Latvian premiere! To celebrate the 155th birthday of composer Franz Lehár, the operetta Giuditta is staged in Latvia for the first time.
“Giuditta is considered Lehár’s finest work, and the composer’s favourite. More than just light entertainment, this operetta is emotionally stirring, captivating and magnetic, with a timeless, fascinating story of longing, desire and passionate love.
The story follows Giuditta and Octavio, who meet in an extreme situation that turns into a “deadly” desert. The war that Octavio is forced to go to thickens the desperate doom of the two lovers’ night of passionate love. This desperate desire is dominated by sensual, desperate lust and erotic obsession with each other, an overwhelming, terrifying longing for love locked in a cage.
The Operetta production at the Operetta Theatre is based on Austrian director Gernot Kranner’s acclaimed interpretation of the work at the Lehar Festival in Bad Ischl, Austria. With its elegant, musical-like staging, it will also appeal to young people.
Written for large orchestra, the operetta includes the beautiful, memorable melodies characteristic of Lehár’s pen, which are invariably found in the concert repertoire of famous sopranos, such as the famous Giuditta aria “My lips are like wine” from Act 4.
The performance is co-financed by the SCCF.