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AN INTRODUCTION TO OPERETTA AND COMPOSER FRANZ LEHÁR
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Composer Franz Lehár was born in Komarom, Hungary in 1870 at a time when the Austro-Hungarian Empire had begun to wane, having lost most of the land it held in Italy and noticing the stirrings of rebellion in its other Hapsburg-held territories. But the musical and artistic life of the empire was still flourishing in cities such as Vienna, Budapest, Prague, Trieste, and Salzburg. Strauss' "Die Fledermaus" had its premier in 1874, and operetta was at least as popular as opera throughout the empire.
Operetta is different from opera because there is much more dancing and spoken dialogue, and performers need to be expert actors and comedians in addition to having the singing abilities equal to some of the most demanding works of opera.
After completing his studies and military service in 1902, Lehár devoted himself full time to composition. In his first year, he wrote "Wiener Frauen" ("Viennese Ladies"), but his first huge success was "Die Lustige Witwe" ("The Merry Widow") three years later. He would write about 30 operettas, including the beloved "Das Land des Lächelns" ("The Land of Smiles," 1929). Although central Europe went through the wrenching traumas of the fall of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, World War I (which, of course, was a world trauma), social and economic turbulence in the 1920s, and the rise of Nazism in the 1930s, Lehár and his operettas remained tuneful and provided a joyful and increasingly nostalgic way for the Viennese to look at themselves and recall what they perceived as a better time. Lehár died in 1948 and, while his works continue to be performed in central Europe, with the exception of "The Merry Widow," they are not given as often as they should be elsewhere. This production by the San Francisco Opera is a wonderful chance to discover a delightful musical work that will provoke a tear or two and many warm smiles.
Top banner photos: Anna Glawari (Yvonne Kenny), the Merry Widow, with Camille de Rosillon (Gregory Turay) from Act I; and Anna Glawari (Kenny) from Act II and III. |
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The setting for Act II of the operetta, the garden of Anna Glawari's house in Paris. |
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In the role of Camille de Rosillon, one of the Merry Widow's would-be suitors, is American tenor Gregory Turay. |
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