A tribute to Lily Elsie in the title role of The Merry Widow, London, 1907

Theatrical entrepreneur George Edwardes, having secured the English rights of Franz Lehar’s successful operetta, The Merry Widow (first produced at the Theater an der Wien, Vienna, on 30 December 1905), took one of the biggest gambles of his career in casting Lily Elsie (1886-1962) in the title role when the piece was first shown to a British audience at Daly’s Theatre, Leicester Square, London, on 8 June 1907. Although experienced, Miss Elsie until then had only played supporting parts and was extremely ne