Rose Valley Chorus and Orchestra's The Merry Widow

Theater: Rose Valley Chorus and Orchestra
Show Title: The Merry Widow
Opened: April 25, 2008
Seen: April 25, 2008
Reviewer: Ryan Bunch
Submitted: May 1, 2008

Following an entertaining production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado last fall, Rose Valley Chorus and Orchestra is rounding out its 100th anniversary season with another of the most popular operettas in the repertoire, Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow. Under the direction of Katherine P. Nealley and music director Susan T. Bullock, RVC&O has put together a production of The Merry Widow with some terrific singing and beautiful design elements.

Anna Glawari, a wealthy widow, attends the birthday party of the Grand Duke of Pontevedro at the Pontevedrian embassy in Paris. Naturally every eligible man in Paris is eager to get close to her “twenty millions,” and the Duke becomes anxious to see her married to a Pontevedrian and keep her fortune within the financially struggling motherland. The man who can do this is Count Danilo, with whom Anna has a romantic history. The two are still in love, but since she has become a widow, Danilo is too proud to express his love for Anna, and she will not have him unless he says “I love you.”

Meanwhile, the Duke’s wife Valencienne is pursued by Camille, the French attaché to the embassy. A misplaced fan inscribed with a love note from Camille to Valencienne puts them in danger of being found out as the Duke himself uses the fan in his investigation of an affair in which he has no idea his wife is a party.

The RVC&O uses the English translation from the German by Christopher Hassel. It has some slight changes in content from the original, but the spirit of the thing is still right. It remains light, charming, and humorously entertaining.

Above all, though, The Merry Widow is highly singable, and this is a singer’s production of the piece. Standing head and shoulders above the rest of the cast in this regard is Jennifer Graf in the role of Anna. She sounds effortless in the beautiful “Vilia” song in Act Two. The other principle singers are more or less uniformly solid as well, with Josiah Donnell (Baron Zeta), Nathalie Dalziel (Valencienne), Ryan Goulden (Danilo), and Daniel Williams (Camille). The chorus sounds terrific, too. If the acting is sometimes on the stiff and self-conscious side, the vocal talents more than make up for it.

The frothy and danceable musical numbers are served well by the choreography, which has an appropriately sprightly touch in songs like “Jogging in a One-Horse Gig,” and “You’re Back Where You First Began.” The costumes (Janice Manley), set design (Julie May) and lighting (Kathy Michael) are attractive, together producing a color scheme that takes us from the elegant black and white formality of the embassy in Act One to the splashy traditional dress and festive decoration of Anna’s garden party in Act Two and the decadent red overtones of Maxime’s nightclub in Act Three.

All of this is icing on the cake, though, for the music and lighthearted intrigue rightfully are the center of attention. Leave your cares and woes at home and go enjoy this classic piece of light comic opera.

The Merry Widow runs through May 3 at Garnet Valley Middle School in Glen Mills, PA. For tickets and information call 610-565-5010 or visit www.rvco.org.

Ryan Bunch is a vocal instructor, writer and composer specializing in musical theater and theater for young audiences. He has provided voice training, musical direction, songwriting, script development and educational services for the Opera Company of Philadelphia, Mainstage Center for the Arts, Center Stage Productions, Chichester School District, West Chester Summer Stage, Renaissance Artist Puppet Company, and the Players Board of Chestnut Hill Academy and Springside School. For additional information visit www.ryanbunch.com.