Latest Articles
Lillian Russell (1860-1922) Revisited: The Amazing Life Of A “Scandalous” Operetta Diva
With all this free time at home right now I’ve started working my way through various DVD boxes I’ve had
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Reading “The Cambridge Companion To Operetta” In Times Of Self-Isolation
The paperback edition of this fascinating, useful and, on the whole, well researched book sells for about 20 Euros on
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90 Years Ago “Der blaue Engel” Premiered – With Operetta Star Marlene Dietrich
Today, 90 years ago on 1 April 1930, the famous film Der blaue Engel premiered in Berlin’s Gloria Palace. It
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World-Premiere Recording of Strauss’ “Blindekuh” (1878) On Naxos
When it comes to Naxos and operetta, and Johann Strauss shows in particular, the famous budget label has a rather
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Catch Him If You Can? A New Biography Of Willi Kollo (1904-1988) Discussing His Nazi History
You could be surprised: here’s a brand new Willi Kollo (1904-1988) biography, and the only picture you’ll find anywhere in
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Four “Legendary Recordings” Of Richard Genée Shows, Including “Seekadett” & “Nanon”
On a sunny summer afternoon last year I had a long inspiring conversation about Richard Genée (1823-1895) with two operetta
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Mörbisch Festival 2020 Cancelled – Bad Ischl Plans To Go On
There’s a certain irony at play here: the world’s largest operetta festival in Mörbisch kicked out their old director, Dagmar
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Focussing On Kurt Weill And Johann Strauss: Komische Oper In 2020/21
So here it is: the new season at Komische Oper, presented in the midst of the Corona crisis in digital
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Sullivan, Cellier & Ford: “Haddon Hall,” “Captain Billy” And “Mr Jericho” On CD For The First Time
In 2018 the National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company staged the first professional revival of Haddon Hall for about one
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Kálmán’s “Hollandweibchen” Comes To You As “The Little Dutch Girl” On DVD
Kálmán’s 1920 Viennese hit Das Hollandweibchen is a special work that marks a turning point in the composer’s long career.
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Die feinen Unterschiede in der französischen Operette der Zwischenkriegszeit: Henri Christiné – Maurice Yvain – Raoul Moretti
Emmerich Kálmáns Graf Tassilo (Gräfin Mariza, Buch Julius Brammer / Alfred Grünwald) verkörpert einen Typus, den das Publikum der Uraufführung
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What The Nasty Old Lady Said. Or: “Zigeunerbaron” At Volksoper Vienna
I had really been looking forward to seeing the new production of Der Zigeunerbaron in Vienna because I had enjoyed
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Offenbach’s Final Farewell: “Die Schöne Lurette” (1880) In Two DDR Versions
As the times of self-isolation continue, so does the catching up on old and new operetta releases that I’ve been
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The Glory Of Offenbach: 2 1/2 Historical “Die Banditen” Recordings From Germany
When the world is under quarantine and everything is shut down because of a new virus – you have lots
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Celebrating Franz Lehár’s 150th Birthday With New Books At Böhlau
It’s Franz Lehár’s 150th birthday coming up in April, and various authors and publishing houses are getting ready to celebrate
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Wolfgang Jansen’s New Biography Of Willi Kollo (1904-1988): How Much Nazi History Will He Adress?
It took Berlin based musical theater researcher Wolfgang Jansen a while, and it took the various legal departments even more
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Who Was The Great Opéra-Bouffe Tenor “Potel” – Also Known As “Le Bel Armand”?
The folk who created the musical works of Meilhac, Halévy, Crémieux, Hervé and their colleagues, and of the parallel composers,
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Victor Herbert’s Tune-Free Opera “Madeleine” (1914) Revived
Alyce Mott’s enterprising company Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live! dedicated to all things Victor Herbert risked alienating the operetta regulars
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“Ich wollt’ ich wär’ ein Huhn “: Tackling Toxic Nazi Era Material At Komische Oper Berlin
It’s a daring and adventurous undertaking: while everyone else is busy with “The (New) Twenties” these days, Komische Oper Berlin
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Offenbach’s “Häuptling Abendwind” Or: Queer Operetta For The Price Of A Hawaiian Pizza
Offenbach’s 1857 Vent du soir, ou l’horrible festin is one of his more famous titles in the German speaking theater
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“Gisela, Frisco, Bunbury”: Rediscovering “Heiteres Musiktheater” From The DDR
It’s mind boggling that the entire operetta repertoire created and performed in the former DDR between 1949 and 1990 has
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Dario Salvi: Recording Johann Strauss’ “Blindekuh” (1878) For Naxos In Sofia
“Blindekuh”, literally “blind cow”, is the German term for the “blind man’s buff” game – and it is the title
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Anton Henseler’s “Jacques Offenbach” (1930) In A First-Ever English Translation
The Offenbach bicentenary might be over – but there are still fascinating things coming out to celebrate the composer. One
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Offenbach’s Hispanic Vogue: “Maître Péronilla” & “La Périchole” On Palazzetto Bru Zane
Offenbach and “The Hispanic Vogue”? As it turns out, there are two interesting new recordings out on Palazzetto Bru Zane
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World Premiere Recording Of Johann Strauss’ “Blindekuh” On Naxos
As part of their Johann Strauss “rediscovery series” the label Naxos is releasing the 1878 operetta Blindekuh which premiered at
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Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy: The Glory of Hollywood Operetta in Jeanine Basinger’s “The Movie Musical”
One of the more joyous things about recent new studies on musicals is the fact that they include operettas, without
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Colonialism & Operetta. Or: What To Do With Leo Fall’s “Die Rose von Stambul”
At the end of March 2020, the Nationaltheater Weimar will host an international conference entitled “Musiktheater und Kolonialismus,” i.e. musical
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Revisiting Kurt Gänzl’s “Guide to Musical Theatre On Record”
“Wonderfully opinionated, outrageously frank, and always sensible” Yes, that was me. I suppose it still is … but in 1991
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THE NEW MOON: A Romantic musical play by Oscar Hammerstein & Sigmund Romberg
The team responsible for that overwhelming hit of 1926, The Desert Song, mined a similar vein for their next collaboration,
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“Babes In Toyland” In Zwickau-Plauen. Or: Performing Victor Herbert In Germany
The small theater in Zwickau-Plauen (Germany) presented Victor Herbert’s much-loved Babes in Toyland as their Christmas spectacle and gave the
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Carita von Horst (1864-1935): The Baroness Who Composed “Gentleman Jack” And Bamboozled Hitler
How many female operetta composers can you name? Here is one who was also a baroness, no less. Her operetta
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De-Nazifying The “Radetzky March” At The 2020 Vienna New Year’s Concert
The New Year’s concert from Vienna, with the Vienna Philharmonic, is a beloved tradition for many. It rarely has anything
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Fritz & Alfred Rotter: A Life Between Theatrical Glamour And Death In Exile
The Rotter brothers, Fritz and Alfred, were the most prominent private theater directors during the Weimar Republic before losing everything
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Composer Jerry Herman Dies At Age 88 In Miami
Some will claim that Hello Dolly, Mame or La Cage aux Folles are among the greatest modern operettas in the
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Paul Abraham’s “Dschainah – Das Mädchen aus dem Tanzhaus” Revived After 84 Years
If expectations are exceptionally high for a Paul Abraham operetta at Komische Oper Berlin that’s because, in the past, the
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“The Cambridge Companion to Operetta”: Taking A New Look At The Genre In English
It was about bloody time, you might say, that someone published a new English language reference book on the history
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