Renée Fleming

Franz Lehár’s 1905 “The Merry Widow” (“Die Lustige Witwe”) is one of the most popular operettas, and the new production at the Metropolitan Opera shows why. Two Broadway veterans in their Met debuts are among the reasons for the success of the revival: director-choreographer Susan Stroman (of “The Producers,” “Contact,” and “Crazy for You”) and musical theater star Kelli O’Hara.