Merry Widow

The action takes place at a gala reception in the Parisian embassy of Pontevedro, an Eastern European kingdom reminiscent of Montenegro. Baron Mirko Zeta( Graham Stone) oblivious to the flirtation between his much younger and supposedly "virtuous" wife Valencienne (Iza Kopecand) the handsome French aristocrat Camille de Rosillon. (Patrick Ashcroft) knows that his fatherland faces bankruptcy if its richest citizen, the young widow Anna Glawari, (Pamela Hay) should marry a foreigner. Zeta orders his attaché, Count Danilo Danilovitch(Tom Stoddart) to ward off the money hungry horde of potential suitors swarming around the wealthy Anna.In the second act, Anna throws a party at her Paris mansion. When Camille and Valencienne are caught during a rendezvous in the garden pavilion, Anna gallantly takes Valencienne's place,to sway the Ambassador's suspicions, Anna announces that she and Camille are engaged, and a jealous Danilo storms off to Maxim's and his beloved grisettes.For the third act, the Widow turns her home into a replica of Maxim's, hiring the grisettes for the evening ,to  lure Danilo back. When he arrives and confronts Anna, she tells him that the engagement was a lie, and that she will lose her entire fortune if she remarries. They finally admit their mutual love while singing and dancing a waltz. Valencienne manages to reassure Ambassador Zeta of her fidelity. Anna admits she will lose her fortune because every cent will go to her next husband.Very seldom nowadays do you hear an intake of breath and applause when the tabs go back, but this ‘Widow’ did, a beautiful picture of costumes’ (Carol Stevenson) and set (Enid Strutt) Orchestra under the baton of Robyn Sevastos These threeo ladies certainly know their craft, exquisite sets costumes  and orchestra.Terry John Bates. You gave us a superlative evenings entertainment taking your huge cast and giving us perfection in every way, I cannot fault this production. Great performances from your leads ,especially Paul Featherstone as Njegus hilarious !!..Kentish Opera you have scored again, every thing about your production falls well into the mark of excellence.

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