The Merry Widow at the Paris Opera / Palais Garnier: DIE LUSTIGE WITWE

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I heard Lehár’s “The Merry Widow (Die Lustige Witwe)” at the Paris Opera (Palais Garnier). I rarely listen to opera or operetta because I do not understand the language, but I also wanted to experience the atmosphere of the Paris Opera, so I bought a box seat and went.

Table of Contents

Cast

The cast was as follows.

Role	Cast
Conductor	Asher Fisch
Baron Mirko Zeta	Harald Serafin
Valencienne	Ana Maria Labin
Valencienne	Ana Maria Labin
Graf Danilo	Bo Skovhus
Hanna Glawari	Susan Graham
Hanna Glawari	Christina Dietzsch-Carvin
Hanna Glawari	Aurélie Nadelmann
Camille de Rosillon	Daniel Behle
Vicomte Cascada	Edwin Crossley-Mercer
Raoul de Saint-Brioche	François Piolino
Bogdanowitsch	Francis Bouyer
Sylviane	Claudia Galli
Kromow	Francis Dudziak
Olga	Andrea Hill
Pritschitsch	Fabrice Dalis
Praskowia	Michèle Lagrange
Njegus	Franz Mazura

Suzan Grapham と Bo Skovhus — Susan Graham, Bo Skovhus. Photo: Julien Benhamou

The Paris Opera’s “The Merry Widow”

The Paris Opera production featuring Karita Mattila as Hanna is apparently famous. She is indeed excellent, but Susan Graham, whom I heard, was also very good. The sadness of the Vilja Lied touched me, and her acting in “Lippen schweigen” was skillful as well. Hanna’s emotional uncertainty came through, giving her a more endearing quality than Karita Mattila, perhaps. Of course, comparing a live performance with YouTube is terribly unfair. (I found a partial version sung by Susan Graham on YouTube, so I replaced it with that [2025-04-28].)

Watch this video on YouTube.
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Danilo was played by the same Bo Skovhus seen in this video. The video is apparently from 1997, making this performance fully 15 years later. He had aged accordingly, but I felt that this also gave the role greater depth.

Watch this video on YouTube.
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The Program Seller’s “Song” During Intermission

During intermission, it was amusing to hear the program seller call out “Programme de sorlér 〜♪,” selling them in a voice like a bird singing. I do not think this is often seen in other countries…. I wonder what they do in Italy.