Southbank Centre: Royal Festival HallBelvedere Road, London, Greater London, SE1 8XX, United Kingdom
Dates/times in London time zone
Programme
| Lehár, Franz (1870-1948) | Die lustige Witwe (The Merry Widow) (sung in English with surtitles) |
Performers
| Philharmonia Orchestra | ||
| John Wilson | Conductor | |
| Philharmonia Voices | ||
| Simon Butteriss | Director | |
| Claudia Boyle | Soprano | Hanna Glawari |
| Daniel Prohaska | Tenor | Count Danilo Danilovich |
| Nicholas Sharratt | Tenor | Camille de Rosillon |
| Simon Butteriss | Baritone | Baron Mirko Zeta |
John Wilson conducts Lehár's unforgettable Merry Widow.
It has been said with some justification that the Silver Age of operetta began on 30 December 1905 with the Viennese premiere of Lehár's The Merry Widow.
This non-stop riot of orchestral colour, irrepressible joi-de-vivre and inspired sequences of unforgettable waltz tunes suited the mood of the times to perfection, from the champagne-cork popping of Habsburg Vienna, to the insatiable bonhomie of pre-Great War Paris and the Edwardian era's obsession with dance music in London.
It swiftly became an international sensation, making the struggling Lehár into a feted celebrity and a multi-millionaire into the bargain!
It has been said with some justification that the Silver Age of operetta began on 30 December 1905 with the Viennese premiere of Lehár's The Merry Widow.
This non-stop riot of orchestral colour, irrepressible joi-de-vivre and inspired sequences of unforgettable waltz tunes suited the mood of the times to perfection, from the champagne-cork popping of Habsburg Vienna, to the insatiable bonhomie of pre-Great War Paris and the Edwardian era's obsession with dance music in London.
It swiftly became an international sensation, making the struggling Lehár into a feted celebrity and a multi-millionaire into the bargain!
