I’ve just finished singing the role of Count Danilo in White Horse Opera’s production of “The Merry Widow” (Lehar) and after a week-long ‘high’ of fun, tension, excitement, adrenalin and (for me, at least) pure enjoyment – not to mention acting out a series of rollercoaster emotions - I am left feeling worn-out and just a bit empty and sad now that it’s all over. For me, The Merry Widow provided my operatic debut as a principal singer so it was a really important personal milestone and a truly memorable occasion for me. To all the folk who came to see it, I thank you so much! I’ll leave others to judge how successful it was, but from the stage, it seemed to go pretty well. (The Wiltshire Gazette & Herald Review can be seen here: REVIEW)
I was lucky enough to share the stage with some brilliant young professionals from whom I learnt much and to whom, I am extremely grateful. The lovely Lynsey Docherty (as Hannah Glawari – the Merry Widow) was an absolute delight to work with. Not only does she have a gorgeous voice and outstanding stage presence, but she has the patience of a saint! Bless her, (although she said otherwise) I’m sure there must have been times when my inexperience was a source of frustration. It’s a good job she also has a great sense of humour. I lost count of how many times I stood her toes whilst I was waltzing with all the grace of a rhinoceros!
Anna Vaupel portrayed Valencienne in a wonderfully playful and rather saucy way! Her singing was lovely and her dancing was simply spectacular (Oo-la-la! Quel q’un can-can!). Carl Malmgren played a very smooth Camille de Rossillon. (Regular readers will recognize Carl’s name from my review of Swindon Opera’s Carmen earlier this year.) Carl’s performance this week reinforced my earlier view that his is a name to watch. A rising star, surely. White Horse Opera regular (and founding member) Edward Harper played a slightly slow-witted Baron Zeta. His bass tones carried well even in the slightly dry acoustic of the Devizes Corn Exchange. Edward kept me on my toes by forgetting or rearranging a few lines now and then – but then, I’ve always enjoyed improvising, and thinking on your feet is all part of the fun!
From within the company, Graham Billing (playing Njegus) was never less than wonderful on stage: an expert in comedic timing, he drew every possible scrap of humour from the script and delivered it with a wonderfully deft and understated touch. Of the other principal roles, Jon Paget (Vicomte Cascada) and Michael Smith (St Brioche) played their roles admirably, bringing some wonderful texture, comedy and joie-de-vivre to the proceedings. Both guys have good voices and I suspect we will hear much more of them in the future!
Musical Director, Francis Griffin (sadly in his last appearance with White Horse Opera) seems to have produced a very nicely balanced sound. It was perhaps, above everything else, Lehar’s music (interpreted by Francis) which made this show such a success. I owe Francis a personal debt of gratitude as, not being a professional (and being a newcomer to principal roles), I undoubtedly needed a bit more help than the other principals and Francis guided, cajoled and encouraged me. Stage Director, M’Lou Llewellyn, gave us plenty of freedom to explore and develop our roles and, as the new kid on the block, I relished being given so much latitude. Danilo is such a wonderful role to play.
WHO’s very own dancing girls (brilliantly choreographed by Jan Roberts) made excellent grisettes - so much so, that during rehearsals they frequently distracted me to the point of making me forget my lines! The chorus too (despite the relative lack of big chorus numbers) did a splendid job. From where I was standing, they sounded very good and produced a really nice sound and most engaged very well with the action unfolding on stage. There are so many others who deserve a mention in dispatches - like Aurore who found herself unexpectedly thrust into the role of Stage Manager; Andrew Taylor (who whilst not being Bogdanowitch was busy designing and building the set) and our prompter, front-of-house team, committee, rehearsal accompanists, orchestra... the list is endless. (And some people wonder why opera is so expensive to produce!)
This is beginning to sound like a gushing “acceptance speech”, so before I burst into tears and ramble drunkenly on for another hour or so, I’d also like to thank Mrs Edwards and my long-suffering offspring who probably know most of my songs and dialogue as well as I do by now! And as for the casting committee... what a courageous decision to cast me as the male-lead despite my being an unknown quantity! Thank you for your faith in me. This has been a wonderful experience and the team at White Horse Opera have been great fun to sing with. My thoughts are already turning to next year....!
Lynsey Docherty - http://lynseydocherty.co.uk
Anna Vaupel - www.starnow.co.uk/AnnaVaupel
Francis Griffin - www.francisgriffin.com
Guy Edwards – www.guyedwards.info
White Horse Opera - www.whitehorseopera.org.uk
