FRANZ Lehar's extremely popular comic operetta The Merry Widow returns to the stage this Friday with a brand-new - and very merry - widow.

The coveted titular role of the wealthy and beautiful widow Hanna is being played by British-Sri Lankan soprano Kishani Jayasinghe, the first South Asian woman to perform at the prestigious Royal Opera House in London. Singapore Lyric Opera's production of The Merry Widow marks the first time Jayasinghe is performing in a full-length opera in Asia. And she couldn't be more ecstatic. She says: "It's such a joy to be playing a happy character, because lyric sopranos are always dying or crying ... I don't think I've ever smiled so much in an opera!"

Performed in English, The Merry Widow tells the amusing story of the fictional country of Pontevedro that's on the verge of bankruptcy. Its wealthiest citizen, Hanna, has gone off to Paris where several men are eyeing her and her millions. If she marries a Parisian, it would mean that her vast wealth would be transferred to France instead. Desperate to keep her in Pontevedro, her countrymen appoint Count Danilo Danilovitch, one of their own, with the task of romancing her into marriage. All manner of hilarity ensues.