Author: Kevin Proctor
I’ve heard it said that ‘The Merry Widow’ is at its best when performed in intimate, unpretentious venues as opposed to lavish grand opera houses so Hope Mill is a virtuous space for COMO to return to this year for their stripped back interpretation of this illustrious piece.
Looking back at the previous endeavours by this company I have no doubt that they could’ve presented this piece in its original language, without fazing them in the slightest. However, the Jeremy Sams English version was the choice for this presentation which, rather selfishly, was the option I was hoping for.
For the most part we were given a monochrome colour theme throughout the set, costumes and props which gave the presentation a prominent inscription making the inclusion of bold colours as the story unfolded all the more striking. I favoured the simple and uncomplicated design which complimented the space and did what it needed to do without much fuss.
Juan Ortuño conducted the orchestra from their gazebo-esque bandstand with flair and grace, neither pushing the score too hard nor letting it fall slack, proffering a solid foundation for this celebrated operetta.
Rachel Abbott and Ryan Hunt as Valencienne and Camille were both in fine voice performing some of the more stand out and memorable renditions of the production. As a pair, they didn’t quite pull off the sweet young lover sub-plot but individually they conveyed what they needed to for the story to read and as I’m sure the director did when casting, I found myself making excuses for the fact they weren’t an assuring match but if you’re like many who simply want to relish in wonderful vocal performances, you’d not be disappointed.
The cuckolded husband, Baron Zeta, was aptly played by Jordan Harding-Pointon who relished the bumbling fool, despite being (at least) twenty years too young he was an agreeable choice given his accurate knack and interpretation of the role.
The ‘Can-Can’ injects a burst of pizzazz and life into the proceedings from a young troupe of dancers, I was pleased at the choice to include some of the other cast members into parts of the routine which helped to smooth out the evident gap between the vocalists / members of COMO and the dancers who’d been shoe horned in to perform choreography where required.
David Cane sang competently as Danilo with an endearing goofy charm opposite the title character played by the sumptuous vocalist Lorna Rushton. Vocally, this score is a walk in the park for Lorna and though her songs were performed with expertise which were, as always, an absolute joy to behold she struggled with articulation when singing and when delivering the libretto as I failed to understand much of what was actually being said and sung though an impressive sound nonetheless thanks to her impeccable dynamics with ‘Vilja’ being the choice rendition of her performance. David (as Danilo) wasn’t as suave as I’d have liked though he had an agreeable cultivated air about him. The duet scenes between David and Lorna, whether arguing, dancing or singing, were a delight and kept us interested in their narrative.
We were given an avenue / catwalk style setup for the performance space with the audience sat on two sides which helped to keep the production as intimate as possible to the point I had the merry widow herself sitting on my knee.
The lighting design offered splashes of ‘specials’ to create gimmicky moments that could be seen as being out of style for this genre, however, lighting this type of layout is not easy and did present some black spots leaving some faces in darkness at unfortunate points.
Kudos to the ladies and gentlemen of the chorus as the ensemble work on display here was the tightest I’ve seen by COMO to date both from a vocal perspective and shifting around the space.
‘The Merry Widow’ is regarded as the Queen of the operettas and, under the direction of Nigel Machin, COMO gave a creditable execution of this regal gem.