© Mary Evans Picture Library

Operetta may be seen and heard again, and even in the poshest opera houses it appears in the repertoire these days.

Die Lustige Witwe is often chosen, and not without reason: this is a beautiful work, full of wonderful melodies and witty dialogue.

Helmuth Lohner, originally a film and stage actor and also an operetta singer has been concentrating on directing in recent years and he does so superbly. His 2004 production from Zurich is very traditional, rich in colour and movement, and his satirical characterisation of the characters makes perfect sense.

He does allow himself a small ˜adaptation”: after the men’s sextet ˜Wie die Weiber”, he has the women sing an equivalent of it.

Initially I had a bit of trouble with the somewhat shrill Dagmar Schellenberg (Hanna), but gradually she gets better and better and she really redeems herself with a perfectly performed Vilja song.

Rodney Gilfrey is an irresistibly charming and sexy Danilo, Ute Gferer a kitschy Valencienne, and Piotr Beczala revives the good old days of a Kiepura with his beautiful, lyrical tenor (Arthaus Music 100451)

THE MERRY WIDOW

Yes, it’s in English. So what? The ˜unvergessliche süsse Melodien” sound no less beautiful. This production of Franz Lehár’s Die Lustige Witwe by San Francisco Opera is simply wonderful.

In 2003, The Merry Widow was the last production by Lotfi Mansouri, the face of San Francisco Opera for more than forty years. A new English translation of the libretto, of its French version!, was produced for the occasion. In it, the last act does not take place at Hanna’s home, but in the real ˜Maxim’s”.

Mansouri sees Hanna as an already somewhat mature woman, who should be sung by a singer who has already been performing the Marschallin. Into this concept Yvonne Kenny fits wonderfully and she makes her role debut with it. She possesses a brilliant stage personality, her voice is creamy, velvety and enchanting.

Bo Skovhus, too, is a Danilo true to Mansouri’s vision: youthful and irresistibly attractive. His voice rings like a bell, he is a gifted actor and a superb dancer.

Angelika Kirschschlager and Gregory Turay excel as Valencienne and Camille, and the rest of the cast is also outstanding. A wonderful production (Opus Arte OA 0836 D)

BONUS