On September 22, the Latvian National Opera and Ballet invites to the first premiere of the season 2022/2023 - Franz Lehár's operetta Die Lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow). The new production is created by an international team led by Music Director Thomas Rösner and Stage Director Uwe Eric Laufenberg.

Creative team of the operetta: Director Kaspars Ādamsons, Set Designer Julius Theodor Semmelmann, Costume Designer Jessica Karge, Choreographer Myriam Lifka and Lighting Designer Andreas Frank.

The role of Hanna will be interpreted by Inga Šļubovska, Jūlija Vasiļjeva or Laura Grecka, and Danilo by the Swiss baritone Alexandre Beuchat or Rinalds Kandalincevs. Actor Gundars Āboliņš will perform the role of Negus. Other roles will be sung by Evija Martinsone, Andris Ludvigs, Raimonds Bramanis, Artjoms Safronovs, Kalvis Kalniņš, Rihards Millers and Andris Kipļuks, among others.

One of the world’s most popular operettas Die Lustige Witwe had its world premiere in Vienna in 1905. It premiered at the Latvian National Opera in 1933.

Franz Lehár’s glorious melodies whirl with intrigue and passion, but after a series of comic misunderstandings, the ending is happy. Hanna’s inheritance of 20 million after the death of her husband, a Pontevedrian banker, makes her a desirable catch among the cavaliers in Paris. If only the Pontevedro ambassador, Baron Zeta, could find a wealthy, compatriot groom for the rich woman (and keep Hanna's wealth in the country), he could save the country from insolvency. The hopes are pinned on the charming heartbreaker Count Danilo. Although he and Hanna share a romantic past, the Count is afraid of being seen as a bounty hunter and is not ready to confess his feelings.

“Franz Lehárs’ Die Lustige Witwe alongside with Johann Strauss’s masterpiece Die Fledermaus is the zenith of Viennese operetta. Even though they are very different in many regards, they share the privilege of being performed by the greatest artists in all major opera houses throughout the world. In my opinion, they share the nobility, elegance and musical inspiration with the greatest romantic operas of their period and deserve the same recognition,” tells Maestro Thomas Rösner.

“The play is one of the epitomes of musical entertainment theater, and simultaneously it points to many a social wound of its time – and it still does today. At the same time, Die Lustige Witwe has been so popular since its premiere that it has made its composer a rich man. The theme therefore not only plays a central role within the plot of the piece, but also provided Lehár - due to its immense success - with cause for some revisions. Money and wealth in contrast with love and humanity. The lovers (Hanna and Danilo) only find each other when the money no longer stands between them. The other major topic of the play is the relationship between men and women. Are men of the upper society allowed to marry poor women? Do women without money, who want to rise socially sell out by marrying rich men? And how narrow is the line between an independent, self-determined life to dependence of a woman and the man she marries? ” questions Uwe Eric Laufenberg.

The operetta will be sung in German but spoken in several languages. Surtitles will be provided in Latvian and English.

Tickets to the performances of Die Lustige Witwe are available at the box office of LNOB as well as ONLINE.