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The Merry Widow - Scottish Opera

 
Mark Harding Review by Mark Harding 4 Published: 6 Jun 2025 Edinburgh Festival Theatre Show Dates: 29 May 2025-7 Jun 2025

On paper, transposing The Merry Widow from Belle Époque Paris—with diplomats and Ruritanian princes—to 1950s New York and Sicily, with Mafia gangsters, looks like a bold move. But this new version, with lyrics by David Eaton and a book by John Savournin (who also directs), keeps the essence of the original story intact, while allowing the sexism of earlier English-language versions to be wittily reimagined.

Moments where this lighthearted operetta moves into the sublime

The widow of the title is ‘merry’ in the sense that she inherits a vast fortune from her late Sicilian husband and gains the consequent freedom. Don Zeta, a New York Godfather, wants to unite with the Sicilian gang (and gain control of the fortune) by getting his consigliere, Danilo, to seduce and marry her. However, Danilo and the widow share a romantic history, and the wounds (and mutual attraction) have not faded. Meanwhile, Zeta’s gangsters and their wives are embroiled in various affairs—including Zeta’s own wife, Valentina, who is having a dalliance with a French jazz singer.

Savournin’s gangster setting adds both tension and comic subversion, contrasting the public machismo of the wise guys with the way the women control their men in private.

The cast are strong throughout—both in character scenes and in the many group numbers—musically, comedically, and dramatically. They also perform Kally Lloyd-Jones’s non-stop witty and pertinent choreography with flair and verve. Spectacular and ingenious set designs by takis enhance the production.

Savournin’s direction keeps the constant tonal shifts perfectly balanced: slapstick and ribald comedy teeter on the edge of real threat; moments of delicate inhibition sit alongside heartbreak, joy, sadness, and regret. There are comedy songs and moments where this light-hearted operetta touches the sublime.

There are at least three spine-tingling moments. The supernaturally timeless Vilja aria is beautifully sung by Paula Sides, playing the widow. Sides is unerring in her singing throughout the show, ranging from delicate nuance to belting out the showstoppers with panache. She portrays the widow’s complex emotional landscape—emotions that turn on a penny, or are even felt simultaneously—with great skill. Another highlight is Danilo’s Merry Widow Waltz, lifted to spectacular heights by Alex Otterburn’s gorgeous baritone. And there’s an exquisite ensemble piece featuring the principal characters—the widow, Danilo, Zeta (played by Henry Waddington), Valentina (Rhian Lois), and the jazz singer (William Morgan)—in which each sings the same words, but with a different story of heartbroken, hopeless love.

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The Blurb:

Feisty, fabulous and filthy rich, Hanna Glawari is the merriest widow in New York, with a fortune in the bank, a lucrative lemon grove in Sicily, and a stampede of suitors vying for her attention. But money is power, and Mafioso Don Zeta recruits the many talents of wiseguy Danilo, the happiest bachelor in New York, to ensure Hanna’s millions don’t end up married to the wrong man, with license to use any means necessary. Little does Zeta know, however, that Hanna and Danilo have quite the history...

Director John Savournin (Opera Highlights Spring 2022) updates Lehár’s captivating will-they, won’t-they romance, with lavish designs by takis that evoke all the glamour of 1950s Manhattan. A new English translation by Savournin and David Eaton makes the opera’s wit sparkle. Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford conducts The Merry Widow for the first time, with The Orchestra of Scottish Opera bringing this waltz-filled charmer to life in Scotland and throughout its late summer 2025 performances at Opera Holland Park. The cast is led by Paula Sides (Candide 2022) and Alex Otterburn (Greek 2018) as Hanna and Danilo, with Henry Waddington (Greek 2018, also soon to be seen in The Makropulos Affair 2025) as the powerful Don Zeta.

Sung in English with English supertitles