|
|
 |
     
An intoxicating whirl of elegant ladies, eligible bachelors, Maxim's can-can dancers, and ever-flowing champagne, Franz Lehár's "The Merry Widow" has long delighted audiences with its effervescent tale of suitors seeking the coveted hand of wealthy widow Anna Glawari in fin-de-siècle Paris. Now, new dialogue from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein complements Lehár's lilting waltzes in this charming English-language production from the San Francisco Opera. With an internationally acclaimed cast, including Yvonne Kenny, Bo Skovhus, Angelika Kirchschlager, and Gregory Turay, the production is directed for the stage by Lotfi Mansouri and presents heralded Cincinnati Pops maestro Erich Kunzel making his SFO debut as guest conductor.
The original production of the operetta "The Merry Widow" ("Die Lustige Witwe") premiered at the Theater an der Wien on December 30, 1905 with music by Franz Lehár and libretto by Victor Léon and Leo Stein, from the comedy "L'attaché d'ambassade" by Henri Meilhac. Learn more about the rudiments of operetta and composer Franz Lehár, whose works, other than "The Merry Widow," are not widely staged in the United States, in the essay by writer Fred Plotkin. In Dialogue, Gregory Turay, who plays Camille de Rosillon, discusses how he embarked on his operatic career, working on the San Francisco Opera's production of "The Merry Widow," and his current role in "A View from the Bridge" at the Metropolitan Opera. Also, read a synopsis of the operetta, peruse a song list, and download a wallpaper image from the SFO production for your desktop.
Special funding for this program was provided by the Koret Foundation, a catalyst for positive change since 1978, the KQED Campaign for the Future Program Venture Fund, and Vivian Milstein.
"THE MERRY WIDOW" FROM THE SAN FRANCISCO OPERA is not available on VHS or DVD.
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. |
|
 |
 |
The setting for Act II of the operetta, the garden of Anna Glawari's house in Paris. |
 |
 |
|
In the role of Camille de Rosillon, one of the Merry Widow's would-be suitors, is American tenor Gregory Turay. |
|
 |
|
