where the clandestine lovers hide is inexplicably plonked in the middle of her drawing room. Act III, at Chez Maxim is so cramped that the dancers Lolo, Dodo, Jou-Jou, Frou-Frou, Clo-Clo and Margo have scarcely got room to spell their names never mind perform a can-can.
Lesley Garrett looks and sounds wonderful, particularly dressed in a white silk Russian Hussar's outfit singing "Vilia". However, one disadvantage of having her in an operetta rather than an opera is that the spoken dialogue is in her broad Yorkshire accent. Jeffrey Black as Danilo is charmless and not up to the task vocally. Irritatingly, he chain-smokes throughout the production. Listening to him nearly drove me to drink. The gangling Tracey Welborn is effective vocally as de Rosillon, particularly in his solo "I know a place where we can go". He and Ailish Tynan, as Valencienne make an unlikely pair, rather like a ferret wooing a hamster. In fact insufficient attention has been given to the visual in most of the casting. The ladies and gentlemen of the WNO chorus may pass muster when dressed as Italian peasants but it requires some suspension of disbelief when viewing them as Parisian sophisticates. Only the men's chorus of "Who can tell what the hell women are?" achieves any sort of excitement. But the few musical high spots in this production never come anywhere near to compensating for the acres of tedious spoken dialogue
The faults of the production are even more evident in this film production than they were in the live performance. Most of the budget seems to have been exhausted in engaging the services of Miss Garrett and in making the series of spectacular costumes that she wears. The sets are tatty and most of the cast are third-rate, giving the impression that the diva is making a guest appearance in an amateur production in one's local scout-hall.
The directors are Patrice Caurier and Moshe Leiser the Gallic duo who seem to be making a speciality of cut-price opera productions for British companies. The sets have no depth to them, all of the action being crushed into the front of the stage. This is mystifying given that the production was originally designed for the stage of the new Cardiff Millennium Theatre. Act II in this production is set not in Hanna's garden but in her house, so the summerhouse where the clandestine lovers hide is inexplicably plonked in the middle of her drawing room. Act III, at Chez Maxim is so cramped that the dancers Lolo, Dodo, Jou-Jou, Frou-Frou, Clo-Clo and Margo have scarcely got room to spell their names never mind perform a can-can.
Lesley Garrett looks and sounds wonderful, particularly dressed in a white silk Russian Hussar's outfit singing "Vilia". However, one disadvantage of having her in an operetta rather than an opera is that the spoken dialogue is in her broad Yorkshire accent. Jeffrey Black as Danilo is charmless and not up to the task vocally. Irritatingly, he chain-smokes throughout the production. Listening to him nearly drove me to drink. The gangling Tracey Welborn is effective vocally as de Rosillon, particularly in his solo "I know a place where we can go". He and Ailish Tynan, as Valencienne make an unlikely pair, rather like a ferret wooing a hamster. In fact insufficient attention has been given to the visual in most of the casting. The ladies and gentlemen of the WNO chorus may pass muster when dressed as Italian peasants but it requires some suspension of disbelief when viewing them as Parisian sophisticates. Only the men's chorus of "Who can tell what the hell women are?" achieves any sort of excitement. But the few musical high spots in this production never come anywhere near to compensating for the acres of tedious spoken dialogue
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- Gyran
- Oct 23, 2008
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