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Opera & Musical Theater

Opera Cheat Sheet: The Merry Widow

An intro to Lehár’s operetta about the writing on a fan, Saturday’s noon opera broadcast.

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Metropolitan Opera production of The Merry Widow
Photo: Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera production of The Merry Widow

In this week's OCS, Houston Public Media's St.John Flynn and Eric Skelly of the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra introduce you to Franz Lehár's operetta The Merry Widow (Die lustige Witwe) which premiered in Vienna in 1905.

Redolent of another famous Viennese operetta, Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, The Merry Widow is a story of balls, flirtations, crude diplomacy and a fan.

Tune in Saturday at noon to Houston Public Media Classical for Lyric Opera of Chicago's broadcast of The Merry Widow featuring Renee Fleming in the title role; Thomas Hampson as Danilo; Heidi Stober as Valencienne; and Patrick Carfizzi as Baron Zeta.