Through Wed 8/8
CloClo is the 7th and final production of this 40th anniversary season of Ohio Light Opera. What it is really is operetta goulash—and it is entirely delicious. What else could you expect from a Viennese (but born in Hungary) composer, a German librettist, a French (Paris, no less!) setting and a sparkling new English translation of both libretto and lyrics by an American? All those nationalities come together in a delightfully zany romp with wonderful musical accompaniment.
Franz Lehár is mostly known for his biggest hit, The Merry Widow, but the two were written two decades apart. World War I intervened and changed all sorts of sensibilities. Perhaps the biggest is that Viennese operetta didn’t necessarily have to take place in Vienna. That really opens up the operetta world to new characters and above all new styles in music. 1924 was the beginning of the jazz age, and Lehár was an avid participant. For CloClo, he utilized jazz, tango and blues, along with a ditzy madcap heroine — about as far from the widow as possible.
Cloclo (brilliantly performed by Caitlin Ruddy) is a giggly, sexy inhabitant of the Paris revue scene, who, in spite of being pursued by seemingly all the men in France, is devoted to Maxime, endearingly portrayed by Benjamin Dutton. He cannot support her in any style at all, so she adopts a “sugar Daddy” in the person of wealthy Severin Cornichon (the tall, dark and handsome Daniel Neer, a baritone who is also an excellent dancer), the mayor of Perpignan, who happily provides the extra support she needs. Unhappily, after she strikes a policeman, which act can put her in jail, she writes a “Dear Daddy” letter to Severin, beseeching more funds, please.
The letter goes astray, and his wife Melousine (Yvonne Trobe) immediately decides that Cloclo must be his love child, so off to Paris she goes to bring home this previously unknown daughter, as they have no children of their own. She is thrilled to finally be a mom, and refuses to take no for an answer. Severin is about to celebrate a major birthday — his 50th. This can be upsetting to anyone, but he never expected such a present as a new-to-him 20-something daughter.
This new daughter (renamed Babette for the occasion) upsets the entire household, including the cook, Brigitte (a totally charming and goofy Sarah Best), not to mention the piano teacher, Chablis (Stephen Faulk), who promptly falls in love with the Parisian. The setting begins in Paris, moves to the countryside of Perpignan, then back to Paris again — but this time a jail cell, as the policeman has now caught up with Cloclo.
The orchestra was conducted by Steven Byess, with stage direction by Steven A. Daigle, and the production zipped right along, very briskly, as befitting a staged farce such as this. Choreography by Spencer Reese was marvelous. The opening matinée audience roared its approval throughout and at the end.
CloClo is now in repertory through Wed 8/8 at the Freedlander Theatre on the campus of Wooster College. For tickets call 330-263-2345 or go to ohiolightopera.org.
[Written by Kelly Ferjutz]
Wooster, OH 44691