The Merry Widow

Operetta by Franz Lehár

Libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein after Henry Meilhac’s comedy “L’attaché d’ambassade”
World premiere on December 30, 1905 in Theater an der Wien
Premiere at the Estonian National Opera on August 19, 2021

Performed in Estonian with subtitles in Estonian and English.

Since its premiere on December 30, 1905, it has been performed more than 250 000 times all over the world. And no wonder – Lehár’s instinctively enticing blend of waltzes, polkas, marches, mazurkas and can-cans takes us to the world of brilliant entertainment.

“The Merry Widow” is a witty story of a young and unimaginably rich widow Hanna Glawari, whose millions would save the State of Pontevedro from bankruptcy, if Hanna marries a Pontoedrovian. Hanna is surrounded by numerous Parisian high-class suitors but she desires the man who once promised her never to say, “I love you”. After a mix of glamorous intrigues, sparkling dance numbers and romantic love songs, Hanna and her loved one will find their happily-ever-after.