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During the design process for The Merry Widow two main thoughts were paramount, firstly that Lehár was depicting (however unintentionally) a world that was about to be swept away forever – it is ironic that Pontevedro is clearly a state in the Balkans, the ignition point for the Great War. Secondly at the show’s heart is a very real relationship between a man who has never experienced responsibility and a woman who is recklessly indulging in her new-found freedom. How they come to their senses is the very core of the show.
We decided the Pontevedran embassy ball should be hermetically sealed, stuffy, old-fashioned and bordering on the impoverished. Hanna sails into this world as a woman of the future, her clothes several seasons ahead of her rivals and manners (or lack of them) they do not comprehend. She causes a great stir, fluttering the men’s hearts (and greed) and causing the women to bristle.
Act II in contrast is open and airy, letting everyone relax and breathe. Hanna is still one up sartorially: - her guests have caught up with her previous style, but she now goes off tangentially with couture references to her homeland.
For Act III we have gone back to the original script, when Hanna decorates her garden to resemble Maxim’s (she is clearly the Elton John of her day!) instead of going there. We hope that the open-air setting supports the growing reality of the central pair’s relationship while still within the bounds of the operetta convention. Hanna has by now slipped into something more comfortable…!
Hugh Durrant
Set & Costume Designer
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The Merry Widow - Act I
Count Danilo - Act II
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