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The Merry Widow is a musical comedy or operetta of 1905, by the Austro-Hungarian composer, Franz Lehár. The original German title is Die Lustige Witwe. Well-known music from the score includes the song "Vilia" and "The Merry Widow Waltz". The story concerns a rich widow, Anna Glawari, and the romantic interest is provided by Count Danilo Danilovistch.
Anna Glawari has inherited twenty million francs from her late husband and Baron Zeta is instructed that her fortune must not leave the impoverished kingdom. To ensure she marries another Pontevedrian, Zeta sends Njegus, his factotum, to fetch Count Danilo from Maxim's. Zeta's wife Valancienne, flirts with Camille but protests that she is a respectable wife while flattered by the ardent lover who writes on her fan 'I love you'. Anna encourages Danilo, recognising him as the young soldier whose uncle had interrupted their affair years ago. The old love revives, but Danilo will not court her for her fortune and she vows she will not marry him until he says 'I love you'. Ostensibly to save the country, Danilo looks for a suitable Pontevedrian husband for Anna and even Camille is encouraged by Valancienne, as a cover, to court the widow.
Zeta fears Camille to be a danger and, hearing that he is involved with a married woman, orders Danilo to trace her. To help, he gives him a fan he has found, none other than Valancienne's with the incriminating inscription. Danilo is careless with the fan and Anna thinks he has left it for her to find with its message. Camille meets Valancienne in the summerhouse, Zeta peeps through a keyhole and recognises his own wife. Anna changes places with Valancienne, confounding the Baron when they appear. Anna announces that she is to marry Camille, Zeta is distraught at the thought of losing the Pontevedrian
Roughly, the plot is about the courting of Anna and Danilo. They are in love, but Danilo does not want to look like he is marrying for money, and Anna has become extremely rich after the death of her husband of one week. The conflict is resolved when Anna cleverly tricks Danilo into admitting his love by saying that the terms of her husband's will indicate that she will lose all of her money if she remarries. Immediately, Danilo bursts out with a declaration of love; Anna finishes her sentence by saying that she loses her money only because it becomes the property of her new husband.
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