Feisty, fabulous and filthy rich, Hanna Glawari is the merriest widow in New York, with a fortune in the bank, a lucrative lemon grove in Sicily, and a stampede of suitors vying for her attention. But money is power, and Mafioso Don Zeta recruits the many talents of wiseguy Danilo, the happiest bachelor in New York, to ensure Hanna’s millions don’t end up married to the wrong man, with license to use any means necessary. Little does Zeta know, however, that Hanna and Danilo have quite the history...
Director John Savournin (Opera Highlights Spring 2022) updates Lehár’s captivating will-they, won’t-they romance, with lavish designs by takis that evoke all the glamour of 1950s Manhattan. A new English translation by Savournin and David Eaton makes the opera’s wit sparkle. Scottish Opera Music Director Stuart Stratford conducts The Merry Widow for the first time, with The Orchestra of Scottish Opera bringing this waltz-filled charmer to life in Scotland and throughout its late summer 2025 performances at Opera Holland Park. The cast is led by Paula Sides (Candide 2022) and Alex Otterburn (Greek 2018) as Hanna and Danilo, with Henry Waddington (Greek 2018, also soon to be seen in The Makropulos Affair 2025) as the powerful Don Zeta.
