The Classical Voice Department of Mahidol University is staging The Merry Widow, one of the most famous operettas in the world, at the Music Auditorium, College of Music, Mahidol University, Salaya campus, from Jan 23-25 at 7pm, plus a 1.30pm matinee on Jan 25.
Known as Die Lustige Witwe in German, the three-act play is the most successful work of Hungarian composer Franz Lehar. It is based on an 1861 comedy play, L'attaché D'Ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac.
It was first performed at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna in late 1905 and has been translated into many languages and performed all over the world.
This comic operetta tells the story of a young, rich and beautiful widow, Hanna, who was a daughter of a farmer. She married a millionaire banker who later died, leaving her a fortune of 40 million francs.
She decided to go to Paris to start a new life, and this made the leader of her poverty-stricken country of Pontevedro worried that she might marry a foreign man and the country lose all the money she has inherited.
So the leader of the country ordered Baron Zeta, the ambassador of Pontevedro in Paris, to arrange for Hanna to marry only the Pontevedrians.
Zeta sends Danilo, an embassy diplomat, to marry Hanna and keep the money in the country. Danilo was Hanna's former boyfriend, but their romance was interrupted by his family because she was poor.
The story gets more complicated, as Danilo now refuses to court Hanna for her fortune, and Hanna vows that she will not marry him until he says "I love you" -- something he claims he will never do.
Directed by Prof Napisi Reyes, the Bangkok version features a large orchestra conducted by well-known conductor Pamornpan Komolpamorn. The performance has both Thai and English surtitles.
Tickets cost 300, 500, 800 and 1,000 baht (150 baht for students) and can be purchased from ticketmelon.com/msmu/themerrywidow.
photo courtesy of Mahidol University's College of Music
Call 097-323-5719.