The Merry Widow by Lehár, pén 16 feb 2024, -tól (2024/2024), Rendezte Barrie Kosky, Karmester Patrick Hahn, Ben Glassberg, Opernhaus, Zurich, Switzerland

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.