The mission is clear – to get a widow married! But in such a way that her millions remain in the principality. There would be plenty of suitors, but Count Danilo, who’s in charge of the task, has already had a romantic dalliance with the widow Hana Glawari in the past. The affection is thus reciprocal, but so is the reluctance to admit that the old flame of love still burns. When other ingredients are added in the form of a party at an embassy in Paris, dancers from Maxim´s famous cabaret and witty dialogues, it is a complete set of ingredients for an excellent opera.