The Merry Widow – Review of 2023 Toronto Operetta Theatre Production

TORONTO OPERETTA THEATRE, like the feisty bunny in a battery commercial, does not give up. General Director Guillermo-Silva Marin continues to provide Toronto with quality productions of operetta since 1985. It is something that no other Canadian city can come close to let alone beat.
TOT closes 2023 with four performances of one of the hallmarks of the genre, Franz Lehar’s The Merry Widow. As usual Marin does it with at least one hand tied behind his back (or does he have hands and feet tied up) and refuses to deprive us of the pleasure of operetta. The problem, in case you did not guess it, is financial but there are dedicated lovers of operetta and generous donors to keep TOT going.
This is TOT’s sixth production of that delectable work but some of us still need a nudge of a reminder of its plot. We are in the Parisian embassy of the famous Kingdom of Pontevedro. Without IMF, the country is going broke and it can only be saved by Madame Glawari’s fifty million francs, a fortune she acquired by the timely death of her old husband. She must marry a Pontevedran and keep the money in her old country otherwise the great nation will go to hell in a handbasket or suffer such other simile or metaphor that you may prefer.
Issue 1. Where can we find a suitable husband for her? The problem was faced by librettists Viktor Leon and Leo Stein and they settled on the great and suitable Count Danillo (Nathan Keoughan) who is tall, blond, handsome, broke and working for the Pontevedrian embassy in Paris. His stated reluctance to marry will not last through the third act.
Issue 2. Valencienne (Olivia Morton), the wife of Ambassador Baron Zeta, is more than mildly interested in Vicomte Camille (Matt Chittick), a Frenchman, and he is unmildly interested in her and we are in dire danger of seeing her disobeying One of the Big Ten Commandments. He even writes “I love you” on her fan and you know she will lose it and we tremble with the possible consequences. There are visitors and embassy personnel but let’s concentrate on the main stories and the songs and dances that they generate.
Canadian soprano Jonelle Sills makes a feisty and full-voiced Madame Glawari who sounds fine in midrange and can belt out high note fortissimo when necessary. Her pretend reluctant suitor Danilo is represented with vocal vigor and strong physical presence by baritone Keoughan. He has a good voice and he and Sills sound excellent in their two duets, “The Cavalier” and “Love Unspoken”.
Olivia Morton and Matt Chittick as almost-lovers get splendid vocal exposure and they do excellent work. They sing two duets, “A Respectful Wife” and “Love in my heart” beautifully but we do not approve of their (happily avoided) adultery.
The reason for our disapproval is the fact that we like Baron Zeta, especially as played by Gregory Finney. Finney does not get much solo exposure but he is a master comic and as always delivers a superb performance.
The Merry Widow provides some splendid opportunities for some merry kick-your-heels-up dancing but that is not the forte of the cast, especially the seven Girls at Maxim’s who do kick their heels pleasantly but unevenly. To be fair none of the “dancers” seems to have any training for the task. They are singers.
The operetta premiered in December 1905 but Silva-Marin lends a hand to them to give the plot current resonance by bringing in Premier Doug Ford, obnoxious billionaire Elon Musk and numerous other current personalities to good effect.
The 11-member “orchestra” lined up around the skirt of the stage does a fine job under the baton of Derek Bate. They are a major component for keeping operetta alive in Toronto.
The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár was performed four times between December 29, 2023, and January 2, 2024 at the Jane Mallett Theatre, St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts, 27 Front Street East, Toronto, Ontario.  www.torontooperetta.com