MUSIC REVIEWS : Diane Alexander’s ‘Merry Widow’

Opera Pacific brought Diane Alexander in to sing the title role of Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” for a single performance designed to introduce children, students and families to the operetta at budget prices Thursday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center.

Alexander had not served as an understudy for Roberta Peters, who sings it at all the other performances (through the weekend), but recently she had done it at Michigan Opera Theater, which is also run by Opera Pacific General Director David DiChiera.

Regretfully, one has to say, Alexander fit right into the vulgar, local comic-book version of Lehar’s imperishable operetta, however much rehearsal time she had had with the rest of the principals (previously reviewed).

Insofar as the overwrought amplification permitted accurate judgment, Alexander seemed to have at least three different voices, depending on which part of the vocal range she was singing and whether she was applying pressure there.

This is not exactly a testament to technical integration and seamlessness. At its most attractive, the voice displayed creamy, husky power, but more frequently it sounded squally, wobbly and pinched.

Alexander’s acting was neither more nor less vacuous than anyone else’s--a smidgen of real feeling, much less overall dramatic credibility, being an impossibly lofty goal here.