Primi Divi

English National Opera

Forget The Merry Widow for a moment. Hairy McMungo is a very Merry Father (no nothing to do with whisky) of TWO beautiful lassies. Hairy’s wee Caledonia, no Hairy’s bonny lassie Caledonia is delighted with her wee sister Imogen. Hairy would rather have called her Iona but Mrs McMungo says Imogen is from the Celtic name Innogen and all the best Celts came from Scotland.

But this is supposed to be a (p)review of The Merry Widow and Hairy is sure you’d rather hear about what his psychic powers are telling him about ENO’s new opera than what his psychic powers are telling him about the next episode in his wee bairns’ lives which will be a nappy change.

The best-known singer in The Merry Widow is probably the young tenor sensation Alfie Boe who left the ROH Young Artist Programme in order to sing Rodolfo in La boheme on Broadway, a very lucrative and therefore sensible move. Boe has made two chart-topping albums and he’s the only artist to be nominated for two Classical Brit awards this year. He doesn’t have two beautiful daughters although Hairy McMungo believes Boe’s first child is on the way.

Boe isn’t the best tenor in the world or even in this production (not many tenors would be when John Graham-Hall is in the cast) but Hairy has to admit the public haven’t got it completely wrong this time. Boe has the attractive tuneful voice and the pathetic good looks you’d expect from ‘popular’ tenors. But he’s also a musical performer, not only able to sing the popular classics but also well able to perform in Elektra at the ROH next season. And if his acting goes slightly over the top sometimes in The Merry Widow, it is that sort of opera. Boe plays his character as a jessie but as he’s called Camille, Hairy thinks it would be unconvincing if he played the role in any other way.

But John Graham-Hall is the real star of course and yes Hairy McMungo does know he’s English. If only he wasn’t – Hairy would be proud to claim him as a fellow Scotsman. Graham-Hall is a natural comedian but he gives the character of Count Danilo a bit of depth so even Hairy McMungo who is about as far from a jessie as you can get finds himself wanting things to end well for him. Daniel Hoadley, a fine Raoul de St Brioche in the early performances, takes over as Danilo later in the run. Most would say he’s not in Graham-Hall’s league but if John Graham-Hall is Celtic (only a Scotsman can be truly Celtic but Hairy would never insult Graham-Hall by putting his name in the same sentence as Rangers), Hoadley is probably Kilmarnock and they’re both in the Premiership so Hairy McMungo thinks they must be in the same league.

The role of Hanna Glawari, the ‘merry widow’, is sung by Amanda Roocroft at all performances except one. Hairy cannot fault Roocroft’s singing and she is a great actress, being of course from the north of England. But Hairy can’t help feeling that Michelle Walton, who sings the role on 21st May, has the edge when it comes to comedy. Walton also has a very lovely voice for an English singer but Hairy McMungo thinks she should have stayed a mezzo-soprano instead of becoming a soprano. She’s not a bad soprano but she was an extremely good mezzo. Very nearly as good as mezzos like Arlene Rolph and Julianne Young and Hairy is sure you can guess where they were born. Hanna Glawari is often sung by mezzos as well so it’s an ideal role for Walton.

Valencienne is another soprano role often sung by mezzos and in this case it is sung by a mezzo, Fiona Murphy. Hairy McMungo is glad he himself is a tenor but sometimes he wishes he could sing the odd baritone or counter tenor role the way mezzos do with soprano and contralto roles. Murphy made her ENO debut as an understudy Carmen and it’s easy to understand why she got such good reviews. She flirts the way Hairy McMungo flirts with his Money, like she knows she shouldn’t but she just can’t help herself.

Richard Suart and Simon Butteriss, both well-known for singing in Gilbert and Sullivan operas, are ideally suited to singing Baron Zeta. ENO Company Principal Graeme Danby again shows his almost Scottish versatility as Pritschitch. Hal Cazalet sings well as Viscomte Cascada but Hairy feels he’s really more comfortable in serious roles. ENO Young Singers Mairead Buicke and James Gower do their best as Sylviane and Bogdanowitsch but Hairy can’t help feeling operetta isn’t their forte. The ENO do have a strange habit of either pushing their Young Singers into every spare role going or chronically underusing them. Actor Roy Hudd does act well but he seems a bit over the top next to all the opera singers. Most people think opera singers act ‘bigger’ than actors but Hairy McMungo can tell you this is not the case.

The choreography is very nicely done by Anthony van Laast and Nichola Treherne. Hairy McMungo can see more than a hint of the Scottish reel in there.

HAIRY McMUNGO

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