This rich and colourful adaptation of The Merry Widow arrives in Buxton as an absolute treat at its delightful opera house. The operetta was originally written for Vienna in the early 1900s, but this version, adapted for Scottish Opera, D’Oyly Carte Opera and Opera Holland Park by John Savournin and David Eaton, is set in New York and Sicily in the 1950s. The financial crisis is not one facing the state of Pontevedro, as in the original, but the criminal empire of New York Mafia godfather Don Zita. It is an inspired choice for a modernisation, retaining the central romantic story of the original while adding a host of new jokes – and some intriguing new lyrics. Rhyming ‘lobster’ and ‘mobster’ gets my vote!
Hanna Glawari is the wealthy widow of a Sicilian mafioso and has inherited his business – lemon tree plantations. Mobster Don Zita in New York needs to bolster his empire and wants his consigliere, Danilo, to marry her and bring her fortune into the “family”. Meanwhile, the don’s wife Valentina has been involved in an affair with the jazz singer Rosillon. Hanna arrives in New York and it turns out that she and Danilo were lovers some years earlier, before parting in anger. It becomes clear, however, that they still love each other, but neither will admit it. They help to ensure that Valentina’s affair ends without bloodshed. Other suitors pursue Hanna. They all visit Sicily to attend a party at her mansion there, but eventually they return to Maxim’s Nightclub in New York where the inevitable happy ending takes place.
I saw the version staged at Holland Park in 2025 and greatly enjoyed it, but this production is even better. Apart from Paula Sides’ star turn as the widow herself, the key roles are all taken by different artists. Sides is the complete performer – a fine actor who can sing and dance. Her yearning to rekindle her romance with Danilo, and her determination to persuade him to be honest about his feelings, rise above the clichés of operetta.
Baritone Dominic Sedgwick, an alumnus of the Jette Parker programme at the Royal Opera, is an almost perfect choice to play Danilo. With “matinee idol” good looks and a voice that never sacrifices melody for power, he brings the almost thwarted love affair with Hanna vividly to life. As Don Zita, Richard Burkhard uses his rich baritone voice and his talent for comic timing to give the role all the dramatic force that the godfather theme requires. He talks a lot about “sleeping with the fishes” and “horses’ heads in beds”, but there is a sentimental streak too.
As his errant wife Valentina, Elizabeth Karani, unrecognisable in her platinum blonde wig, brings more romantic depth to the role than might be expected and finds pathos in the way she ends her affair with jazz singer Camille, played by Luke Sinclair. A word of praise also goes to two cameo roles: the ever-reliable Matthew Kellett is genuinely funny as the don’s gopher Nicky Negus, and Amy J Payne squeezes every drop of comedy out of her turn as Olga, the battle-axe wife of a foreign gangster. Iwan Davies, conducting the Buxton International Festival Orchestra, finds just the right pace to allow the comedy and pathos to flourish.
Given the different demands of the theatres for which the production was designed, the set is a masterpiece. The Don’s apartment, with its New York skyline view in Act 1, is immediately eye-catching. The widow’s Sicilian palazzo in Act 2 transforms smoothly into Chez Maxim for Act 3 – it looks good and works beautifully on the relatively small Buxton stage.
Director John Savournin is perhaps best known for his brilliant Gilbert and Sullivan productions. With the support of his successor Bence Kalo, there is a great deal of G&S wit and energy evident here. And I still love the dancing corpse in Act 2.
The opera offering of the Buxton Festival this year is brilliantly varied – from the first surviving opera by a woman, written in 1625, to a blockbuster version of La traviata premiered in 1853. This joyful and funny Merry Widow is well worth its place in this impressive line-up.
Buxton International Festival
Composer: Franz Lehár
Libretto: Leon and Stein (adapted by Savournin and Eaton)
Conductor: Iwan Davies
Director: John Savournin (revival by Bence Kalo)
Performers incl: Paula Sides, Dominic Sedgwick, Richard Burkhard, Elizabeth Karani
Running time: 2 hours 45 minutes
Dates: until 24 July