Houston Ballet Brings Back The Merry Widow

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                       
MEDIA CONTACT:
Jacalyn Lawton
Public Relations Manager
JLawton@houstonballet.org
Press@houstonballet.org

PRESENTS 

 

UNCOVER A WITTY ROMANTIC COMEDY AS HOUSTON BALLET BRINGS BACK THE MERRY WIDOW

WHO: Houston Ballet

WHAT: The Merry Widow

WHERE: Wortham Theater Center

WHEN: May 31- June 9, 2019

TICKETS: On Sale Now at www.houstonballet.org or 713.227.ARTS(2787)

 

PHOTOS & VIDEO: https://bit.ly/30yOQH9 

HOUSTON, TEXAS [May 22, 2019] — With only two more ballets left in its 2018/19 season, Houston Ballet brings back Ronald Hynd’s The Merry Widow. This full-length story ballet is a romantic comedy Houston hasn’t seen since 2013, when Principal Mireille Hassenboehler took her final bows with Houston Ballet.  

Inspired by the famous 1905 operetta by Franz Lehár, The Merry Widow is a deliciously witty tale of high society matchmaking. Hanna is a former peasant and now a wealthy widow in Pontevedro, which is on the verge of bankruptcy. The aristocrats conspire to save their town by presenting Hannah with many eligible suiters including her former love interest Count Danilo, who ultimately left her due to her status. Audiences will enjoy watching the humor and grandeur surrounding these secret plots to obtain love and wealth among the characters.

Hynd does Lehár’s rich score justice with sweeping waltzes, vibrant cancans and, of course, beautiful classical ballet. The Merry Widow is one of seven works by Hynd in Houston Ballet’s repertoire and was first performed by the Company in 1995.

Setting the scene for this glamorous affair is the acclaimed Roberta Guidi di Bagno. The Italian designer’s costumes and sets are positively exquisite. Her designs are no stranger to Houston, as you can see her work in Stanton Welch’s Giselle and Romeo and Juliet as well. 

The Merry Widow retakes the Wortham Theater Center stage May 31 – June 9. Secure seats now at HoustonBallet.org or 713.227.ARTS(2787). 

ABOUT HOUSTON BALLET

Houston Ballet has evolved into a company of 60 dancers with a budget of $33 million, making it the country’s fifth largest ballet company. With a state-of-the-art performance space built especially for the company—also the largest professional dance facility in America—Houston Ballet’s $46.6 million Center for Dance opened in April 2011, with an endowment of just over $74.1 million (as of July 2017).

Australian choreographer Stanton Welch AM has served as Artistic Director of Houston Ballet since 2003, raising the level of the company’s classical technique and commissioning works from dance makers such as Christopher Bruce, Alexander Ekman, William Forsythe, Jiří Kylián, Trey McIntyre, Julia Adam, Edwaard Liang, and George Balanchine. Executive Director James Nelson serves as the administrative leader of the company, a position he assumed in February 2012 after serving as the company’s General Manager for more than a decade.    

Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Over the past fifteen years, the company has appeared in renowned theaters in Dubai, London, Paris, Moscow, Spain, Montréal, Ottawa, Melbourne, New York City, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, and in cities large and small across the United States.

Houston Ballet’s Education and Community Engagement Program reaches more than 60,000 individuals in the Houston area annually. Houston Ballet Academy teaches more than one thousand students every year, and approximately 50 percent of the current company was trained by the Academy.

For more information on Houston Ballet, visit www.houstonballet.org.

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