The operetta, which played the Metropolitan Opera in December 2014, airs on PBS stations around the country at 9 PM ET as part of "Great Performances at the Met." In New York WNET/13 will repeat the program June 21 at 12:30 PM; check local listings.
Directed and choreographed by Tony winner Susan Stroman, the cast also features 2015 Tony Award winner Kelli O'Hara in her Met debut in the comic role of Valencienne, Nathan Gunn as the handsome Danilo, Alek Shrader as Camille and Thomas Allen as Baron Zeta.
Sir Andrew Davis conducted.
The Merry Widow was performed in a new English translation by Jeremy Sams and had set design by Julian Crouch, costume design by William Ivey Long in his Met debut and lighting design by Paule Constable.
The opera, according to press notes, concerns "a wealthy widow’s countrymen [who] launch a romantic plot to keep her—and her tax dollars—within their borders."
The Merry Widow was composed by Franz Lehar with librettists Viktor Leon and Leo Stein.
