David A.Straz, JR. CENTER for the performing arts

Show Dates & Times

Fri. 7:30 p.m., Sat. 7:30 p.m., Sun. 2 p.m.

Pricing

Regularly priced tickets start at $69.50.

Group ticket prices:  12+ 15% off.

Educator's Discount: 50% off, limit 2 tickets, balcony seats only

There is a maximum ticket allotment of eight tickets per account/household/business for paid, ticketed events. (For some shows, it may be less.) Applicable service charges added at point of purchase. There is no maximum for free, non-ticketed events.

Students, Senior, Military: Students 18 years or younger, college students with valid ID cards, adults 65 years and older and members of the military with valid ID qualify for special half-priced tickets to selected Center-presented shows indicated below, on the day of the performance, 30- to 90-minutes before curtain, availability permitting. Limit one ticket per ID, cash only. Not valid with other discounts. Tickets already purchased for events may not be exchanged or refunded.

Pursuant to s.817.36, Florida Statutes, no Straz Center ticket may be offered or resold for more than $1 over the face value of the ticket.

What to Expect

Sung in English

The cast
Anna Koronova, the Merry Widow - Rochelle Bard
Prince Danilo Danilovitch, Attaché at the Embassy (the King's Nephew) – Nat Chandler
Baron Mirko Zeta, the Ambassador in Paris – Dean Anthony
Valencienne, the Ambassador's Wife – Diana McVey
Camille L'Amoureux, a Parisian Gentleman – Vale Rideout
Duca di Malavita, Italian Diplomat – Kenneth Mattice
Marquis des Clochards, French Diplomat – Ian O’Brien
Nikki, the Major Domo – Christopher Holloway
André – Michael Miersma
Bertrand – Dmitry Iogman
Clement – Nils Georg Haugland
Dominque – Aaron Wardell
Clo-Clo – Jacqueline Shoda-Iwasaki
Do-Do – Jennifer Lazarz
Frou-Frou – Linda Hines
Jou-Jou – Vanessa Isiguen
Lo-Lo - Jessica Best
Margot – Ashley Dannewitz

About the Show

At a glance:
In this comedy, a rich widow and her countrymen attempt to keep her money close at hand by finding her the right husband.

The Scene:
Paris in the early 20th Century

Characters:
Hanna Glawari, a wealthy widow
Count Danilo Danilovitsch, first secretary of the embassy and Hanna’s former lover
Baron Mirko Zeta, the ambassador
Valencienne, Baron Zeta’s wife
Camille, Count de Rosillon

Recommended Recording:
The Merry Widow
Franz Lehár (Composer), John Eliot Gardiner (Conductor), Wiener Philharmoniker and The Monteverdi Choir (Orchestras), Cheryl Studer, Bo Skovhus, Barbara Bonney, Rainer Trost, Bryn Terfel and Donna Deam (Performers)

Fun Fact:
Films based (very loosely) on the plot of the operetta:
• The 1925 silent version by Erich von Stroheim has John Gilbert as Danilo and Mae Murray as Hanna.
• The 1934 black and white version, by Ernst Lubitsch, starred Maurice Chevalier and Jeanette MacDonald.
• The 1952 Technicolor version starred Lana Turner and Fernando Lamas.

Click here to download a study guide.

Synopsis

About the composer

When The Merry Widow premieres in 1905:

• The Bloody Sunday massacre of Russian demonstrators, at the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, helps trigger the abortive Russian Revolution of 1905.
• The Cullinan Diamond is found near Pretoria, South Africa at the Premier Mine.
• Russo-Japanese War: The Battle of Mukden begins in Manchuria.
• U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt begins a full term.
• German Emperor William II asserts German equality with France in Morocco, triggering the Tangier or First Moroccan Crisis.
• Albert Einstein works on the special theory of relativity as well as the theory of Brownian motion.
• In India, the 1905 Kangra earthquake hits the Kangra valley, kills 20,000, and destroys most buildings in Kangra, Mcleodganj and Dharamshala.
• Lochner v. New York: The Supreme Court of the United States invalidates New York's 8-hour-day law.
• Mata Hari debuts in Paris.
• Las Vegas, Nevada is founded when 110 acres, in what later becomes downtown, are auctioned off.
• HMS Dreadnought is laid down, revolutionizing battleship design and triggering a naval arms race.
• The Wright Brothers' third aeroplane (Wright Flyer III) stays in the air for 39 minutes with Wilbur piloting. This is the first aeroplane flight lasting over 1/2 an hour.
• Wolves become extinct in Japan.
• The Fauvism movement is founded, led by Henri Matisse and André Derain.
• The word "lime" is first used to describe a color.