NAPA, Calif. (22 January 2007) –The Bay Area’s acclaimed Lamplighters Music Theatre, in association with the Napa Valley Opera House will present two performances of Donald Pippin’s sparkling translation of the gloriously romantic "THE MERRY WIDOW" (original book and lyrics by Victor Léon and Leo Stein, with music by Franz Lehár). Lamplighters Artistic Director Barbara Heroux directs with conductor Monroe Kanouse at the baton. Featuring a live orchestra and cast of 40 performing Lehár’s ravishing score, including “Vilja,” “The Merry Widow Waltz,” and “You’ll Find Me At Maxim’s,” "THE MERRY WIDOW" plays February 10 and 11 at the Napa Valley Opera House. For tickets ($40/$35) and information, call the Napa Valley Opera House box office at (707) 226-7372, or visit www.nvoh.org.

A beautiful widow’s fortune could mean all the difference for a tiny nation’s future, but a spurned lover’s arrogance threatens to get in the way. Baron Zeta trusts his wife implicitly; it’s Madame Anna Glawari that he worries about. His only hope to secure the rich widow’s wealth is to find her a local man to marry, and thus he arranges for her to meet Danilo Danilovich, a handsome count with a penchant for Parisian nightlife. Unbeknownst to the Baron, when Anna was young and poor, Danilo and Anna were an item, but his family wouldn’t let them marry. Now that she’s a wealthy widow, his pride won’t let him win her back. Set in the intoxicating world of fin-de-siècle Paris amid elegant ladies, eligible bachelors, can-can dancers, and free-flowing champagne, this sparkling story set to Lehár’s ravishing score dances and dazzles in a delightfully captivating tale of true love.

The original production of "THE MERRY WIDOW" (Die Lustige Witwe) premiered at the Theater an der Wien on December 30, 1905 with music by Franz Lehár and libretto by Victor Léon and Leo Stein, and was adapted from the comedy L’attaché d’ambassade by Henri Meilhac. The Broadway production of "The Merry Widow" premiered at The New Amsterdam Theatre in 1907 and delighted Americans with its romance and refined sensuality. The history of the production on film stretches back almost as far as the operetta itself. Notable screen versions include Erich von Stroheim’s 1925 silent version with Mae Murray and John Gilbert, Ernst Lubitsch’s 1934 version with Jeanette MacDonald and Maurice Chevalier, and Joe Pasternak’s 1952 version starring screen icon Lana Turner as the Merry Widow and Fernando Lamas as Danilo.

Lamplighters Music Theatre has assembled a talented cast for "THE MERRY WIDOW" including Pamela Hicks and Claire Kelm (alternating) as Anna; Bill Neely and Baker Peeples (alternating) as Danilo; Jennifer Ashworth and Elena Sophia Krell (alternating) as Valencienne; Jonathan Smucker and Andrew Truett (alternating) as Camille; Rick Williams as Baron Zeta; Chris Uzelac as Njegus; Chris Focht as Saint-Brioche; and Chris Shuford as Cascada.

Lamplighters Artistic Director/Producer Barbara Heroux helms "THE MERRY WIDOW." Introduced to Lamplighters as a young actress and singer 30 years ago, Heroux has appeared on stage in many leading roles with the company in productions including Die Fledermaus, Hello, Dolly!, The Yeomen of the Guard, Patience, H.M.S. Pinafore, Ruddygore, Gondoliers, and many others. Under her direction, the Lamplighters production of Princess Ida traveled to the International Gilbert and Sullivan Festival in Buxton, England, where it captured awards for Best Production, Best Director, and Best Overseas Society. In addition to her work with Lamplighters, Heroux has directed and performed with many Bay Area companies, including Berkeley Opera, West Bay Opera, and Peninsula Civic Light Opera (now Broadway by the Bay), and is the recipient of four Bay Area Critics Circle Awards. She recently directed Madama Butterfly for the Livermore Valley Opera and The Most Happy Fella for Cinnabar Opera Theatre.

Monroe Kanouse was conductor for the Oakland Opera from 1981 to 1986; from 1981 to 1998, he led over 20 productions at Sacramento Opera. In addition, Kanouse has also conducted for Milwaukee, San Diego, Baltimore, Lake George, West Bay, and Livermore Opera companies, and has made frequent guest appearances with the Lamplighters. A member of the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music from 1992 to 2003, Kanouse is the composer of the comic opera Gambling Jones and Voices of Calafia.

Franz Lehár (music) was born in what is now Slovakia, the eldest son of a bandmaster for the Austro-Hungarian army. He studied violin and composition at the Prague Conservatory but was advised by composer Antonín Dvořák to focus on composition. After graduation in 1899, he joined his father’s band in Vienna as assistant bandmaster, and soon became the conductor at the historic Vienna Theater an der Wien, where his first opera, Wiener Frauen, was performed. Lehár is most famous for his operettas, the most successful of which is "THE MERRY WIDOW," but also composed sonatas, symphonic poems, marches, and a number of popular waltzes.

Victor Leon provided libretti for 75 Viennese operettas. His early works include Der Doppelganger (1886), Der Opernball (1898), Wiener Blut (1899), and Franz Lehar’s Der Rastelbinder (1902). Leon frequently collaborated with Leo Stein, most notably to create the book and lyrics for Die Lustige Witwe (1905), "THE MERRY WIDOW". Leon remained active well into the 20th Century, providing the libretto for Lehar’s Das Land des Lachelns (1930). Alone and in collaboration, Leo Stein wrote some of Vienna’s most popular operetta libretti, including Weiner Blut (1899), Das Susse Madel (1902), Vera Violetta (1907) and Die Csardasfurstin (1911), but he is best remembered for teaming with Victor Leon to create the book and lyrics for "THE MERRY WIDOW."

Lamplighters Music Theatre, recognized as one of the top Gilbert and Sullivan companies in the world, is one of the oldest continuously performing theatres in the Bay Area, and the only year-round musical theatre company in San Francisco. Since the company’s founding in 1952, Lamplighters Music Theatre has been dedicated to upholding the tradition of light opera and musical theatre, particularly through the production of the operettas of W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan. The company has produced the entire Gilbert and Sullivan canon as well as other light opera and musical theatre classics such as The Merry Widow, Die Fledermaus, Of Thee I Sing, My Fair Lady, Candide, and A Little Night Music. The company rounds out the season in March with Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Carousel in concert.

FOR CALENDAR EDITORS:

WHAT: The Bay Area’s acclaimed Lamplighters Music Theatre continues its 2006-07 season with the gloriously romantic operetta, "THE MERRY WIDOW," with music by Franz Lehár, and a sparkling translation by Pocket Opera’s inimitable Donald Pippin (original book and lyrics by Victor Léon and Leo Stein). Set in the intoxicating world of fin-de-siècle Paris amid elegant ladies, eligible bachelors, can-can dancers, and free-flowing champagne, this effervescent tale features a live orchestra and cast of 40 performing Lehár’s ravishing score, including “Vilja,” “The Merry Widow Waltz,” and “You’ll Find Me At Maxim’s.” Lamplighters Artistic Director Barbara Heroux directs with conductor Monroe Kanouse at the baton.

WHERE: Napa Valley Opera House, 1030 Main Street, Napa
WHEN: February 10, 8pm; February 11, 2pm
TICKETS: For tickets ($35-40) please call (707) 226-7372 or visit www.nvoh.org