Despite the music, ‘Merry Widow’ barely survives its update

San Francisco Opera general manager Lotfi Mansouri created an opulent production of Franz Lehar’s “The Merry Widow” as his swan song last year when he ended his 13-year tenure at the company. He commissioned new English dialogue by playwright Wendy Wasserstein (“The Heidi Chronicles”) and new English lyrics by a team of writers and directed the staging himself.

PBS was on hand to tape a performance in the War Memorial Opera House, which will be broadcast tonight (9 p.m. KCET).

Critics were unimpressed with Wasserstein’s updated dialogue, even less impressed by the lyrics by Christopher Hassall and Ted and Deena Puffer and exasperated with Mansouri’s emphasis on silliness and shtick.

And as the production makes the transition to television, things don’t get better. Gary Halvorson’s direction for the small screen in particular adds problems of its own. The camera work is often busy and restless, shifting from disorienting close-ups to wide-angle shots and cutaways, particularly when the stage is full. The dance sequences suffer the most, with legs and arms amputated and dancers flying in and out of the frame.

Still, Amanda McKerrow and John Gardener, the central couple, manage to remain elegant.

The camera also captures the singers’ strenuous efforts to project in a big house, immortalizing their shouting lines, such as “At last, we are alone.” Their English, already marred by put-on accents to reflect the characters’ various national origins, on occasion is obscure.

Still, there is Lehar’s triumphant music. Yvonne Kenny as Anna, the heroine of the piece, sings “Vilja” with melting lyricism. Bo Skovhus, as the hero Danilo, breaks hearts with his version of the song of the two royal children who loved but parted.

Gregory Turay may not have the most glorious tenor, but he sings Camille’s love songs with persuasive ardor. Angelika Kirchschlager is always vocally gorgeous as Valencienne. The waltzes, even under conductor Erich Kunzel’s bland hand, remain irresistible.

But it’s a long haul to get to these highlights.