This week have a 1962 highlights version of Franz Lehar's operetta The Merry Widow, featuring Lisa Della Casa as the Merry Widow and John Reardon as the Count Danillo. One of the most popular stage pieces ever written, The Merry Widow premiered in Vienna in 1905, and has held stage continuously throughout the world since.
The story concerns a rich widow, Hanna, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband. It is based on a 1861 comedy, L'attaché d'ambassade (The Embassy Attaché) by Henri Meilhac.
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