Stroman has brought in several local dancers, who first appear in the acrobatic folk-inspired dances of Act II, and then make their silly, ribald can-canning the focus of Act III. The secondary couple of Camille and Valencienne are also highly accomplished performers, with Spyres demonstrating his sweet tenor voice, and Stober joining in the elaborate cabaret dances in Act III. With several people’s reputations and happiness on the line, as well as Pontevedro’s future, it’s up to Hannah to save the day. The two of them are also quickly mixed up in the business with the fan, leading to an escalating series of misunderstandings and jealousies.

Danilo agrees to attend social gatherings with Hannah and chase away the Parisians, but is still too proud to admit his love for her, much to her frustration. He writes “I love you” on her fan, which promptly gets lost, causing them to fear being discovered. Meanwhile, Baron Mirko’s wife, Valencienne ( Heidi Stober), has been conducting an illicit affair with a French admirer of her own, Camille de Rosillon ( Michael Spyres). Years ago, they were engaged, but his family did not approve, and he retreated into a profligate life at Paris’s raunchy nightclub, Chez Maxim, while she went on to a loveless, but brief, marriage to the wealthy aristocrat Glawari. There is one staffer who has a good chance of wooing her: the aging, yet still dashing, Count Danilo ( Thomas Hampson), but he and the widow have a strained past.

If she marries a loyal member of the embassy staff, Pontevedro may be saved yet, but if she marries one of the Parisians vying for her hand and moves her money out of the country, all is lost. The country is depending on the assets of Hanna Glawari (Lyric creative consultant Renée Fleming through November 28, then Nicole Cabell), the commoner widow of a very rich gentleman.

The ambassador, Baron Mirko Zeta ( Patrick Carfizzi) confides to his staff that Pontevedro is in dire financial peril. The story revolves around the French embassy of a small, fictional country called Pontevedro, and the community of expats living there.

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