Details
Set in Paris in1905, a three act comedy which includes a can-can at Chez Maxim's. The plot centres around the past love affair between Madame Glavari (the wealthy widow of the title) and Count Danilovitsch - which becomes inextricably entailed with the appalling state of the Pontevedrian economy (they need her cash). Several sub-plots add to the drama - the Ambassador's fondness for young females and his wife's penchant for even younger men - all help to produce an evening of witty songs and lively music. UK Premiere. n Cezary Tomaszewski’s new production worlds of cliché clash when Franz Lehár’s opulently overloaded operetta The Merry Widow is cast with four real-life Polish cleaning ladies. Lower class Hanna’s advancement to the Parisian haut monde is projected into present-day society with its dependence upon foreign workers. In an ironic way, the tense relationship between the supposed bourgeoisie and a proletariat of migrant workers in the absurd operetta world is breaking apart. Together with the shooting star of Polish drama Pawel Demirski, Tomaszewski frees the genre from the dusts of simplicity and naivety and succeeds in placing into the centre of attention those who are otherwise almost wholly excluded from cultural creative processes.
Creatives/Company
Music: Franz Lehar
Book by: Victor Leon
Lyrics: Leo Stein
Adapted by: Cezary Tomaszewski