Adapting a classic operetta like The Merry Widow began with a rough translation of the original German libretto, now out of copyright. This gave us a slightly bizarre, approximate translation of Lehar's original words. Whilst this was useful for adapting the book, the lyrics were a different story. MD Philippa Cruxton worked hard on creating lyrics with the flavour of the original that would fit the music. We talked a lot about what we wanted the show to be, and how it would