Operatic flourish

Press, 7 April 1978, Page 4

Operatic flourish

By

Howard McNaughton

“The Merry Widow." by Franz Lehar, Victor Leon, and Leo Stein. Directed by David Smiles for the Christchurch Operatic Society. Theatre Royal, April 6 to 22. Running time: 8 p.m. to 10.30 p.m. Forty years of the Christ-1 church Operatic Society—and what more appropriate way of celebrating it than with this flamboyant classic of light opera, done with the sort of birthday flourish that augurs a long and prosperous middle age! And what more apposite location than the Theatre, Royal, splendidly decked out for the occasion by the society, and sporting a couple of colossal Pontevedrian por t'aits under the busts of the playwrights in residence. I ven thing is the r e for an anruversarv triumph, and the society has pandered to itsi audience’s tastes on a lavish

i scale, everyone obviously contributing his best. Dobbs Franks does the musical direction, and conducts the 24-piece concert group of the Canterbury Orchestra with a liveliness* that reinforces the creditable continuity of the whole show. George Williams excels! himself with some highly eritertaining choreography, Di-1 ane Brodie has conceived a> wardrobe which does a great 1 ■ deal for the comic warmth of the production, and lan Boswell’s sets exploit the depth of the big stage excellently. Again, David Smiles’s background in straight theatre is evident in the, commendable degree of character interaction he, achieves among his cast, and in his very satisfying control of mood. The singing, however, must| be the pivot of the show, and,, if I had reservations aboutj diction and projection at interval time, these were all 'dispelled when the cast;

z moved into top gear for the last two acts. Here, Elisabeth Hellawell was delightful in her “Vilia” : solo, and then moved into “Driving in the Park” with d Robert J. Naysmith, a duet : which presented both sing:;ers at their best, accompanied by some highly diverting production details. j Of the rest of this exceli lent cast, one must single J out Brian Deavoll and Maitland Gard’ner for their very amusing and confident peri lormances, Yvonne Martin I and Christopher Smith for i their management of the subplot intrigue. Michael Mills and Haroid Beesley for their ! foppish duo, and, collectively, 'the male chorus for its supporting work and •Women! Women! Women!” A celebratory production on this scale cannot be i without its imperfections, (but they become virtually iri relevant in a work which epitomises the appeal of the Operatic Society to its ex(tensive audience of devotees.