Organization

Opernhaus Zürich

Conductor

Patrick Hahn

Stage director

Barrie Kosky

Set designer

Klaus Grünberg

Lighting designer

Costume designer

Gianluca Falaschi

Choreographer

Kim Duddy

Chorus master

Ernst Raffelsberger

Dramaturge

Fabio Dietsche

Singer

Baritone

Martin Winkler

Baron Mirko Zeta

Soprano

Katharina Konradi

Valencienne

Michael Volle

Count Danilo Danilowitsch

Marlis Petersen

Hannah Glawari

Tenor

Andrew Owens

Camille of Rosillon

Omer Kobiljak

Viscount Cascada

Nathan Haller

Ralph of Saint-Brioche

Valery Murga

Bogdanovitch

Chao Deng

Kromow

Mezzo-soprano

Ann-Kathrin Niemczyk

Olga

Andrew Moore

Pritschitsch

Liliana Nikiteanu

Praskowia

Others

Chor der Oper Zürich

Orchestra

Philharmonia Zürich

Maria Stella Maurizi

Sylviane

Spoken

Barbara Grimm

Njegus

Assistant Set designer

Anne Kuhn

Anastasiya Taratorkina

Sophie Mitterhuber

Eleazar Rodríguez

German

Die lustige Witwe -  (The Merry Widow)

Zurich

Switzerland

Opernhaus

Die lustige Witwe Lehár

Public

The Merry Widow

English

Approved

«Körperbetont im Spielstil, rasant im Tempo, lustvoll in der Ausstattung», befand die Süddeutsche Zeitung nach der Premiere der «Lustigen Witwe» letzten Sonn...

The Merry Widow
Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow was staged in Vienna for the first time in 1905 and within a short period of time triggered an unprecedented, worldwide operetta fever. In New York, the enthusiasm soon spilled over into everyday life: People wore Merry Widow hats, smoked Merry Widow cigars and sipped Merry Widow cocktails. The seething cities of the early 20th century offered the ideal breeding ground for such a commercial cult of operettas, and the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno compared the hustle and bustle surrounding The Merry Widowwith the success of the then emerging department stores. As if in a shop window, Lehár's operetta offers everything the heart desires for the light muse - from the catchy hit to the folkloric tune and from the frivolous cancan to the sentimental waltz duet. The plot itself also takes the audience into an illusionary world of love and monetary happiness: the rich widow Hanna Glawari is swarmed by Parisian men. Meanwhile, Mirko Zeta, ambassador of the heavily indebted state of Pontevedro, worries that the widow could lose her heart and her millions to a Frenchman, and puts the bon vivant Danilo on her. But Hanna and Danilo don't want it to appear that their connection is all about money and take their time. From today's perspective there is no doubt thatMerry widow also senses the approaching decline of the bourgeois world, political conflicts and the threat of inflation.
The director Barrie Kosky, who has revived the operetta genre in recent years at the Komische Oper in Berlin with numerous original productions, will be working on an operetta at the Zurich Opera House for the first time with The Merry Widow . With Marlis Petersen and Michael Volle, two outstanding vocal and acting personalities play the central roles. The young, highly talented Austrian Patrick Hahn conducts the Zurich Philharmonia.

The Merry Widow by Lehár, From (2024/2024), Directed by Barrie Kosky,, Conductor Patrick Hahn, Opernhaus, Zurich, Switzerland

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Videos

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Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues