Operatic Saint Louis: You have a bit of a career history with The Merry Widow, both as a singer (having sung the title role, Hanna Glawari) and stage director. What qualities or elements of this operetta resonate with you?
Jolly Stewart: I love Lehár’s music and very romantic story. There is something about a romance between two more mature lovers that I find irresistible and absolutely delicious to play around with.OSL: How does your past experience with Widow inform your approach to this current production?
JS: I feel that everything about ones past informs a reaction to and outlook on any artistic project. As you grow older and have more life experiences, you see romance as something that should be cherished and cultivated. When I sang Hanna Glawari, I was in real life a widow in my thirties. At the time combining that state with my years spent in Germany and Austria, I thought I could bring more to the role than some. Who knows whether I did, or not. But now that I have spent time with the piece over many years and helped several Hannas find their way into this marvelous role, I see many more qualities in the character’s personalities than I probably did all those years ago. The humor that maturity brings and the patience with which to wait out Danilo’s coming around is obviously part of the tension in the opera and the delight in seeing it.
OSL: Union Avenue Opera has a long-standing mission of presenting opera in its original language. Thus, this production of The Merry Widow will be sung in German, a unique occurrence among American opera companies which normally present an English translation of the piece. What sorts of challenges arise in presenting this operetta in its original language?
JS: Scott Schoonover and I had several chats/talks/go-arounds on the subject of spoken text in English or German. His commitment to operas being performed in the original language prevailed. A few nights ago, in front of many witnesses, I confessed that it was the right choice. The singers have been super diligent about coaching the German very thoroughly. In fact Sylvia Stoner-Hawkins, the widow, made a special trip here to spend the afternoon over our kitchen table working the text. She was already very very well prepared.
Trying for German inflection and line readings has been important to me and everyone has been extremely cooperative, sometimes going over and over certain tricky places. I have been tremendously impressed and gratified by the hard work everyone has done.
OSL: What are the advantages of an original language production?
JS: No matter how good a translation is, it almost never fits with the music as well as the original language does. There are some exceptions where the composer has written for two languages, but that is rare. One of the more difficult projects we have done at UAO was a few years back, Eugene Onegin in Russian. We had wonderful Alla Voskoboynikova coaching the language and playing the rehearsals. Sylvia, who has a very good ear for language, was also in this one, singing beautifully the role of Tatyana. Russian literature has always been fascinating to me, so there were many qualities I wanted to see and hear incorporated into this piece. Certainly hearing it in Russian supplied lots of the flavor I was looking for.
OSL: In working with designers Patrick Huber (sets/lighting) and Teresa Doggett (costumes), what style and era have you set this production?
JS: We chose approximately the same time period that Lehár did [ca. 1905]. The costumes at this point in history are so gorgeous and add so much to the feel of the characters. A man in a uniform is almost irresistible (especially when it is worn by Ian Greenlaw) and beautiful women in flowing graceful gowns ....yummy!
Patrick Huber called up one day and excitedly told me the reference he was working with. We always work from art and architecture ideas and find a look we think will work for whatever opera we are producing. This time it was the Horta House in Brussels. During a visit to Brussels when my husband John Stewart was singing Pelleas at the Monnaie, we had spent several hours in this very house admiring the architecture and the beautiful art nouveau decoration.
OSL: How has it been to work with your cast over the past weeks?
JS: A total delight! The energy and enthusiasm has been phenomenal.
OSL: Viennese operetta often brings to mind images and conventions of musical comedy or early Broadway—in particular, a lot of dancing. The Merry Widow contains a famous, beloved waltz ("Lippen schweigen"), but what other kinds of dancing can audiences expect to see?
JS: Lots of dancing, absolutely. It’s a fun challenge for the singers. We have some terrific can-can dancers in this cast. The guys at one point do an early Hollywood movie-like dance. A little Fred and Ginger, some polkas, peasant dances, but most of all waltzes.
OSL: If appealing to the "man on the street" about why they should come to see The Merry Widow, what would your sales pitch be?
JS: Come see one of the most romantic stories in all of opera combined with ravishingly beautiful tune-filled music. You’ll go away singing the music for days.
Die lustige Witwe runs July 31, August 1, 7, 8, 9(m). Performances begin at 8pm, except for a 3pm Matinee on August 9th. Venue: Union Avenue Christian Church located at 733 Union Blvd in St. Louis. Sung in German with projected English supertitles. To purchase tickets or learn more about this production, please visit the Union Avenue Opera Website or call 314.361.2881
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