Orlando Light Opera to Stage Re-Imagined Production of THE MERRY WIDOW

Orlando Light Opera will present their second summer season with their re-imagined production of Franz Lehar's classic, The Merry Widow.

With an original English translation by Swantje Levin, this version of the operetta will be unlike any other as veteran director, Eric Pinder brings Lehar's story into the twenty first century. Joined by a full orchestra from Space Coast Symphony and under the baton of maestro, AaRon Collins, this performance is not to be missed.

Orlando Light Opera is dedicated to bringing the magic of operetta with its effervescent vocal lines, light-hearted stories and alluring dance back to the Central Florida Stage. After collaborating with Central Florida Vocal Arts on its first production, The Student Prince, Orlando Light Opera became a part of the CFLVocalArts family in late 2016. Like its parent company, Orlando Light Opera aims to touch the hearts of a new generation of opera lovers by bringing modern style to timeless classics and this production is no exception!

In The Merry Widow, leading lady, Hanna, inherits a fortune from her late husband. The year is 2005, and she is so wealthy that everyone who is anyone in Silicon Valley is vying for her inner circle in order to gain access to a piece of her wealth. Believing that a new marriage is the best way to secure her inheritance, business mogul friend, Baron, springs into action with the help of his own wife, to find Hanna the right husband. It proves to be not as easy as it seems, however - the clever widow has her sights set on the charming and reckless Danny, a former college flame. There is only one problem: Danny has no intention of sacrificing his bachelor lifestyle for the comfort of marriage. He has a "wealth" of ladies to keep him entertained, and not even the promise of Hanna's fortune can pull him away from his luxuriant escapades. Rendezvous are rampant. Complications abound. Hanna ultimately gets her man as Lehár's unforgettable tunes bubble happily along.

Starring Claire Tendl as Hanna and Kevin Romero as Danny with John Segers as Baron and Eliza Dopira as his wife, Valerie, this production will feature the best vocal talent in the area with illustrious full orchestra.

The Merry Widow will be presented in the Edyth Bush Theatre at the Orlando Repertory Theatre and tickets are on sale now with local shows August 10th through the 13th and with satellite shows in Melbourne and Vero Beach August 19th and 20th!

Pictured: Elise Spagnuolo, Natalie Almeter, Eliza Dopira, Danielle Smith, Julie Batman. Photo by Gontran Durocher.

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