Franz Lehar’s operetta The Merry Widow by any other name is just as sweet, and that was proven at its premier as Ευθημη Χηρα at the packed Olympia City Music Theater – Maria Callas by the wonderful cast who joined the Symphony Orchestra and the Chorus of the Municipality of Athens on December 7.
The simple plot with intricate twists set in the Paris of La Belle Époque is borne aloft by one memorable aria, duet, and choral performance after another. Baron Zeta (Vangelis Maniatis) is the ambassador of the Balkan nation of Pontevedro. The poverty-stricken country is sustained by the wealth of recently widowed Anna Glawari (Despina Skarlatou ), and Zeta has a do-or-die mission to make sure she does not marry a foreigner. His secret weapon is the seductive arts and resonant tenor voice of Danilo (Ioannis Kalivas) but while the Count and the Merry Widow are in love, a lot of champagne and intoxicating Lehar music must flow until ego and rivals are overcome.
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