On January 18^th, Die lustige Witwe debuted at NCPA in a massive manner. This time Ug de Anna once more showcased his engrossing finesse by interpreting such masterpiece afresh, which added much to the upcoming Spring Festival’s boisterous hilarity.

Operetta Die lustige Witwe debuted at NCPA

This well-received operetta was composed by Franz Lehar in 1905. As soon as it got premiered in the end of that year, the play made a huge success. And it has been alive on the stage ever since. In this world-famous comedy, Count Danilo Danilovitch and his maid Hanna Glawari fall into love, but have to let go of each other as their disparity can’t be patched up anyway. The count feels so distressed as to lure a coquette as an antidote for such failure. Similarly, anger drives Hanna to marry a rich banker, who passes away by accident on the very day of their wedding. Then on a banquet, the pair meet each other unexpectedly. As Hanna is now a widow, every man wants to marry her and get the considerable fortune. To prevent it money from going abroad, the protagonist is required to marry Hanna. At first he truly says no, but his love for her revives over time. Finally, Hanna abandons the legacy for Danilo, and they lead a happy life from then on. In short, the comic play gave off a fascinating vibe.

A surreal yet real Paris

  

To capture the ageless artistry, NCPA invited the prestigious director and designer for creating a surreal yet real backdrop, in which the play told us what romanticism is really about. As Thomas Lesnar took the chair, the orchestra led audiences into Vienna the capital of music by elegant waltz. At the same time, Chinese singers simply made the comedy all the more contagious by adding many lines of their mother tongue. Western classic and Chinese tradition clashed with each other, thus sparking an awesome pageant in this regard.

Paris and Vienna appeared together on the stage here. Moreover, “Gothic Architecture” and “Lalique Decor” pervading the choreography further unleashed the romantic aestheticism of Paris. As the plot progressed, Eiffel Tower and Restaurant Maxim's de Paris, too, turned up.

Hanna performed by SONG Yuanming

The NCPA orchestra’s splendid prequel was followed by the awesome presence of Count Mirko Zeta (LIU Songhu), Viscount Cascada (WANG Hexiang) and Raoul de St Brioche (LIANG Yufeng). Then the main cast featuring Thomas Lesk as Danilo, SONG Yuanming as Hanna, Yiliduosi as Njegus, Sarah Zhai Strauss as Valencienne, SHI Yijie as Camille de Rosillon made their appearances. In particular, Lesk performed comically and received much applause. Obviously, the love between Danilo and Hanna stands many a test, so does that between Zeta and Valencienne, the latter of whom Camille chases in vain. Last but not least, SHI and Sarah brought a mind-blowing duet few guys had ever experienced. What is more, this operetta caught the eye with its dances including waltz, mazurek, cancan and kolo.

Joyful traditional European dances

Yet an international cast including Elena Rossi, Paul Armin Edelmann, Maria Mudarack, Paul Farnala will bring us their interpretation this evening. The dramatic feast, however, will continue to January 22^nd.

（Photos in this article is shot by LING Feng, WANG Xiaojing）