Lotfi_Mansuri

Die Lustige Witwe and The Merry Widow

© 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



Dame Joan Sutherland says goodbye to the operatic stage with Meyerbeer’s Les Huguenots

Hugenoten Sutherland


 Les Huguenots, once one of the most successful operas in the history of the Paris Opera, had the misfortune, along with its creator, to be labelled ‘Entartet’ (degenerate) by the Nazis. One of the reasons why the work was ignored for decades and was only sporadically performed.

Marguerite de Valois has always been one of Joan Sutherland’s favourite roles, she sang her in 1962 at La Scala, and she chose to sing her in her last opera production on stage, on  October 2, 1990 in Sydney.

The voice of the over 60-year old La Stupenda is not so solid anymore, but her height and her coloratura are still very much present, and apart from Amanda Thane (Valentine) and the really splendid Suzanne Johnston (Page), none of the singers manage to perform at her level. The acting is very good and the inevitable ballet is anything but irritating.SusSuzanne_Johnston

The costumes and the scenery are true-to-life and evocatively beautiful, and the entire stage most resembles a large, seventeenth-century painting. The very traditional production is not only beautiful to look at, but also insanely exciting: this is proof that a good director (Lotfi Mansuri) does not need concepts.

Dame Joan Sutherland neemt afscheid van het operatoneel met Les Huguenots van Meyerbeer

Hugenoten Sutherland

Les Huguenots, ooit één van de meest succesvolle opera’s in de geschiedenis van de Parijse Opera, had het ongeluk om, samen met haar schepper, door de Nazi’s als ‘Entartet’ (ontaard) bestempelt te worden. Een van de redenen waarom het werk decennialang werd genegeerd en maar sporadisch uitgevoerd.

Marguerite de Valois is altijd één van de favoriete rollen van Dame Joan Sutherland geweest. Zij zong haar al in 1962 in La Scala en ze koos ervoor om haar te zingen in haar laatste operaproductie op het toneel, op 2 oktober 1990 in Sydney.

De stem van de ruim 60-jarige La Stupenda is niet zo vast meer, maar haar hoogte en haar coloraturen mogen er nog steeds wezen en op Amanda Thane (Valentine) en de werkelijk schitterende Suzanne Johnston (Page) na haalt geen van de zangers haar niveau. Er wordt wel heel erg goed geacteerd en ook het onvermijdelijke ballet is allesbehalve irritant.

De kostuums en het decor zijn natuurgetrouw en beeldend mooi, en het hele toneel lijkt het meest op een groot, zeventiende-eeuws schilderij. De zeer traditionele productie is niet alleen prachtig om te zien om ook waanzinnig spannend: zie hier het bewijs dat een goede regisseur (Lotfi Mansuri) geen concepten nodig heeft om een boeiend theater te maken.

Giacomo Meyerbeer
Les Huguenots
Joan Sutherland, Amanda Thane, Anson Austin, Suzanne Johnston; The Elisabethan Sydney Orchestra olv Richard Bonynge
Regie: Lotfi Mansuri
Opus Arte OA F4024 D

Overtuigende Les Huguenots in Brussel