The Merry Widow Is Dec. 30, 2017, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast

Summary: The Dec. 30, 2017, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is The Merry Widow by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season's production of The Merry Widow revives Susan Stroman's staging, which debuted as a new production Dec. 31, 2014; Stroman in choreography rehearsals for the 2014-2015 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Aug. 13, 2014

The Merry Widow by Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár (April 30, 1870-Oct. 24, 1948) is the Dec. 30, 2017, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast.

The setting for The Merry Widow is the cosmopolitan world of Paris at the turn of the 20th century. Celebrations of the birthday of the Grand Duke of the fictional Balkan principality of Pontevedro occasion confusion and strategems about love and money for French and Pontevedrin attendees.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s production of The Merry Widow is sung in English. British theatre director Jeremy Sams is credited with the English adaptation of the original German libretto for Die lustige Witwe.

The three-act opera begins at 1 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time). Its run time is estimated at 2 hours 47 minutes. Acts I spans 50 minutes. An intermission of 32 minutes precedes the last two acts. Acts II and III last for 85 minutes.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season offers nine performances of The Merry Widow. The Saturday matinee radio broadcast is the production’s sixth performance.

Ward Stare conducts all nine performances. The American conductor was born in Rochester, Monroe County, western New York. The Merry Widow’s season premiere, on Thursday, Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m., marks Maestro Stare’s Metropolitan Opera debut.

Susan Graham appears in the title role as Hanna Glawari for all nine performances. The American mezzo-soprano’s birthplace is Roswell, Chaves County, southeastern New Mexico. She debuted Sept. 26, 1991, at the Metropolitan Opera in the role of the second lady in Die Zauberflöte by Classical Era composer Wolfgang Mozart (Jan. 27, 1756-Dec. 5, 1791).

Andriana Chuchman performs as Valencienne, a baroness whose love-messaged fan causes confusion and then happy endings. The Ukrainian-Canadian soprano was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, central Canada. She debuted Jan. 9, 2014, at the Metropolitan Opera as Adina in L’Elisir d’Amore by Italian bel canto opera composer Gaetano Donizetti (Nov. 29, 1797-April 8, 1848).

Paul Groves appears as Count Danilo Danilovitsch, the merry widow’s first love, who wins his second chance at her love. The American operatic tenor’s birthplace is Lake Charles, Calcasieu Parish, southwestern Louisiana. He debuted Jan. 9, 1992, in the Metropolitan Opera as the steersman in Der Fliegende Holländer by German composer Richard Wagner (May 22, 1813-Feb. 13, 1883).

Taylor Stayton performs in the Saturday matinee’s role of Camille, Count de Rosillon, whose love message on Baroness Zeta’s fan creates confusion. The American tenor’s hometown is Sidney, Shelby County, west central Ohio. He debuted Oct. 18, 2011, at the Metropolitan Opera as Riccardo (Lord Richard Percy), in Act II of Donizetti’s Anna Bolena.

This season, Taylor Stayton shares the role of the flirtatious count with David Portillo. The American tenor’s birthplace is Houston, Harris County, southeastern Texas. He debuted Dec. 16, 2015, at the Metropolitan Opera as Count Almaviva in the opera house’s abridged, English version of Il Barbiere di Siviglia by Italian composer Gioachino Rossini (Feb. 29, 1792-Nov. 13, 1868). This season, David Portillo also appears as Eduardo in the Metropolitan Opera’s American premiere of The Exterminating Angel by British composer, conductor and pianist Thomas Adès.

Sir Thomas Allen appears as Baron Mirko Zeta, who is overly concerned about the merry widow’s wealth. The English operatic baritone was born in Seaham, County Durham, North East England. He debuted Nov. 5, 1981, at the Metropolitan Opera as Papageno in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte.

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season's presentation of The Merry Widow revives staging that debuted under the direction of Susan Stroman during the 2014-2015 Met Opera season. The American choreographer and theater director also choreographs the production.

Her production team comprises Julian Crouch as set designer and William Ivey Long as costume designer. Paule Constable is lighting designer and Mark Grey is sound designer.

Constable and Crouch debuted April 11, 2008, in Met Opera's premiere of Satyagraha by modern American composer Philip Glass. Long reprises his debut role, Dec. 31, 2014, in Stroman's new production of The Merry Widow. Grey debuted Oct. 13, 2008, in Met Opera's 2008-2009 premier of Doctor Atomic by contemporary American composer John Adams.

The Merry Widow is performed as the fifth of the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s 23 Saturday matinee broadcasts. The season’s fourth Saturday matinee broadcast was Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. Le Nozze di Figaro aired Saturday, Dec. 23, at 1 p.m.

The season’s sixth Saturday matinee broadcast is Hansel and Gretel by Humperdinck. The holiday-favorite opera is scheduled for Jan. 6, 2018, at 1 p.m.

The Merry Widow is the 102nd most performed opera, according to the Metropolitan Opera's 2016 Repertory Report. Performance statistics for 330 operas through Oct. 31, 2016, tally 40 performances of Mozart's Figaro opera between first performance, Feb. 17, 2000, and the report's last reported performance, May 7, 2015.

Operabase, an online database, rates Franz Lehár as the 13th most popular composer in a worldwide ranking of 1,281 composers for the five seasons from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016. Die lustige Witwe (“The Merry Widow”) holds 19th place in a worldwide list of 2,658 most popular operas.

The takeaway for The Merry Widow as the Dec. 30, 2017, Met Opera Saturday matinee broadcast is that the 2017-2018 Met Opera season’s fifth Saturday matinee broadcast waltzes ebulliently through the comedy of errors set into play by love and money.

The Metropolitan Opera's 2017-2018 season features holiday performances of Franz Lehár's happy opera, The Merry Widow: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 13, 2017

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

The 2017-2018 Met Opera season's production of The Merry Widow revives Susan Stroman's staging, which debuted as a new production Dec. 31, 2014; Stroman in choreography rehearsals for the 2014-2015 Met Opera season: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Aug. 13, 2014, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10154531471465533/

The Metropolitan Opera's 2017-2018 season features holiday performances of Franz Lehár's happy opera, The Merry Widow: The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera, via Facebook Dec. 13, 2017, @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/1015984954602553

For further information:

"Composers: Composers Ranked by the Number of Performances of Their Operas Over the Five Seasons 2011/2012 to 2015/16." Operabase > Opera Statistics.
Available @ http://operabase.com/top.cgi?lang=en

“David Portillo (Tenor).” Bach Cantatas Website > Biographies of Performers.
Available @ http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Portillo-David.htm

“Franz Lehár: The Merry Widow.” Metropolitan Opera > On Stage 2017-2018.
Available @ http://www.metopera.org/Season/2017-18-Season/merry-widow-lehar-tickets/

Marriner, Derdriu. “Le Nozze di Figaro Is Dec. 23, 2017, Met Opera Saturday Matinee Broadcast.” Earth and Space News. Monday, Dec. 18, 2017.
Available @ p;https://earth-and-space-news.blogspot.com/2017/12/le-nozze-di-figaro-is-dec-23-2017-met.html

Metropolitan Opera. "The Merry Widow in Rehearsal." YouTube. Nov. 24, 2014.
Available @ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BE2MAxLZUrQ

Metropolitan Opera. "The Merry Widow Trailer." YouTube. Jan. 6, 2015.
Available 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hq9n2JjXwo0

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "Director Susan Stroman works out some of the choreography for The Merry Widow’s grisettes. http://bit.ly/1vI0g95 Photo: Jonathan Tichler/Met Opera." Facebook. Aug. 13, 2014.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/photos/a.134969600532.229232.20807115532/10154531471465533/

The Metropolitan Opera @MetOpera. "The Merry Widow returns tomorrow, Dec 14, starring Susan Graham as the glamorous woman of the world set to retrieve the one thing that has eluded her—a commitment from her first love. Tickets from $25. Photos by Marty Sohl/Metropolitan Opera." Facebook. Dec. 13, 2017.
Available @ https://www.facebook.com/MetOpera/posts/10159849546025533

"Performances Statistics Through October 31, 2016.” MetOpera Database > The Metropolitan Opera Archives > Repertory Report.
Available @ http://archives.metoperafamily.org/archives/Database%20Opera%20Statistics.xml