I hadn't intended to write about The Merry Widow, but seeing it yesterday provoked the question of the headline, and my answer is: Apparently yes, to judge by this year's production at the Finnish National Opera.
I have happy childhood memories of operettas in the old Lahti theatre: Victoria und ihr Husar, Die Fledermaus, Gräfin Mariza, The Student Prince, Der Graf von Luxemburg, Im weißen Rößl ... and of course The Merry Widow. Raimo Wahlström was a frivolous, cheerful, energetic Danilo, Inkeri Luoma-aho a matronly widow, but with a naughty twinkle in her eyes...
And now, Jyrki Anttila - arrogant, uninspired, aggressive, Ritva-Liisa Korhonen - just matronly... The staging was promisingly 1905 modern with plenty of Art Nouveau curves and electric lamps, the dresses elegant, but... where was the merriness?
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