The Daring of Diane

Show Description:

In its 41 seasons, the Ohio Light Opera has presented a remarkable 146 show titles, chosen from the operetta and vintage musical comedy repertoire. As a small but significant step toward both tackling the remaining 10,000 or so titles and fulfilling its mission to bring to life forgotten gems, OLO is proud to present, via live streaming, the American premiere of an unknown, but fully engaging, Viennese operetta titled The Daring of Diane, with music by Heinrich Reinhardt. The show began life in Vienna in 1907 under the title Die süßen Grisetten (The Sweet Grisettes) and, in its English translation in 1912, was billed as “the leap year operetta.” Reminiscent of La Bohème, it concerns three struggling artists—the painter Julien, the musician Severin, and the poet Prosper—who share a Montmartre garret. The latter two have secured their sweethearts, but Julien is constrained by the condition of his aunt’s 3000-franc gift that he never have a love affair. Left alone, Julien hears a knock on the door. It is an elegant woman who claims that she is the wife of a marquis, is disenchanted with her husband, has paid off his aunt, and, in return, wants to pose for his painting of Eve and the Serpent. The winsome musical score, replete with a trio and two quintets, is topped off by the de rigeur sumptuous Viennese waltz “Mine and Mine Only Thou Art.”