When “The Merry Widow” opens on Friday, the premier production of the University Opera season, director Sheri Williams Pannell, a third-year directing master of fine arts candidate, will exhibit her best efforts to marry the finest attributes of legitimate theater — a type of theater that depends solely on experienced words and movements and in high contrast to opera — and operetta. By combining her vast amount of experience in both fields, Pannell aspires to navigate the common pitfalls of opera performance by delivering a comprehensible and accessible show that plays to the great comedy of the piece while retaining the lyric beauty and elegance of operatic performance conventions.
“The Merry Widow,” by composer Franz Leh?r and librettists Viktor L?on and Leo Stein, is a lighthearted operetta. The show details the romantic exploits of Pontevedrian (Pontevedro, a fictitious European country) high society in and around the Paris Embassy near the turn of the 20th century. Hanna, a recently widowed prominent Pontevedrian, has inherited a fortune in the sum of 20 million francs from her husband. If she were to remarry a foreigner, her vast wealth would disappear from the tiny country’s economy, bankrupting the fragile nation. The Baron Zeta, aware of this danger, tries his best to match Hanna with the Count Danilo, a Pontevedrian nationalist.
As is common in operetta, a complicated past, combined with cases of mistaken identity and supplementary love stories, prevents Hanna and the Count from realizing their true love. Throughout Acts I and II, the audience learns that Camille, the French attach? to the Pontevedrian Embassy, loves the Baron’s wife, while the Baron is led to believe that Camille is instead interested in Hanna. The plot takes increasingly ludicrous turns until in Act III a series of convenient revelations illuminate all the various misunderstandings, and Hanna and Danilo can finally be united.
Pannell brings a blend of theatrical and operatic performance that she hopes will coalesce on stage into an integrated and dynamic performance. Stereotypically, opera singers have gained a certain infamy for the lack of acting skill — with phrases like “park and bark” and “plant and sing” frequently used to describe their expected acting prowess. But Pannell, with 14 seasons as a chorister at the Florentine Opera Company in Milwaukee and the Skylight Opera Company in Milwaukee and years on the dramatic stage under her belt, expects much more from her performers.
“Being a former opera singer, I bring a sensitivity to the opera singer. I understand the demands on them to create a beautiful sound. … I don’t ask them to do things that will compromise the beautiful tone they are capable of producing…” Pannell explained. “But because the singers come to me with different acting abilities, I have to take on a greater role as acting coach. With the younger singers, the less experienced singers, I’ve been guiding them, really helping them develop their ideas.”
This emphasis on acting choices can aid the clarity of operetta, where convoluted comedic frenzy is the norm, and the singers must convey much through speech rather than song. But Pannell assures that her company will work to guarantee this common problem won’t be a concern.
“Because this is operetta and there are monologues and dialogue, we’ve been working hard to make sure we are as clear as possible so that the audience can follow the action of the comedy,” she said.
As for the lyrical conventions of opera, Pannell explained that she wanted to leave the grace and luxury of “The Merry Widow” intact.
“I have tried to keep the show in its original interpretation. … It’s such a beautiful time period in terms of clothing. And although the set is very minimalist, I wanted to make sure that everything in the set displayed the beauty in craftsmanship at the time: Gold and elegant chandeliers and beautiful treatments on the floor … And of course the music is beautiful.”
When asked why an audience would want to come see her show, Pannell responded by saying:
“Everyone loves stories about true love, the idea that love conquers all.”
While this may be true, there are many other reasons to check out “The Merry Widow.” If Pannell is half as successful at eliciting the conviction from her singers as she desires, while maintaining their vocal integrity, then the show will undoubtedly make for an entertaining evening.
Performances of “The Merry Widow” will be held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 24, Tuesday, Oct. 28, and Sunday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. in Music Hall. Student tickets cost $10 and can be purchased from the Union Theatre Box Office, 608-262-2201.
