Compare & Contrast 28

You could say I had some doubts about The Merry Widow 1) in the gigantic Met 2) as a vehicle for Renee Fleming. Here are the three reviews I've seen:

• Anthony Tommasini, Times, milquetoast. He's waaaaaay too polite, but read between the lines and it does seem he's unhappy with it.
• Zerbinetta (whose scholarly specialty is Viennese operetta), Likely Impossibilities, more in sorrow than in anger
• James Jorden, NY Observer, waspish.

Really, all three are saying the same thing, except that Zerbinetta and JJ just come out and say what they're thinking.