bscurity meets infamy. That is, the relatively unknown composer Otto Nicolai meets the profoundly well-known playwright William Shakespeare in the comic opera “The Merry Wives of Windsor.”  The premiere of this German opera took place in Berlin on March 9, 1849.  Unfortunately, Nicolai was unable to reap the rewards of this musical gem. Two months later, a stroke took the life of the 39-year-old German composer.

Recently, the University Lyric Opera Ensemble, from the University of Utah’s School of  Music,  put its skills to the test of being comical and believable in the rendering of Nicolai’s masterpiece.

This three-act comedy plays through plots and subplots of community members with little on their minds but pranks and romance. The main plot consists of two conspirators, Alice Ford (Venicia Stolworthy Wilson) and Meg Page (Elizabeth Arnold Mitchell). They happened to both receive a letter from the ugly, drunken and fat Sir John Falstaff (Jeremiah Butterfield). Not only did they both receive a letter, they received the same letter. Unbeknownst to Sir John, Mrs. Ford and Mrs. Page become aware of his devious deed of trying to seduce both women away from their husbands. They devise a plan to grant Sir John his wish. But, there is a twist. Not only does Mrs. Ford wish to put Sir John in his place, she also pines for the opportunity to exploit the foolishness of her husband’s, Mr. Ford (Nathan Brian), foolish jealousy. By the end of the first act, the plan of revenge on Sir John Falstaff and the exploitation of Mr. Ford’s overanxious jealousy is carried out. The end result: Falstaff is shoved in a laundry trunk that is later tossed in the river and  Mr. Ford pleads for forgiveness for his jealousy, while Mrs. Ford threatens him with a possible divorce.

All of the disgracing of Falstaff throughout the show leads to a final disgracing in the end of  the play.

The Fords and Pages (Mr.  Page played by James Crowley) work together for this final humiliation.

The wives invite Falstaff to meet them for a midnight rendezvous at the haunted oak in the Windsor Forest. Furthermore, they tell him to disguise himself as Herne, the ghostly hunter, by putting antlers on his head. A glutton for punishment, Sir John follows through and after hearing the sweet voices of the wives, the townspeople come out of the wood disguised as ghouls, goblins and insects.  They then proceed to scare the crap out of Sir John and subsequently beat him over and over again. A moral to the story would be that it doesn’t pay to be old, ugly, drunk and fat. If you are, you should get humiliated and beaten to a bloody pulp.

Enough of the main plot. The most significant subplot is that of two secret lovers and two hopeful suitors. Anne Page (Clara Hurtado Lee) is in love with Fenton (Brigham Timpson). Yet Anne’s father (James Crowley) wants her to marry the wealthy, but not-so bright, Mr. Slender (Tyler Nelson). The other suitor is the bully Frenchmen named Dr. Caius (Cecil Sullivan), whom Anne’s mother (Elizabeth Arnold Mitchell) would like her to marry. Of course, true love finds its own way in the world of Billy Shakespeare and Fenton and Anne finally hook up.

Some of the few standout performers were Clara Hurtado Lee, Jeremiah Butterfield and especially Venicia Wilson. The brilliance and clarity of Hurtado Lee’s voice provided a great medium for the characterization of a romantic lead. As Falstaff, Jeremiah Butterfield made his first and very impressionable appearance as a principal character.

His interpretation of Falstaff was played with consistence and a great amount of energy. The vocally athletic demands of the arias, especially that of Mrs. Ford’s, aren’t easily learned and performed. Yet, Wilson performed with a great amount of ease and beauty. She seemed comfortable as the leading lady and instigator of the scheme played upon Sir John.

Although, the performance as a whole gave the audience a feel for the opera, there are shortcomings that, if fixed, would have enhanced the performance a great deal. The concrete that holds the performance together is the extra cast members that add the dimension of reality to the show. When extras aren’t fulfilling this role, the level of professionalism and believability is greatly hindered.

The best moments in the show were the individual efforts between principal characters. The weakest moments took place when the whole cast was on the stage. Whether it was a blocking problem or just inexperience, the chorus members and extras seemed to form chorus lines and unnatural staging positions that created a sense of confusion for the audience. Some of the chorus members seemed like they just weren’t excited to be there, whereas others felt a need to compensate through over dramatization.

Consequently, the difference between a normal student performance and a believable professional performance only fell short on behalf of the ever-so important townpersons No. 1-13, or whatever the number may be. Hopefully, next time the whole cast will be rewarded by an equal effort by all.
christian@red-mag.com