The Merry Widow

Renée Fleming as Hanna Glawari in Lehár's The Merry Widow Photo: Ken Howard / Metropolitan Opera

I made it to the encore of The Merry Widow today. The Chinook Cineplex was packed. What is it? The big mall? The big screen? The people on that side of town have more time for culture? When the ticket seller showed me the screen from which I was to choose my seat, only the front 3 rows were empty. A packed house.

To see the show is to know why -- an amazing operetta.  Lighter than full opera, lots of dialogue, in English, the musicians a mix of broadway and opera -- now that is a charm in itself.

On the way out I heard the man behind me tell his wife, we don't have to hurry.  I looked around and could see why.  In many cases one of the couples was helping pull the other of that couple up, helping them to get out of the seat.  Many needed to hang onto a bannister or onto the person next to them. If someone had yelled fire, the exit would still have been orderly, because the speed we were going at, while walking, is still our top speed.

The third act at Maxims was so much fun that I felt I could sing and dance when I left the theaytr.  I had to remind myself, not I can just watch people sing and dance.  From now on, my only participating will be the tapping of my toe, which was still a lot of fun.

Arta

There is an "offish" review in the Telegraph
Despite what they say, it was still worth every penny.