Latest Articles
Künneke’s “Herz über Bord”: A New Recording Of The Complete Score With Wayne Marshall
When Eduard Künneke presented his syncopated Der Vetter aus Dingsda in Berlin 1921, it was quite revolutionary to have so
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A Queer Alternative To Football: Barbra Streisand’s “Nose” At Komische Oper Berlin
What do you do when all the world is abuzz with football, and you don’t give as f*** about ballgames?
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Dance: The Secret Star Of Operetta? Giorgio Madia’s Two New Strauss Productions
It is astonishing that one of the main elements of almost every operetta – dance! – is so undervalued today.
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A New Biography: “André Messager. Le passeur de siècle” By Christophe Mirambeau
The Musical Theatre book of the decade. I sha’n’t gush. Well, I’ll try not to. But … I thought that
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“Die Blume von Hawaii” At Theater für Niedersachsen: Florian Ziemen Conducts
So it was off to Waikiki and South Sea breezes, again. I had a chance to see Paul Abraham’s glorious
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Dorothy Without Toto. Or: “Der Zauberer von Oz” In Magdeburg
„The most magical adventure of them all …“ That’s how Andrew Lloyd Webber announced ‘his’ Wizard of Oz version at
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The Three Lives of Jetty Treffz, First Wife of Johann Strauss: A New Biography By Peter Sommeregger
Here it is, finally: a full biography of Jetty Treffz (1818-1878), first wife of Johann Strauss and responsible for bringing
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Kinky Boots? Kurt Gänzl Talks About 19th Century Operetta
Kurt Gänzl is no stranger to readers of these pages. As the author of The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre
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Racism And Disability, Female Empowerment And Post-Colonialism: “Wenn Ja Wie Viele” At UdK
Ah, yes … the UdK students. Watching the musical theater stars-of-tomorrow perform a “collage” that’s obligatory for them in their
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“The Mountebanks” By Gilbert And Cellier: A New BBC Recording
After the success of The Gondoliers in December 1889, D’Oyly Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan had a well-publicised disagreement because Gilbert
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It’s Eliza’s Show: A “My Fair Lady” For The 21st Century
It’s Eliza’s show; My Fair Lady for the 21st century opens at Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theatre, 62 years after
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Theatrical Mythology, or The Best Thing About Her Singing Was Her Looks: Blanche Roosevelt
Theatrical mythology has been curiously and undeservedly kind to some folk. Miss Tucker from Ohio went from failure to failure
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Annette Dasch As Horror Diva. Or: A First Class Operetta Execution. “Fledermaus” In Berlin
No, it’s not exactly news that there are – and always have been – multiple audiences for operetta. And they
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Rombergs “Blossom Time”: Deutsche Erstaufführung in Annaberg-Buchholz
Das Dreimäderlhaus von Heinrich Berté, eine Pasticcio-Operette mit Musik von Franz Schubert (1916), war ein Welterfolg. Nicht nur im deutschen
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Selling Operetta To The Next Generation: Felix Seiler And Danny Costello Talk About “Die Blume von Hawaii”
This spring, stage director Felix Seiler and choreographer Danny Costello staged Paul Abraham’s Die Blume von Hawaii with students in
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Revisiting Honolulu: “Die Blume von Hawaii” With Students of the Hochschule für Musik In Osnabrück
We all have our favorite memories – our ‘madeleine moment’ that changed our world forever. For me, this moment occurred
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Victor Herbert’s “The Enchantress” In New York City
Hot on the heels of LOONY’s Naughty Marietta only one week before, along came yet another Victor Herbert work, but
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Willard G. Day’s “Lovely Galatea”: Ageing Disgracefully
Recently, conductor Dario Salvi performed Franz von Suppé’s one-act Die schöne Galathée (1865) in the UK, in English. It was
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Gaiety, Glitz and Glamour? Conference at the University of Leeds 2019
British researchers are continuing their conference series Gaiety, Glitz and Glamour. For the next installment at the School of Music,
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Jacques Offenbach and the Making of Modern Culture: An Interview with Prof. Laurence Senelick
At long last someone has written a brand new Offenbach book – in English. And what’s even better, it’s a
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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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