The Merry Widow

With lavish Belle Époque sets, delectable costumes and Franz Lehar’s gloriously romantic score, The Merry Widow has been an audience favourite ever since it was adapted for the Australian Ballet by then-artistic director Sir Robert Helpmann in 1975. More than 40 years later, it’s still a lot of fun. Set in turn-of-the-century Paris, where wealthy widow Hanna Glawari must marry again if she is to save the tiny European nation of Pontevedro from bankruptcy, expect more plot twists than you can poke a Pointe shoe at, and some truly spectacular ballroom scenes.