Latest Articles
Captain “Dick” Meets “Naughty” Marietta. Or: Victor Herbert at LOONY
This most famous of Victor Herbert’s operettas, and arguably his best, received a classy salon concert performance the other night
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Adonises Of Silver Operetta? Or: A Re-Encounter With Adolf Wohlbrück
There is a Facebook group out there called Adonises of the Silver Screen. It offers amazing photos of and anecdotes
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Offenbach Heaven At The Théâtre de l’Odéon In Marseille: An Endless Stream Of Titles
It’s that time of year again when theaters release their programs for next season. One of the most striking programs
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A Critical Quotebook: Marion Linhardt’s “Stimmen zur Unterhaltung” Revisited
This is one of those publications that should have made a big splash – but didn’t. Back in 2009, Marion
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Message In A Bottle? YouTube As Global Popular Home-Archive For Operetta
In a 2018 essay entitled Das Webvideo als Flaschenpost, or “the web video as message in a bottle,” Chris Tedjasukmana
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“Der Vetter aus Dingsda” At Moosegg Open-Air Festival 2018
After a successful 2017 season, the team working with young Emmental director Simon Burkhalter is once again relying on last
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“Roxy und ihr Wunderteam”: Abraham’s Football Operetta Finally Comes To Berlin
Why did it take so long, you might ask? And was it worth waiting all this time? In the case
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Palazzetto Bru-Zane Celebrates Offenbach’s 200th Birthday With New Recordings
Next year the world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Jacques Offenbach. After having dedicated themselves to Hervé and his
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Offenbach And Opera Rara. Or: Waiting For A Recording Of The Original French “Robinson Crusoé”
It’s interesting how you can have a full cast recording sitting on your CD shelf for decades, and it never
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“Don’t Forget, Goebbels Was A Ladies’ Man”: Memories Of The Hiller Girls
Sitting in her tidy Munich apartment, as snowflakes swirl outside, Jenny Hiller is far away as she watches her younger
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Who’s Got The Last Laugh Now? Wolfgang Schaller’s Farewell At Staatsoperette Dresden
The Staatsoperette Dresden has a new home, you might recall. The operetta company in Saxony has moved from the outskirts
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Leo Fall’s “Brüderlein fein”: The Problem With The Cologne Broadcasts
Leo Fall’s one-act operetta Brüderlein fein premiered in the notorious basement cabaret of the Theater an der Wien, called “Die
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“Ladies First”: A Victor Herbert Concert in New York City
The enterprising VHRP Live! company has come up with something delightfully different on this occasion. Not a revival of a
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The First Sperm-Donor Operetta: How “Axel an der Himmelstür” Became “Liebespremiere” In 1943
The Hollywood spoof Axel an der Himmelstür, with music by Ralph Benatzky, premiered at the Theater an der Wien in
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Abraham’s “Ball im Savoy” In Koblenz: No Lavish Sets But SS Officers
Having hugely enjoyed Barrie Kosky’s 2013 exuberant production of Abraham’s Ball im Savoy several times, I was interested to see
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“Ritter Blaubart” At Komische Oper: Stefan Herheim’s Varieté Vanitas
Yes, it was a good idea to bring back Offenbach’s murderous Barbe-Bleue to Berlin at Komische Oper where, you will
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Re-Writing “Roxy und ihr Wunderteam” As A Gay Football Farce In Augsburg
Theater Augsburg is in the midst of refurbishment, so the various ensembles have decamped to several venues around the city.
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Offenbach’s “Robinson Crusoe”: Bring On The Cannibals
Daniel Defoe’s shipwrecked hero (1719) and his man Friday seem to have made their first appearance on the musical stage
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Sugar-Free Chocolate: Kálmán’s “Die Faschingsfee” In Möchengladbach-Krefeld
Emmerich Kálmán’s Die Faschingsfee had a very chequered history in its first few years. It was first seen in Budapest
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“Crazy World”: Anna Bonitatibus’ Collection Of Trousers-Roles From Offenbach To Mancini
Recently, gender and diversity Prof. Simon Dickel gave an interview on Deutschlandfunk talking about his new book Queer Cinema which
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Stephen Storace’s “The Cherokee” (1794): First Representation Of Native Americans?
Turn the page. Item two in my volume is a 1794 show tune. And there’s another from the same musical,
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Great Ladies of Wrestling. Or: Early 1840s Offenbach Songs
The sensational success of Jacques Offenbach in Second Empire Paris and internationally, in the 19th century, has many reasons. One
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E. A. Dupont’s “Das alte Gesetz”. Or: What #MeToo Has To Do With Operetta And Offenbach
When we talk about popular musical theater our modern focus is mostly on the ‘artistic’ values of individual shows, e.g.
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Hojotoho: Gilbert & Sullivan’s “Iolanthe” At English National Opera
Iolanthe is W S Gilbert’s most satirical opera. His libretto continually pokes fun at the British hereditary system, the law
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Too Depressing To Write About? Leo Fall’s “Die Kaiserin” At Theater Baden
It’s only a short review of Leo Fall’s Die Kaiserin, I’m afraid. It was too depressing to write more. I
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Berlin Letter: Major Revival Of Forgotten Weimar-Era Operetta Is Proving A Hit
For a city so rich in culture, and drowning in history, it is surprising to experience first-hand Berlin’s long cultural
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Sloppy Production With A Great Tenor: “Eine Nacht in Venedig” At Volksoper Wien
Musically, Vienna Volksoper’s 2013 production of Strauss’ Eine Nacht in Venedig has much to commend it: firstly the spirited conducting
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Rosa von Praunheim’s “Jeder Idiot hat eine Oma, nur ich nicht”: The Revival of Cabaret Operetta?
The format of the cabaret operetta has fallen out of favor, somewhat. 100 years ago, theaters all over the world
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A Trip To The Moon With Geschwister Pfister: Talking About “Frau Luna” and Queer-Feminism In Operetta
The Geschwister Pfister – a German-Swiss-Croatian comedy trio – have written operetta history, many times over. Yes, they were the
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Johann Strauss’ moderne “Journalisten-Operetten”: “Fürstin Ninetta” & “Waldmeister”
Nach der Uraufführung von Fürstin Ninetta am 10. Jänner 1893 schrieb die Tageszeitung Die Presse: „Die Musik der Operette ist
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A 15 Year Old “Fledermaus” At Semperoper Dresden: Is Johann Strauss Beneath Them?
Dresden’s Fledermaus production is 15 years old and the performance I attended was its 90th outing. It is a very
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The Walking Dead? “Operetta Made In Austria” With Ildiko Raimondi and Herbert Lippert
It’s a pretty grand claim to make: “With their multi-media stage show Operetta Made in Austria stage stars Ildiko Raimondi
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When “Der Opernball” Meets “Downton Abbey” In Plauen-Zwickau
The small, very attractive, eastern German city of Zwickau boasts an historic theatre that is, at present, being refurbished. As
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The Gay Hussars, Or: Kálmán’s “Ein Herbstmanöver” At Theater Giessen
The unpretentious German city of Giessen has a population of 78,000 and boasts two fine buildings: the railway station and
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George W. Chadwick’s Burlesque Opera “Tabasco” Shakes Up New Orleans
A fortunate series of simultaneous anniversaries—the 300th of the founding of New Orleans, the 75th of the New Orleans Opera,
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Die Operette mit “Herzton” als musikdramatisches Modell der Moderne. Edmund Eyslers “Künstlerblut” (1906)
Back in June 2012, Marion Linhardt from the University of Bayreuth presented a paper on the Eysler operetta Künstlerblut in
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