Latest Articles
The Career Paths of Composer Béla Szabados (1867–1936)
There are artists – quite a few – whose names disappear from public consciousness in the decades following their death
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The New “La Vie parisienne” from Palazzetto Bru Zane
Yesterday a long-awaited recording arrived on my desk-top. ‘Long-awaited’? Of course. The latest from the firm of Bru Zane, the
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Extra ordinär? Das „Mozart“-Musical von Kunze/Levay in München
Regisseur Andreas Gergen scheitert im Prinzregententheater an einer zeitgemäßen Neudeutung von Michael Kunzes und Sylvester Levays Mozart!-Musical. Zunächst zum Positiven:
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Lehár’s “Giuditta”: The Splendour and Misery of the Exchangeable
To speak of the genre of Viennese operetta as having a kind of Hegelian spirit, with a life course from
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The Story of Julian Eltinge: America’s Greatest Female Impersonator
It’s almost a quarter of a century ago that Laurence Senelick published his book The Changing Room: Sex, Drag and
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Ernst Neubach (1900-1968): Librettist, Lyricist, Film Producer, Director
He claimed to have written the lyrics for over 2,000 songs and to have been involved in “the making of
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“Strike Up the Band”: Gershwin Mixed with Gilbert & Sullivan
Director/conductor Ted Sperling has again done George and Ira Gershwin proud with his one-night performance of the first of the
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The “Operette für zwei schwule Tenöre“ Goes to Poland
Great news from the German operetta market: the 2021 Operette für zwei schwule Tenöre (“Operetta for two gay tenors”) is
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Roger’s “Joséphine Vendue Par Ses Soeurs” Returns to Paris
In January 2025 the Compagnie Fortunio is bringing the opéra-bouffe Joséphine Vendue Par Ses Soeurs back to Paris, for a
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“Katharine Mehrling in Berlin” – The Promise of an Operetta Album to Come?
This week, Katharine Mehrling is back at Bar jeder Vernunft in Berlin with a program called 6 Nächte in Berlin,
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Italian Operetta Collector and Buffo Ernesto G. Oppicelli Passed Away
At the end of July 2024, operetta collectors around the world lost a point of reference: Ernesto G. Oppicelli passed
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Ohio Light Opera: The 2024 Saison in Wooster
In the decade or so that I’ve been attending Ohio Light Opera’s summer season of operettas and musicals, I continue
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Unanswered Prayers: Gabrielle Heidelberger’s Operetta Recital
Here’s a recital album entitled multiple Joys that mixes—with full orchestra accompaniment—Bernstein’s “Somewhere” with “Ich lade gern mir Gäste ein”,
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“Disrupted by the Morality Police”: A New Book on Carl Millöcker
Martin Trageser has published a 150 page book on Carl Millöcker (1842-1899). We spoke with him about this project and
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“Ein Walzertraum” as This Year’s Summer Spectacle in Neustrelitz
The out-door operetta festival in the castle gardens of Neustrelitz – an hour north of Berlin – is offering Oscar
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Routlegde’s “Genre Beyond Borders: Reassessing Operetta”
Back in the year 2019, the University of Leeds hosted an conference put together by Derek B. Scott and Anastasia
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“For the Drama”: Strauss’ “Fledermaus” as Real-Life-Fiction on TV
This 3-part German mini-series called For the Drama is remarkable in many ways. It tells the story of two singers
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“The Sorcerer” at Wilton’s Music Hall in London
Gilbert and Sullivan’s ‘comic opera’ The Sorcerer is a comparatively early work, coming between Trial By Jury and HMS Pinafore and
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Hahn Meets “Hairspray,” Or: Some Very Queer Operetta Offerings
Just as the season in Germany is about to close, two new operetta productions hit the stage that give cause
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“Messeschager Gisela” – Axel Ranisch Stages Gerd Natschinski’s 1960 Hit
It’s the third attempt in Berlin to breathe new life into the forgotten sub-genre “Heiteres Musiktheater der DDR”, i.e. musicals
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The Memoirs of Gerd Natschinski. Or: Whatever Happened To DDR Operettas?
It’s a sad fact that the West-German publishers Schott and Bärenreiter – who took over the performance material for many
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„Venus in Seide“: Triumphales Comeback an der Oper Graz
Die Werke von Robert Stolz stehen derzeit nicht gerade hoch im Kurs. Manche zitieren Richard Strauss‘ Dictum, er sei ein
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Kálmáns „Marinka“ in Schrumpffassung an der Oper Graz
Irgendwie stehen die in Amerika entstandenen Werke emigrierter Komponisten (ob Korngold, Weill oder Kálmán etc.) in unseren Landen immer noch
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Operette und Musicals in der DDR: Ein Gespräch mit Werner P. Seiferth vom Metropoltheater
Übers Thema Operette in der DDR wird in letzter Zeit wieder mehr gesprochen. 2012 gab es in der Ausstellung Welt
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“Mein Freund Bunbury” Comes to Komische Oper Berlin
The Komische Oper Berlin continues its exploration of Gerd Natschinski and Jacques Offenbach next season. Since the departure of Barrie
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„Josephine Baker“: Kritische Gedanken zur Ausstellung an der Neuen Nationalgalerie Berlin
In der Neuen Nationalgalerie in Berlin ist derzeit die Ausstellung Josephine Baker. Icon in Motion zu sehen. Sie beschäftigt sich
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“Babes in Toyland” Revived by Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live!
I approached this resurrection of The Little Orchestra Society’s 1990s-era Babes in Toyland with some trepidation. Admirable champion of Herbert’s work
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Bernsteins “Candide“ im Musiktheater an der Wien
Zu Beginn seiner Amtszeit hatte der neue Intendant des Musiktheaters an der Wien, Stefan Herheim, programmatisch verkündet, dass er jedes
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“Social Evil”: The Girards and Offenbach’s “Princess of Trebizonde” in Melbourne
Recently, Offenbach researchers have started looking a little beyond the usual boundaries of “established” source material, one of them is
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Ambitionierte Vergangenheitsbewältigung: „Lass uns die Welt vergessen – Volksoper 1938“
Zu ihrem 125-jährigen Jubiläum leistete sich die Wiener Volksoper eine Haupt- und Staatsaktion-Premiere mit dem etwas umständlichen Titel Lass uns
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Sensationelle Wiederentdeckung von Joseph Beers „Prinz von Schiras“
Von den vielen tragischen Schicksalen jüdischer Operettenkomponisten (verfolgt, vertrieben, ermordet, selbst wenn sie im Exil überlebt haben, bei der Rückkehr
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Carl Millöcker (b. Vienna, 29 April 1842; d. Baden bei Wien, 31 December 1899)
Carl Millöcker was one of the trio of Viennese composers who were responsible for the bulk of the outstanding Operetten
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“Der arme Jonathan”: Operette in 3 acts by Carl Millöker
Hugo Wittmann and Julius Bauer based their libretto on Les Deux Anglais by P-F Merville, Carl Millöcker wrote the music. Their show, Der
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Offenbach’s “La Jolie Parfumeuse” in Philadelphia 1876
In the summer of 1876 Jacques Offenbach visited Philadelphia. At “The Offenbach Garden,” located on the southeast corner of Broad
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The Musical Students of Osnabrück Make This “Rössl” Shine
At the Theater Osnabrück a new production of Im weißen Rössl is currently playing, a staging by Tobias Bonn of
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Christmas Special at Teatro de la Comedia Dedicted to Francisco Arderíus
The Teatro de la Comedia in Madrid as the headquarters of the CNTC (the National Classical Theatre Company) is an
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