The Merry Widow | His Majesty’s Theatre | Ends July 22 | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Presented by WA Opera and commissioned by the Opera Conference, Australia’s national partnership of professional Opera companies, we are extremely fortunate in Perth with this new, refreshed production of The Merry Widow debuting in the grand style of His Majesty’s, affectionately referred to as The Maj.

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Phenomenal voices, luxurious costumes and sets, with all the spectacular sounds of The Merry Widow, this production is a great delight, an immense production, a lavish three-act banquet to satiate the senses.

If you are not an aficionado to the art form of Opera, this is your chance to experience some of the best people working in the industry including Vanessa Scammell, working the lens like a maverick, with wuthering hair, gracing this month’s OUTInPerth cover.

The Merry Widow is an operetta, a comedy of manners by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár; originally premiering in Vienna at the turn of the 19th century in 1905.

The operetta has received extraordinary international success, being revived and adapted over the last 100+ years into film, ballet and sound recording versions.

Originally sung in German, this production is translated by Justin Fleming who creates a meteoric, lively and clean production with the English language.

Graeme Murphy brings his spirited choreography and direction to Lehár’s charming comical operetta in this brand new production, with breathtaking sets by Michael Scott-Mitchell set in the opulent Parisian world of Art Deco.

Be transported back to 1920s Paris and immerse yourself in a universe of rich gold and black geometry, Dietrich top hats, with sumptuous silk flowing gowns with finger wave hairstyles, and monumental sets incorporating a Monet Garden which left the audience gasping in visual resplendence.

The Merry Widow has three remaining performances on July 20, 21 & 22 at His Majesty’s Theatre. Tickets and more information available from waopera.asn.au.

Guy Gomeze