Aaron Cain: I'm Aaron Cain for WFIU Arts. IU Jacobs School of Music Opera Theater presents The Merry Widow by Franz Lehár this weekend at the Musical Arts Center, 7:30 PM on Friday and Saturday. It's double cast, and I recently had the chance to speak with both Merry Widows, Macey Rowland and Rachel Fitzgerald, who walked me through the story of this operetta.
Macey Rowland: My name is Macey Rowland and I am playing the role of Hanna Glawari.
Rachel Fitzgerald: My name is Rachel Fitzgerald and I will be singing the role of Hanna Glawari in the Merry Widow. Hanna Glawari is this peasant girl. She's in love with Danilo Danilovitsch. They are childhood sweethearts. However, he is of a royal lineage of some kind. His uncle, the Prince, is referred to a few times. So they’re childhood sweethearts, he is above her in society. It comes time to where they may be of the age to marry, and she is turned down because of her place in society. She then has very few options to choose from, so Hanna chooses survival and she marries an old banker. He is her sugar daddy, for lack of a better word, and he dies. And so then here she is, still young and beautiful and very rich.
Macey Rowland: So we start the operetta at the Pontevedrin Embassy in Paris, and there are all these diplomats and their wives. And one of the main topics of conversation is how much debt they have to Gospodin Glawari, Hanna's late husband. So they're discussing how they can keep that money in Pontevedro, because if she marries a Parisian, then that money will not stay within the country, and they will be bankrupt. So Hanna enters, and she's just being swamped by suitors—French and Pontevedrin—and she runs into Danilo, an old flame. as Rachel said. He is determined not to get married. She knows that he is still in love with her, and she certainly also still has those feelings, so we get a lot of fiery dialogue and tension between the two of them.
Aaron Cain: What's special about this piece to you?
Macey Rowland: This is one of those perfect opportunities for somebody who has never seen an opera to come in and have something that is so accessible, and tangible, and fun, and more similar to maybe what they're used to. I think that's one of the strengths of this piece, really, is that it's universal. It's a rom-com before rom-com was a thing.
Rachel Fitzgerald: I think there's so many things that make this show special, but first and foremost: the music. I mean, the music is beautiful. I think nothing could be more beautiful than late 19th-Century music, personally. It's lush and it gets stuck in your head. It's upbeat, it's heartbreaking, all at the same time. I think the direction also makes this really special. Keturah [Stickann] has been absolutely wonderful to work with; like an absolute privilege to work with this complete boss of a woman. And she said, what makes this opera as accessible is it's about love and it's about money. And people still fight over love and people still fight over money. And there's something for everybody. It is real, and genuine, and, yeah, lighthearted, all at the same time.
Aaron Cain: All that, plus can-can dancing.
Rachel Fitzgerald: Exactly.
Macey Rowland: That's one thing that I forgot to mention: dancing. It plays a huge part of this show. Not only do we have some fantastic dancers from the ballet department, Rachel and I are both dancing quite a bit. Waltzing, we do a Pontevedrin dance called the Kolo. I know for me and for you as well, we both have musical theater backgrounds. And this type of show, operetta, really bridges those two things very well, like, from the 19th-Century traditions of opera into musical theater style.
Rachel Fitzgerald: If you have not seen an opera yet, this is the one to start with. Like, no offense, Mozart. I love Mozart. But it's not the best to start with because it's hard! And this is—there are a lot of aspects that are hard, but there are a lot of aspects that are easy, and it's just kind of like a nice, warm, cup of coffee. So you really can just be entertained.
Aaron Cain: Rachel Fitzgerald. Macy Rowland. Thank you so much for speaking with me today.
Rachel Fitzgerald: Thank you.
Macey Rowland: Thank you for having us.
Aaron Cain: The Merry Widows. Rachel performs the title role in Friday night's performance, Macy sings on Saturday night, in the Merry Widow by Franz Lehár. More information at operaballet.indiana.edu. For WFIU Arts, I'm Aaron Cain.
