Finding funny

Director of Glyndebourne’s new production of The Merry Widow, Cal McCrystal talks about the sometimes not-so-subtle art of making opera funny

Michael White

There’s an old Bugs Bunny cartoon with the punchline ‘What d’ya expect in opera, happy endings?’ – and it plumbs the depths of a profound truth. Comic opera features widely in the repertoire, but is it always funny? Doesn’t the default position of sung drama tend toward distress rather than laughter? And if that’s true, isn’t it an uphill struggle to make opera audiences rock with mirth as they approach their 57th Barber of Seville or Falstaff – or, as will be happening at Glyndebourne in the coming season, Merry Widow? Somebody who knows better than most is the director Glyndebourne has engaged for its Widow, Cal McCrystal. He’s a specialist in comedy, with credits that stretch from the National Theatre’s One Man, Two Guvnors to the Paddington Bear films.…

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Opera Now (Digital) - 1 Issue, Summer 2024

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