Die lustige Witwe - Operetta by Franz Lehár

Everything revolves around Hanna Glawari in Franz Lehár’s operetta Die lustige Witwe: She is emancipated, beautiful, clever and the heiress to 20 million... Vida Miknevičiūtė will bow in the title role in our revival of Barrie Kosky’s opulent production. The Lithuanian soprano began her distinguished career at the International Opernstudio at the Opernhaus Zürich. She can now be heard singing major Wagner and Strauss roles on stages including the Staatsoper Berlin and La Scala di Milano. She appeared as Lehár’s Hanna at the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich. Making his Opernhaus debut at the podium of the Philharmonia Zürich is conductor Ben Glassberg, a young British conductor who has been Music Director at the Volksoper Wien since 2024.
Die lustige Witwe had its world premiere in Vienna in 1905, setting off an unprecedented global frenzy for operetta. The bustling cities of the early 20th century, from London to New York, were the ideal breeding ground for a commercial operetta cult, and the philosopher Theodor W. Adorno compared the hustle and bustle surrounding Die lustige Witwe with the success of the then-emerging department stores. Like the display window in a shop, Lehár’s operetta offers everything audiences want from lighter fare – from catchy pop songs and folkloristic tunes to frivolous can-cans and sentimental waltz duets.