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74-658: The Hôtel Normandy was opened in 1912 by architect Théo Petit, following the opening of the nearby Casino of Deauville. Both were opened by Eugène Cornuché, the former owner of Maxim's restaurant in Paris and director of the Trouville-sur-Mer casino. In the next year, he opened the Royal Barrière Hotel in Deauville. Later, his partner, François André, took over management of the hotel. In 1927, he built

148-408: A Count to keep her money at home, thus preventing economic disaster in the duchy. The play was soon adapted into German as Der Gesandschafts-Attaché (1862) and was given several successful productions. In early 1905, Viennese librettist Leo Stein came across the play and thought it would make a good operetta. He suggested this to one of his writing collaborators, Viktor Léon and to the manager of

222-412: A Woman was shot in the hotel, starring Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant . Maxim%27s Maxim's ( French pronunciation: [maksim‿s] ) is a restaurant in Paris, France, located at No. 3 Rue Royale in the 8th arrondissement . It is known for its Art Nouveau interior decor. In the mid 20th century, Maxim's was regarded as the most famous restaurant in the world. Maxim's

296-439: A beauty sitting by the window, in view from the sidewalk." It was so famous that the third act of Franz Lehár 's 1905 operetta The Merry Widow was set there. In 1913, Jean Cocteau said of Maxim's clientele: "It was an accumulation of velvet, lace, ribbons, diamonds and what all else I couldn't describe. To undress one of these women is like an outing that calls for three weeks' advance notice, it's like moving house." After

370-699: A different language. Productions also swiftly followed in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Milan, Moscow and Madrid, among other places. It was eventually produced in every city with a theatre industry. Bernard Grün , in his book Gold and Silver: The Life and Times of Franz Lehar , estimates that The Merry Widow was performed about half a million times in its first sixty years. Global sheet music sales and recordings totalled tens of millions of dollars. Its popularity influenced fashions and inspired merchandising and product tie-ins, from corsets to chocolates. According to theatre writer John Kenrick , no other play or musical up to

444-504: A fitness center, a spa, and a children's club. It has an inside corridor that directly leads to the Casino of Deauville. The hotel was renovated in 2015–2016. The hotel was used as a filming location for several TV shows and films, such in 1996, when it was used as the location for Agatha Christie's Poirot in the episode The Murder on the Links . The episode is adapted from a novel with

518-511: A grisette, entertains the guests (" Ja, wir sind es, die Grisetten "). When Danilo arrives, having found the real Maxim's empty, he tells Hanna to give up Camille for the sake of Pontevedro. Much to Danilo's delight, Hanna replies truthfully that she was never engaged to Camille but was protecting the reputation of a married woman. Danilo comes very close to declaring his love for Hanna, but stops himself from doing so when he remembers her money and his proud refusal to court her for it. Njegus produces

592-564: A lavish 1977 production starring Beverly Sills and Alan Titus with a new translation by Sheldon Harnick . An Australian Opera production starred Joan Sutherland , and PBS broadcast a production by the San Francisco Opera in 2002, among numerous other broadcasts. The Metropolitan Opera had mounted the opera 18 times by 2003. The first performance by The Royal Opera in London was in 1997. The first production in Paris

666-544: A line of men's evening wear. Friday night was still black-tie night at the restaurant itself. Other items included table linens, china, glassware, furniture and flowers, in around 200 boutiques in France. In 1981, Air Maxim's International was grossing over $ 50 million annually, mostly from licensing fees. When the Michelin Guide , which had awarded Maxim's three stars for years, were rumored to be considering reducing

740-588: A new English adaptation, which was revived many times until the company closed at the end of the 1980s. Essgee Entertainment staged productions of The Merry Widow in capital cities around Australia during 1998 and 1999. A prologue was added featuring a narrative by Jon English and a ballet introducing the earlier romance of Anna and Danilo. The production opened in Brisbane , with Jeffrey Black as Danilo, Helen Donaldson as "Anna", Simon Gallaher as Camille and English as Baron Zeta. In some performances, during

814-408: A scandal when she entered the restaurant barefoot. Jean Paul Gaultier recalls that Pierre Cardin was rejected from Maxim's de Paris restaurant due to the dress code, creating "a huge scandal," when he wore a turtleneck instead of a dress shirt and bow tie. Other guests of this time period were Sylvie Vartan , John Travolta , Jeanne Moreau , Barbra Streisand , and Kiri Te Kanawa . It was during

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888-482: Is a whole-tone lower than the original. Danilo and Hanna's hummed waltz theme becomes a chorus number, and the ending of the "Rosebud Romance" is sung mostly in unison rather than as a conversation. In the Hassall version, the action of act 3 takes place at Maxim's. Valencienne and the other Embassy wives arrive to seek out Danilo and convince him to return to Hanna, closely followed by their husbands, seeking to achieve

962-695: Is an operetta by the Austro-Hungarian composer Franz Lehár . The librettists , Viktor Léon and Leo Stein , based the story – concerning a rich widow, and her countrymen's attempt to keep her money in the principality by finding her the right husband – on an 1861 comedy play, L'attaché d'ambassade ( The Embassy Attaché ) by Henri Meilhac . The operetta has enjoyed extraordinary international success since its 1905 premiere in Vienna and continues to be frequently revived and recorded. Film and other adaptations have also been made. Well-known music from

1036-722: Is frequently revived in Vienna and is part of the Vienna Volksopera's repertory. The Volksopera released a complete live performance on CD, interpolating the "Can-Can" from Offenbach's Orpheus in the Underworld , which was copied in many other productions worldwide. Best known as Danilo in the German version was the actor Johannes Heesters , who played the part thousands of times for over thirty years. The operetta has also been translated into Italian (as La Vedova Allegra ). The operetta has been recorded both live and in

1110-582: Is highly rated by the 2008 The Penguin Guide to Recorded Classical Music , but Alan Blyth in his Opera on CD regrets the casting of a baritone as Danilo in both sets and prefers the 1958 Decca version. Among the filmed productions on DVD, the Penguin Guide recommends the one from the San Francisco Opera , recorded live in 2001, conducted by Erich Kunzel and directed by Lotfi Mansouri , with Yvonne Kenny as Hanna and Bo Skovhus as Danilo. With

1184-909: Is to be a guest at the ball – and the Pontevedrin ambassador, Baron Zeta, is scheming to ensure that she will keep her fortune in the country, saving Pontevedro from bankruptcy. The Baron intends that Count Danilo Danilovitsch, the first secretary of the embassy, should marry the widow; unfortunately for this plan, Danilo is not at the party, so Zeta sends Danilo's assistant Njegus to fetch him from Maxim's . Danilo arrives and meets Hanna. It emerges they were in love before her marriage, but his uncle had interrupted their romance because Hanna had had nothing to her name. Though they still love each other, Danilo now refuses to court Hanna for her fortune, and Hanna vows that she will not marry him until he says "I love you" – something he claims he will never do. Meanwhile, Baron Zeta's wife Valencienne has been flirting with

1258-469: The Belle Époque style. Most of the rooms have a view of the sea. Nineteen lounges host conferences, receptions, cocktails, and gala evenings. The suite "A Man and a Woman" is kept in memory and tribute to the love scene from Claude Lelouch 's 1966 film A Man and a Woman . The main restaurant is La Belle époque. The hotel also features a piano bar offering a menu of more than one hundred varieties of whiskey,

1332-546: The Majestic Theatre and returned the next season at the New York City Center for another 32 performances. Glocken Verlag Ltd, London, published two different English translation editions in 1958. One English-language libretto is by Phil Park , which was adapted and arranged by Ronald Hanmer . The other is by Christopher Hassall , based on the edition by Ludwig Doblinger, Vienna. The Park version

1406-517: The Theater an der Wien , who was eager to produce the piece. The two adapted the play as a libretto and updated the setting to contemporary Paris, expanding the plot to reference an earlier relationship between the widow (this time a countrywoman) and the Count, and moving the native land from a dour German province to a colourful little Balkan state. In addition, the widow admits to an affair to protect

1480-487: The same name that was published in 1923. The events originally take place in a fictional town called Merlinville-sur-Mer in northern France in the 1920s, however, in the adaptation, the events take place in Deauville a decade later. The 2013 romantic comedy film Hôtel Normandy is named after the hotel, with its main character, Alice, staying at the hotel. A scene in Claude Lelouch's Palme d'Or -winner A Man and

1554-614: The "Grammophon Streich-Orchester"; it includes a considerable amount of the operetta's dialogue. After that, excerpts appeared periodically on disc, but no new full recording was issued until 1950, when Columbia Records released a set sung in English with Dorothy Kirsten and Robert Rounseville . In 1953, EMI 's Columbia label released a near-complete version produced by Walter Legge , conducted by Otto Ackermann , with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf as Hanna, Erich Kunz as Danilo, Nicolai Gedda as Camille and Emmy Loose as Valencienne. It

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1628-420: The 1944 production, while June Bronhill and Thomas Round led the 1958 cast and recording. Lizbeth Webb and John Rhys Evans starred in a brief 1969 revival. Revivals were mounted in major New York theatres in 1921, 1929, 1931 and 1943–1944. The last of these starred Marta Eggerth and her husband Jan Kiepura , with sets by Howard Bay and choreography by George Balanchine . It ran for 322 performances at

1702-483: The 1960s had enjoyed such international commercial success. In its English adaptation by Basil Hood , with lyrics by Adrian Ross , The Merry Widow became a sensation at Daly's Theatre in London, opening on 8 June 1907, starring Lily Elsie and Joseph Coyne and featuring George Graves as the Baron, Robert Evett as Camille and W. H. Berry as Nisch, with costumes by Lucile and Percy Anderson . Gabrielle Ray

1776-555: The 1960s, Maxim's Restaurant at Orly Airport in France opened. Maxim's: The Nancy Goldberg International Center in Chicago went up for bids in 2013, after opening in 1963 as a replica of Maxim's Paris as well. The Chicago Maxim's de Paris was sold in 2022 from the City of Chicago, to local residents Victoria and Adam Bilter, to have the interior restored and re-opened as a private members social-club, Astor Club . Brigitte Bardot caused

1850-576: The 400th performance, but it is rarely used in productions of the operetta, as the original short introduction is preferred. The Vienna Philharmonic performed the overture at Lehár's 70th birthday concert in April 1940. The embassy in Paris of the poverty-stricken Balkan principality of Pontevedro is holding a ball to celebrate the birthday of the sovereign, the Grand Duke . Hanna Glawari, who has inherited twenty million francs from her late husband,

1924-538: The Baron's wife, and the Count's haven is changed to the Parisian restaurant and nightclub Maxim's . They asked Richard Heuberger to compose the music, as he had a previous hit at the Theater an der Wien with a Parisian-themed piece, Der Opernball (1898). He composed a draft of the score, but it was unsatisfactory, and he gladly left the project. The theatre's staff next suggested that Franz Lehár might compose

1998-454: The Century" series. Among later complete or substantially complete sets are those conducted by Herbert von Karajan with Elizabeth Harwood as Hanna (1972); Franz Welser-Möst with Felicity Lott (1993); and John Eliot Gardiner with Cheryl Studer (1994). The Ackermann recording received the highest available rating in the 1956 The Record Guide and the later EMI set under Matačić

2072-461: The French attaché to the embassy, Count Camille de Rosillon, who writes "I love you" on her fan. Valencienne puts off Camille's advances, saying that she is a respectable wife. However, they lose the incriminating fan, which is found by embassy counsellor Kromow. Kromow jealously fears that the fan belongs to his own wife, Olga, and gives it to Baron Zeta. Not recognising it, Baron Zeta decides to return

2146-488: The Frenchman will marry her and cease to be a temptation for Valencienne herself. True to his bargain with the Baron, Danilo circulates the ballroom, rounding up ladies to claim dances and thin the crowd around the wealthy widow. Hanna, however, chooses the one man who is not apparently interested in dancing with her: Danilo, who immediately announces that he will sell his dance with Hanna Glawari for ten thousand francs, with

2220-768: The Grand Duke's birthday in his own country's fashion. Hanna entertains by singing an old Pontevedrin song: " Es lebt' eine Vilja , ein Waldmägdelein " ("There lived a Vilja, a maid of the woods"). Meanwhile, Baron Zeta fears that Camille will spoil his plan for Hanna to marry a Pontevedrin. Still not recognising the fan as Valencienne's, the Baron orders Danilo to discover the identity of its owner, whom he correctly assumes to be Camille's married lover. The two men, along with Njegus, arrange to meet that evening in Hanna's garden pavilion to discuss Danilo's findings, as well as

2294-683: The Hôtel du Golf. In 1962, the Groupe Lucien Barrière was founded. The hotel is considered the flagship hotel of Groupe Barrière. One year after its opening, funded by her English lover Boy Capel , Coco Chanel set up her Chanel hat shop within the hotel grounds. Hotel Barrière Le Normandy Deauville is a palace hotel built in a traditional regional architecture of manor style— Anglo-Norman cottage with half-timbered and checkered stones. It has 226 rooms and 45 suites, decorated by interior designer Jacques Garcia and inspired by

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2368-526: The Palm Springs hotel, opened in February 1986, also encountered occupancy issues. The press noted criticism by food critics for Cardin's apparent focus on Maxim's as a franchisable trademark, with food quality not commensurable with price. The Club des Cent (club of 100) moved its general assembly to another restaurant. Cardin had a Maxim's boutique, selling evening clothes, and Maxim's Minim's at

2442-695: The Paris location selling gourmet snacks within blocks of the restaurant. Pierre Cardin died in 2020. By 2023, Maxim's was open mainly for private events. In March 2023, Laurent de Gourcuff , CEO of Paris Society, announced that his company had been selected to revive the restaurant, and that a cocktail bar and terrace would be created on the upper floors. Daily bookings resumed in November 2023. 48°52′2.3″N 02°19′20″E  /  48.867306°N 2.32222°E  / 48.867306; 2.32222 The Merry Widow The Merry Widow (German: Die lustige Witwe [diː ˈlʊstɪɡə ˈvɪtvə] )

2516-571: The Peacock Grill opened in Houston , and then was renamed Maxim's, with design based on Maxim's de Paris. In the late 1950s, Pan Am had Maxim's de Paris food catered in-flight, including their famous beef entree, as the Boeing 377 Stratocruisers "had their own ovens, and there was usually a beef tenderloin cooked on board and sliced in front of you." Maxim's was also immensely popular with

2590-696: The Persian Empire . 600 guests dined over five and a half hours in the longest and most lavish official banquet in modern history as recorded in successive editions of the Guinness Book of World Records . Cardin Enterprises began lending their name to the owners, Louis Vaudable and Maggie Vaudable, in 1978. The Maxim's brand was extended to a wide range of goods and services. In 1981, Maxim's Boutiques sold around 900 items made or purchase by Cardin, but all sold under Maxim's label, including

2664-570: The Vaudables. The playwright Georges Feydeau wrote a popular comedy called La Dame de chez Maxim ("The Lady from Maxim's"). In the course of the German occupation of Paris during World War II, Otto Horcher was installed as the manager of the restaurant, with the restaurant itself remaining in business. Maxim's was the most popular Parisian restaurant of the German high command and collaborationist celebrities. Hermann Göring , Otto Abetz , and Ernst Jünger favoured Maxim's when in Paris. Due to

2738-404: The business, with decor and ambiance expected to remain the same. Under Cardin's management, an Art Nouveau museum was later created on three floors of the building and a cabaret was established, which Cardin filled each night with songs from the beginning of the 20th century. The chefs who worked at Maxim's included a young Wolfgang Puck . Beijing was Maxim's first outlet, and was located on

2812-514: The cushions of the banquettes. In 1956, the fame of the restaurant led to its becoming the namesake for a Western-inspired restaurant in Hong Kong , Maxim's Boulevard. The restaurant achieved rapid success and eventually developed into the conglomerate Maxim's Caterers , the largest catering corporation in Hong Kong by revenue and market share, and one of the largest in all of East Asia. In

2886-557: The customers at Beijing Maxim's were from embassies and American and French tourist groups. Chinese nationals increasingly became the main customers at the Beijing restaurant by 1993. A New York location was opened in 1985, after two years in development. The restaurant posted a loss in its first year, and was closed after seven years. Around 1985, the restaurants in Brussels and Rio de Janeiro were scuttled over management issues, and

2960-417: The early 1970s, De Gaulle Airport opened, and the holding company Air Maxim's International was created to manage all the restaurants at the airport. It also began managing two airport restaurants at Lyon and Marseille, and also, catering on trains and in department stores and the management of two hotels. In 1971, Maxim's closed briefly while it was providing food and wine for the 2,500-year celebration of

3034-495: The fan discreetly, in spite of Valencienne's desperate offers to take it "to Olga" herself. On his way to find Olga, the Baron meets Danilo, and his diplomatic mission takes precedence over the fan. The Baron orders Danilo to marry Hanna. Danilo refuses, but offers to eliminate any non-Pontevedrin suitors as a compromise. As the "Ladies' Choice" dance is about to begin, Hanna becomes swarmed with hopeful suitors. Valencienne volunteers Camille to dance with Hanna, privately hoping that

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3108-409: The fan, accidentally left behind by Danilo, Camille begs Valencienne to let him have it as a keepsake . Valencienne agrees, writing "I'm a respectable wife" on it as a rejoinder to Camille's "I love you." Camille persuades Valencienne to join him in the pavilion so that they can say their goodbyes in private. This is of course the same pavilion where Danilo, the Baron, and Njegus have agreed to meet, and

3182-417: The fan, which he picked up earlier, and Baron Zeta finally remembers that it belongs to Valencienne. He swears to divorce his wife and marry the widow himself, but Hanna stops him by declaring that she will lose her fortune if she remarries. At this, Danilo promptly confesses his love for her and asks Hanna to marry him. Hanna triumphantly accepts, adding that she will lose her fortune only because it will become

3256-432: The fifties, sixties and seventies that Maxim's, under the management of Octave Vaudable's son, Louis Vaudable, became the most famous restaurant in the world and one of the most expensive. With his wife Magguy, Louis Vaudable assured Maxim's international reputation. François Vaudable, who had been directing the restaurant by his father's side for years, pursued the work of his family which gave Maxim's its era of glory. In

3330-461: The international celebrities of the 1950s, with guests such as Aristotle Onassis , Maria Callas , the Duke of Windsor and his wife Wallis Simpson , Porfirio Rubirosa , Max Ophüls , and Barbara Hutton . When the restaurant was renovated at the end of the 1950s, workmen discovered a treasure trove of lost coins and jewelry that had slipped out of the pockets of the wealthy and been trapped between

3404-417: The latter, arriving first, locks the door when he spots people inside. Baron Zeta and Danilo follow, but Njegus quickly arranges with Hanna to change places with Valencienne. Camille emerges from the pavilion with Hanna, who announces that they plan to marry, leaving the Baron distraught at the thought of Pontevedro losing Hanna's millions and Valencienne distraught at losing Camille. Danilo is furious, and tells

3478-399: The leading roles. They had starred as the romantic couple in other operettas in Vienna, including a production of Der Opernball and a previous Léon and Lehár success, Der Rastelbinder (1902). Both stars were so enthusiastic about the piece that they supplemented the theatre's low-budget production by paying for their own lavish costumes. During the rehearsal period, the theatre lost faith in

3552-443: The location. At the end of the 19th century, in la belle époque , Maxim's "became the social and culinary centre of Paris." It became one of the most popular and fashionable restaurants in Paris under its next owner, Eugene Cornuché. He gave the dining room its Art Nouveau decor, installed a piano , and made sure that it was always filled with beautiful women. Cornuché was accustomed to say: "An empty room... Never! I always have

3626-415: The name of the principality to Marsovia, Danilo is promoted to the title of Prince, Hannah is Sonia, the Baron is Popoff, Njegus is Nisch, Camille's surname is de Jolidon and Valencienne is Natalie, among other changes. The final scene was relocated into Maxim's itself, rather than the original theme-party setting, to take further advantage of the fame of the nightclub. Graves ad-libbed extensive "business" in

3700-552: The number to two, Vaudable says they "demanded a special symbol because we're not a restaurant like others. When the Michelin refused, I asked that we be dropped." According to The New York Times , the feud did not affect the popularity of the restaurant, with reservations still required a day in advance and a "hierarchical seating system" controlled by the restaurant's director. In 1981, the French Government declared

3774-658: The permission of the Franz Lehár Estate, Sir Robert Helpmann adapted the operetta's plot scenario , while John Lanchbery and Alan Abbot adapted the operetta's music and composed additional music, for a three-act ballet. The Merry Widow ballet, choreographed by Ronald Hynd with designs by Desmond Heeley , was first performed on 13 November 1975 at the Palais Theatre , Melbourne, by The Australian Ballet . The ballet has been performed by American Ballet Theatre , among other major companies. In 1909,

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3848-418: The piece. Lehár had worked with Léon and Stein on Der Göttergatte the previous year. Although Léon doubted that Lehár could invoke an authentic Parisian atmosphere, he was soon enchanted by Lehar's first number for the piece, a bubbly galop melody for "Dummer, dummer Reitersmann". The score of Die Lustige Witwe was finished in a matter of months. The theatre engaged Mizzi Günther and Louis Treumann for

3922-414: The problem of securing the widow's fortune for Pontevedro. Seeing the fan, Hanna takes the message on it to be Danilo's declaration of love for her, which he denies. His inquiries regarding the fan prove fruitless, but do reveal infidelities committed by some of the wives of embassy personnel. That evening, Camille and Valencienne meet in the garden, where Valencienne insists that they must part. Discovering

3996-417: The proceeds to benefit charity. This extinguishes the remaining suitors' interest in the dance. After they have left, Danilo attempts to dance with Hanna, who refuses in annoyance. Nonchalantly he proceeds to waltz by himself, eventually wearing down Hanna's resistance, and she falls into his arms. The next evening, everyone is dressed in Pontevedrin clothing for a garden party at Hanna's house, now celebrating

4070-534: The production to the Theater des Westens (Gustav Matzner as Danilo and Marie Ottmann as Hanna starred and, with the Berlin cast in 1907, made the work's first complete recording, including dialogue, for Deutsche Grammophon ), and Budapest's Magyar Színház in a faithful Hungarian translation. The piece became an international sensation, and translations were quickly made into various languages: in 1907, Buenos Aires theatres were playing at least five productions, each in

4144-400: The production's Brisbane run, Jason Barry-Smith appeared as Danilo. In Melbourne , Sydney and Adelaide in 1999, John O'May appeared as Danilo, Marina Prior as "Hanna", Max Gillies as Zeta, Gallaher as Camille and Donaldson as Valencienne. Numerous opera companies have mounted the operetta. New York City Opera mounted several productions from the 1950s through the 1990s, including

4218-631: The property of her husband. Valencienne produces the fan and assures Baron Zeta of her fidelity by reading out what she had replied to Camille's declaration: "I'm a highly respectable wife". In the 1970s, the Light Opera of Manhattan , a year-round professional light opera repertory company in New York City, commissioned Alice Hammerstein Mathias, the daughter of Oscar Hammerstein II , to create

4292-462: The property of her new husband. Valencienne assures Baron Zeta of her fidelity by pointing out her reply to Camille's declaration of love written on the fan: " Ich bin eine anständige Frau " ("I'm a respectable wife"). All ends happily. The operetta was produced in 1906 in Hamburg 's Neues Operetten-Theater, Berlin's Berliner Theater  [ de ] with Max Monti's company before Monti moved

4366-485: The restaurant fell on hard times, in 1932, Octave Vaudable, owner of the restaurant Noel Peters, bought Maxim's. He started selecting his clients, favouring the regulars, preferably famous or rich, beginning a new era of prestigious catering under the Vaudable family which lasted more than half a century. Famous guests of the 1930s included Edward VIII , Josephine Baker and Jean Cocteau , a close friend and neighbour of

4440-459: The restaurant's Art Nouveau interior a historic monument. The same year, upset at the idea of its falling into foreign hands, the Vaudables offered to sell Maxim's to fashion designer Pierre Cardin . Cardin Enterprises purchased it in May 1981 for an undisclosed price, said to be in excess of US$ 20 million. Louis and Francois Vaudable were expected to train a successor chosen by Cardin and then leave

4514-546: The role of the Baron. Edwardes engaged Lehár to write two new songs, one of which, "Quite Parisien" (a third act solo for Nisch) is still used in some productions. Lehár also made changes for a Berlin production in the 1920s, but the definitive version of the score is basically that of the original production. The first American production opened on 21 October 1907 at the New Amsterdam Theatre on Broadway for another very successful run of 416 performances, and

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4588-477: The same purpose. The Grisettes, Parisian cabaret girls, make a grand entrance, led by the voluptuous ZoZo. Zeta finds the brokenhearted Danilo, and as they argue, Hanna enters. Hanna, Danilo and Zeta separately bribe the Maitre'd to clear the room so Hanna and Danilo can be alone. Danilo sets aside his pride and asks Hanna to give up Camille for the sake of the country. Much to Danilo's delight, Hanna tells him that she

4662-638: The score and asked Lehár to withdraw it, but he refused. The piece was given little rehearsal time on stage before its premiere. Die Lustige Witwe was first performed at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna on 30 December 1905, with Günther as Hanna, Treumann as Danilo, Siegmund Natzler as Baron Zeta and Annie Wünsch as Valencienne. After a couple of shaky weeks at the box-office, it became a major success, receiving good reviews and running for 483 performances. The production also toured in Austria in 1906. The operetta originally had no overture; Lehár wrote one for

4736-405: The score includes the " Vilja Song", " Da geh' ich zu Maxim " ("You'll Find Me at Maxim's"), and the "Merry Widow Waltz". In 1861, Henri Meilhac premiered a comic play in Paris, L'attaché d'ambassade ( The Embassy Attaché ), in which the Parisian ambassador of a poor German grand duchy , Baron Scharpf, schemes to arrange a marriage between his country's richest widow (a French woman) and

4810-557: The second floor of the Chongwenmen Hotel , an affiliate of Beijing Tourism Group , owned by the government of China. The Chinese state owned 51% of Beijing Maxim's, while Maxim's held 49%. For the location, material was imported from Italy and France, and craftspeople were brought in from Japan, with total decorations costing $ 3.5 million. When it opened, authorities did require some of the naked figures be covered with curtains. A former Maxim's employee stated around 70% to 80% of

4884-468: The story of a Princess who cheated on her Prince (" Es waren zwei Königskinder )" before storming off to seek distraction at Maxim's. Hanna realises that Danilo's anger over her engagement to another man proves that he loves her, and she rejoices amid the general despair. Act 3 is set at a theme party in Hanna's ballroom, which she has decorated to look like Maxim's, complete with Maxim's grisettes ( can-can dancers). Valencienne, who has dressed herself as

4958-460: The studio many times, and several video recordings have been made. In 1906, the original Hanna and Danilo, Mizzi Günther and Louis Treumann, recorded their arias and duets, and also some numbers written for Camille and Valencienne; CD transfers were made in 2005. The first recording of a substantially complete version of the score was made of the Berlin 1907 production, with Ottmann and Matzner in their lead roles and Bruno Seidler-Winkler conducting

5032-660: The support of officials, Maxim's enjoyed protected status during the occupation: its employees were not deported and it was exempt from food restrictions. It was closed by the French resistance after the liberation of Paris , reopening in September 1946. After the war, the Vaudables restored the restaurant and began expanding internationally as well, with the restaurants in Istanbul, Chicago, Tokyo and Mexico City using Maxim's name but operating under different management. In 1949,

5106-536: Was a replacement as the Maxim's dancer Frou-Frou . It was produced by George Edwardes . The production ran for an extraordinary 778 performances in London and toured extensively in Great Britain. The adaptation renamed many of the characters, to avoid offense to Montenegro , where the royal family's surname was Njegus, the crown prince was named Danilo, and Zeta was the principal founding state. Hood changed

5180-571: Was at the Théâtre Apollo on 28 April 1909 as La Veuve joyeuse . Although Parisians were worried about how their city would be portrayed in the operetta, the Paris production was well received and ran for 186 performances. In this translation, Hanna is an American raised in "Marsovie" named "Missia". Danilo was a prince with gambling debts. The third act was set in Maxim's. The following year, the operetta played in Brussels . The Merry Widow

5254-505: Was founded as a bistro in 1893 by Maxime Gaillard, formerly a waiter, at 3 Rue Royale in Paris. The location had previously been an ice-cream parlor. In 1899, it was given the decor it became known for, in preparation for the 1900 Paris Exposition . Ceilings were done in stained-glass, and there are murals of nymphs. In that era, it became known as a "place to take ladies but never one's wife," as said in Franz Lehar 's music about

5328-649: Was never engaged to Camille, but that she was protecting the reputation of a married woman. Danilo is ready to declare his love for Hanna, and is on the point of doing so when he remembers her money, and stops himself. When Njegus produces the fan, which he had picked up earlier, Baron Zeta suddenly realizes that the fan belongs to Valencienne. Baron Zeta swears to divorce his wife and marry the widow himself, but Hanna tells him that she loses her fortune if she remarries. Hearing this, Danilo confesses his love for her and asks Hanna to marry him, and Hanna triumphantly points out that she will lose her fortune only because it will become

5402-750: Was reproduced by multiple touring companies across the US, all using the Hood/Ross libretto. It was produced by Henry Wilson Savage . The New York cast starred Ethel Jackson as Sonia and Donald Brian as Danilo. The operetta first played in Australia in 1908 using the Hood/Ross libretto. Since then, it has been staged frequently in English. It was revived in London's West End in 1923, running for 239 performances, and in 1924 and 1932. A 1943 revival ran for 302 performances. Most of these productions featured Graves as Popoff. Madge Elliott and Cyril Ritchard starred in

5476-683: Was sung in German, with abridged spoken dialogue. Loose sang Valencienne again for Decca in the first stereophonic recording, produced in 1958 by John Culshaw , with Hilde Gueden , Per Grundén and Waldemar Kmentt in the other main roles, and the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by Robert Stolz . A second recording with Schwarzkopf as Hanna was issued by Columbia in 1963; the other main roles were sung by Eberhard Wächter , Gedda and Hanny Steffek. This set, conducted by Lovro von Matačić , has been reissued on CD in EMI's "Great Recordings of

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