Women in opera are ceaselessly dying of consumption or overwhelming feelings – and audiences may very well be forgiven for pondering their portrayals are a bit of outdated.
Some older operas have been cancelled as too offensive or tailored to look much less old style and misogynistic to fashionable opera goers.
But acclaimed Australian-born soprano Danielle de Niese is urging Christmas Day TV viewers to tune in to see her Glyndebourne manufacturing of The Merry Widow for a distinct take.
Instead of doom and gloom, and helpless tragic feminine characters, this Merry Widow is a laugh-out-loud operetta.
Danielle, who moved to Los Angeles aged 10, insists her character is a “modern woman, even though she was written more than 100 years ago”, and urges audiences to not dismiss her as the same old feminine stereotype.
The 45-year-old singer and dancer mentioned: “The opera is like a rom-com. The libretto is a real page-turner. Hanna [the merry widow] realises she has complete independence and doesn’t need to partner up with anybody.
“She is a woman for all ages. She’s alluring, she’s very much in charge, very feminine. And she is not afraid to speak openly.”
But some operas have been cancelled or tailored due to offensive content material. In 2016 critics claimed Puccini’s Turandot, which options aria Nessun Dorma, had “outdated gender roles, misogyny and problematic racial stereotypes”.
Danielle mentioned: “We’ve made so many strides but there’s always more we can do.”
The Merry Widow was written by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehar and was mentioned to be considered one of Hitler’s favorite operas.
Danielle added: “The Merry Widow is the perfect thing to watch when you’ve had your Christmas lunch and want to just sit and be entertained.”
- The Merry Widow from Glyndebourne, BBC Four, Christmas Day, 8pm-10.30pm
https://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/1988907/opera-merry-widow-danielle-de-niese-bbc