The Merry Widow, the Metropolitan Opera HD Live, review: 'no wit, no sparkle'

Despite Andrew Davis's blameless conducting, the live relay of the Met's production of Lehar's operetta disappointed

Renée Fleming as Hanna Glawari in Lehár's The Merry Widow
Renée Fleming as Hanna Glawari in Lehár's The Merry Widow Credit: Photo: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera

The great operettas are like soufflés - only delicious if the ingredients are perfect and the timing has been spot-on. The Metropolitan Opera’s lavish new production of Lehar’s The Merry Widow emerges from the oven disappointingly stolid, as though lead has been sprinkled into the mix in place of stardust. The result isn’t inedible, but the flavours don’t mingle and melt as they can when a master chef is in charge.

Far too much money has been thrown at Susan Stroman’s production: a couple of seasons back, Opera North had far more fun with the piece on a tenth of the budget. Quite apart from the excessive dialogue, the show is weighed down by a literal-minded evocation of Belle Epoque glamour (sets by Julian Crouch, costumes by William Ivey Long) and a tamely prim frilly-knicker attitude to the implicit sexual naughtiness.

It’s not incompetent by any means: everything moves slickly, the characters are clearly drawn and the bizarre intrigue over Valencienne’s fan and the pavilion makes sense for once. Jeremy Sams has done a good job trawling the rhyming dictionary job for his crisp translation, and come the third act, Stroman’s Chez Maxim can-can finally injects a burst of pizzazz into the proceedings. Otherwise what should be soft-shoe nimble was hob-nailed clunking: no wit, no sparkle, no imagination.

Andrew Davis emerges blameless: he conducted the Met’s superb orchestra with flair and grace, neither pushing the score too hard nor letting it fall slack. “Lippen schweigen” - which I sometimes rate as the most beautiful tune written in the 20th century - had just the right lilting nonchalance.

And in another setting Renee Fleming might make a lovely Hanna Glawari. Now in her mid 50s and losing some lustre of tone, she’s wisely moving her career into a different gear and making her Broadway debut later this year. The relatively modest vocal demands of this role pose her no problems and she can still spin exquisite head notes. Despite an unflattering wig, she persuasively acts the middle-aged glamour girl and romantic schemer. What she needs to suggest more forcefully is the tart farmer’s daughter who married up in the world: it’s Hanna's common touch that gives her a subtle allure.

Nathan Gunn sang competently as Danilo, but lacks the goofy George Clooney charm that should make him endearing. Alek Shrader and Kelli O’Hara were sweet young lovers in the sub-plot, and Thomas Allen as the cuckolded Baron Zeta and Carson Elrod as his camp sidekick Njegus provided mildly amusing comic turns.

Joyce DiDonato was the over-ingratiating backstage host, reading off autocue rather too obviously and anchoring some dismally uninformative backstage coverage. There’s room for improvement with this aspect of the relays.