The Balkan State of Pontevedro is in acute danger of going bankrupt, and no prospective loans are in sight. Thus the country’s embassy in Paris is charged with the delicate mission of rescuing the state: the merry and exceedingly rich widow Hanna Glawari hast to be married by a dutiful Pontevedrian gentleman to prevent her from squandering millions in Paris or – even worse – allowing her money to fall into the wrong hands. One can think of only one man suitable for this patriotic endeavor: Count Danilo, the First Secretary of the Pontevedrian embassy. However, Danilo seems far more interested in relishing the nightlife at Maxim’s than he is in putting in dutiful hours at the embassy. Making things even more complicated, the French would be more than happy to take the self-confident widow’s millions off of her hands. Consequently, Hanna Glawari finds herself bombarded with proclamations of eternal love and marriage proposals from all sides. But: ‘What to think, what to say, what to do?’
Not only did Franz Lehár’s waltz-filled operetta about money and love from 1905 hit a contemporary nerve with its virtuosity, it also found a delightful way to approach the relationship between women and men, which by then had gotten completely out of control due to rapid progress and changing times. ‘The Merry Widow’ is now considered the most successful operetta of all time. Nearly every one of its musical numbers have become hits: ‘Love Unspoken’ (‘Lippen Schweigen’), the ‘Vilia’ song and the riders’ duet, ‘I’m Off to Chez Maxim’ (‘Dann geh’ ich zu Maxim’) and the Grisettes’ melody remain eternally embedded in the minds of modern audiences.

‘The Merry Widow’ marks Iris Gerath-Prein’s return to the Hessisches Staatstheater Wiesbaden, where she has previously directed such successful musicals as ‘La Cage aux Folles,’ ‘Kiss Me, Kate,’ ‘My Fair Lady’ and the operetta ‘The Land of Smiles.’ Further productions of hers can be seen in Karlsruhe, Pforzheim and Lüneburg.