Die lustige Witwe at Nationaltheater Mannheim

Pontevedro is bankrupt. Good thing however that the principality can rely on the great astuteness of its diplomats. Baron Mirko von Zeta, the pontevedrian envoy in Paris has a brilliant idea: Hanna Glawari, the widow of the pontevedrian court banker, is worth millions and is now enjoying herself in Paris. In order for the fortune to remain in the country, it is obvious to say she simply must marry a pontevedrian. As simple as this idea sounds, it also has many complications. First of all, Mrs. Glawari is being courted by a swarm of french dowry hunters that could present a potential danger for Zeta’s diplomatic manouevre. Secondly, the very rich widow is full of suspicion toward a world of men that are actually more in love with her money than in her person. And thirdly, the potential bridegroom chosen by Baron Zeta, Count Danilo Danilowitsch, has already had a passionate love/hate relationship with the beautiful Hanna.

Franz Lehar most famous work was premiered in 1905 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna and the number of performances around the globe until his death in 1948 already easily totalled up to over 300,000. Today Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) is one of the most successful operettas of all time. Its extremely great popularity can be attributed not least of all to the abundance of hits such as Dann geh’ ich ins Maxim (Then I go to Maxim’s), Lippen schweigen (Lips are silent), Dummer Reitersmann (Silly Horserider), the Vilja-Song and many more.