Franz Lehár was born in Hungary in 1870 when it was part of the unwieldy Austro-Hungarian Empire under the Habsburg Dynasty. He was the son of a military bandmaster, a musical influence that would shape his oeuvre to come. By age 12, he was studying at the Prague Conservatory and later joined his father’s band. This allowed him the free time he needed to study and, eventually, compose music.
Vienna, the capital of the empire, was the place to be; the city was a composer magnet. The “serious” opera lovers were all abuzz about Richard Wagner (whether that buzz be love or hate; with Wagner there’s no in between). Those wanting a little more lighthearted escapism, however, preferred operetta—grand opera’s lively little brother. The king of the genre at the time was Johann Strauss II who had already enjoyed worldwide success with Die Fledermaus (“The Bat”) when Lehár was only 4 years old. He followed that up in 1885 with the equally massive hit Der Zigeunerbaron (“The Gypsy Baron”).
With but four such works under his belt, Lehár set to work on a libretto by Viktor Léon and Leo Stein, which they based on a successful French comedy. Lehár was not their first choice to compose a score to their work, Die Lustige Witwe (“The Merry Widow”) and, in fact, Lehár had to prove his worth to them by composing a few tunes for the piece to impress them before they agreed to sign him up. That settled, Lehár then had to deal with the management of the Theater an der Wien, which was convinced that this operetta was going to fail; as a result, they gave Lehár second-rate singers and a low-budget set design to work with.
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A Masterpiece is Born
As things turned out, The Merry Widow’s popularity rose like a rocket; as a result, the theater managers gave the production a fresh décor, tailcoats, gowns and improved cast. That was 1905, and by the following year, The Merry Widow was being performed in virtually every theater in Austria; from there, it would conquer the major capitals of Europe and beyond. In Buenos Aires in 1907, the operetta was simultaneously showing on five different stages in five different languages. In the U.S., a veritable Merry Widow craze ensued, and numerous products—cigars, shoes, chocolates and corsets—were branded “The Merry Widow” variety.
The piece boasts a gorgeous score, lushly elegant scenes and a charming plot centered on a beautiful widow, Hanna Glawari, from the fictional Balkan country of Pontevedro. She’s left her home country for Paris; but her countrymen want her back! Not necessarily because they miss her so much as they miss her wealth. How they set about trying to lure her away from Gay Paree is the heart of Lehár’s masterpiece.
In the Florentine Opera’s production of The Merry Widow, Alyson Cambridge is Hanna. She’s previously performed as Mimi in La Bohème and the title role of Madama Butterfly for the Florentine. Rounding out the production’s central cast are baritone Corey McKern (Danilo), bass-baritone Jamie Offenbach (Baron Zeta), tenor Vale Rideout (Camille) and, making her Florentine debut, soprano Stacy Dove (Valencienne). The production will be sung in English in Albert Sherman’s excellent translation.
Given several dance sequences (the ever-popular “Merry Widow Waltz”), the Florentine Opera has teamed up with the Milwaukee Ballet—their dancers as well as their orchestra—for this production.
“As a show with a lot of waltzing, I think this will be a natural fit,” says Florentine Opera General Director William Florescu. He also stresses that attendees will be dazzled visually by the production. “The point of the show is opulence and celebrating the Belle Époque, so this show will have that in spades, in both sets and costumes!”
Petr Zahradníček, resident choreographer of the Milwaukee Ballet, is excited about this, his second time choreographing a production that the two companies are collaborating on to bring to the stage. “They have a grand stage presence, which is nice to work with,” Zahradníček says of the opera company. In The Merry Widow, Florentine vocalists and Milwaukee Ballet dancers are choreographed together, Zahradníček explains, “which adds another layer for both the dancers and singers. The dancers are getting vocal coaching, so the collaboration is truly both ways. As a dancer, it is a unique experience to be surrounded by live singing while dancing. It is very majestic.”
Franz Lehár, who lived to 1948, had many successes in his long composing career, but The Merry Widow was the biggest, and the one that launched him to instant fame. He once said, reflecting on his life’s work: “Music is more than mere entertainment … the musician’s profession serves Man’s affirmation of life.” Lehár’s life-affirming music stands forever as testament to the veracity of that observation.
The Merry Widow plays Oct. 20 and 22 at the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. For tickets, call 414-291-5700 or visit florentineopera.org.
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