(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

“The Merry Widow,” an operetta in three acts by Franz Lehár with libretto by Victor Léon and Leo Stein, is based on Henri Meilhac’s comedy play “L’Attaché d’ambassade” (1861). The first performance took place in Vienna, Theater an der Wien, on December 30, 1905. The operetta’s newest Italian version production was featured at this season’s Macerata Opera Festival by the Arena Sferisterio Association and Director Arnaud Bernard at the Sferisterio Arena in Macerata, Italy.

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

Soprano Mihaela Marcu as Hanna Glawari (a wealthy widow) performed the title role along with a stellar cast including Alessandro Scotto di Luzio as Count Danilo Danilovitsch (First Secretary of the Pontevedrin embassy and Hanna’s former lover), Alberto Petricca as Baron Mirko Zeta (the Ambassador), Cristin Arsenova as Valencienne (Baron Zeta’s wife), Valerio Borgioni as Camille, Count de Rosillon (French attaché to the embassy and the Baroness’s admirer), Marco Simeoli as Njegus (the Embassy Secretary), Stefano Consolini as Kromow (Pontevedrin embassy counsellor), Giacomo Medici as Bogdanovitch (Pontevedrin consul), Laura Esposito as Sylviane (Bogdanovitch’s wife), Francesco Pittari as Raoul de St Brioche (French diplomat), Cristiano Olivieri as Vicomte Cascada (Latin diplomat), Federica Sardella as Olga (Kromow’s wife), Davide Pelissero as Pritschitsch (Embassy consul), and Elena Serra as Praskowia (Pritschitsch’s wife).

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

The dancers for this production included Alessandro Scavello, Alessia Pagani, Andrea Maceratesi, Anna Gargiulo, Cecilia Gentile, Chiara Cioci, Chiara Coppotelli, Chiara Pacioni, Cristian Cece, Cristiana Lucifora, Danilo Monardi, Francesco Mastromauro, Glenda Messina, Greta Martucci, Laura Bufano, Luigi Geraci Vilotta, Matteo Giudetti, Rocco Stifani, Veronica Gori, and Vincenza Brini, with choreography by Assistant Director Gianni Santucci.

Adaptation of the text was by Gianni Santucci with set design by Riccardo Massironi, costumes by Maria Carla Ricotti, and lighting design by Fiammetta Baldiserri.

Conductor Marco Alibrando lead the orchestra with enthusiasm throughout this production, creating an enjoyable night for everyone. “The Merry Widow” is a complex operetta with many characters intertwining along the way to ensure the titular ‘merry widow,’ Hanna Glawari, is happily partnered. Musically it is not as complex as the synopsis, and so there is a buffer for audiences who may not follow along entirely with the multilayered plot. This new production makes it easy for one to fall in love with the music and let the unfurling drama remain onstage, as one does when watching a movie onscreen.

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

Production & Musical Details

Mihaela Marcu as Hanna Glawari and Cristin Arsenova as Valencienne managed to overcome acoustic obstacles that made their performances the strongest of the night. They both alternated their voices between open air singing and amplified speaking to accommodate audience members in any seating assignment (as did most of the cast). At first, this was distracting. However, as the operetta continued it became just another aspect of this production that made it feel like the live performance of an old fashioned ‘talkie.’ This impression came together well as the stage design was a mixture of classical furniture and traditional settings as seen in movies made in the 1920s. The low-beaming lights mixed with the typical black tie attire and magically washed over the whole production, transforming it into something new for this season’s Macerata Opera Festival stage. OperaWire had attended the “Rigoletto” production just the night before, so this proved to be a fascinating contrast.

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

Marcu vocally excelled. Her natural chemistry with her castmates and her presence made this production exciting. Her most famous aria of the night, ‘Es lebt’ eine Vilja’ (Vilia), was also a major highlight. Her voice resonated with a rich quality and projected over the orchestra and into the entire arena. Her vocal technique supported her as she did this and her ornamentations were refined. Conductor Alibrando did an excellent job with the tempo and orchestra in supporting her shining moment. The audience applauded generously after this aria and wanted to experience it again. This single moment seemed to break through the veil of the entire production, making Hanna more human and not as overly produced as the other characters in the plot. It was like the movie took a pause and the actual character stepped out of the screen while singing this aria. I have not experienced something like this before and it really was a metatheatrical moment of surprise.

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

The self-awareness from this moment onwards catapulted the drama into high gear, seeking a grand resolve to the mysteries of love, lust, and power that surrounded so many characters at once. The production remained balanced in its stationary sets: the characters’ costumes and actions, whenever onstage, were seen as top priority. Again, this made it feel like watching a film: the music became moments of relief between the drama. Alibrando and the orchestra pin-pointed this and Lehár’s composition swelled in and out with grandiosity. “The Merry Widow” came across as regal and refined, veering away from annoying entanglements that so many modern productions get snared in when trying to outdo ‘the next.’ This production kept an intelligent grasp on what this operetta can be when given just the right amount of attention to get there: simple entertainment in its own design.

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)

The dancers were a vital element to the production with their exquisite technique, joyful presence, uplifting comic relief, and overall exciting choreography. Audience members applauded the dancers and some even stood up to dance in the audience themselves. The ‘can-can’ dance and French cabaret motif of this production made “The Merry Widow” a genuine timepiece set in motion with very talented creatives making thoughtful and well-designed choices. Bravissimo!

(Photo: Alia Simoncini)