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Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947): Only One Enduring Score?.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 9 August, 1874, Reynaldo Hahn was the elegant, soigné composer whose work for the French
read moreHow To Handle The Racism & Sexism Of “Z*******”-Baron Today? A Conductor’s Response
Austrian author and feminist activist Marlene Streeruwitz spoke out against the patriotic “kitsch culture” in her homeland in an interview
read moreThe Night Nicole Kidman Went To See “The Merry Widow” And Got Swatted
Who said that operettas don’t make headlines anymore? And that super stars from Hollywood wouldn’t be interested in the genre
read moreLorenzo Viotti: Operetta In His Blood & Conducting “Die lustige Witwe”
Yes, it’s great to see that a younger generation of rising “star” conductors is expressing interest in operetta. More than
read moreOperette 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
read moreIs The Gold & Silver Terminology Nothing More Than Camouflaged Anti-Semitism?
On 27 January, 1945 the Nazi concentration in Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army. Memorial speeches all over the
read moreKoskys “Orphée aux enferns”: Swarovski-Genitalien auf der Suche nach der Hölle
Zum Offenbach-Jubiläum 2019 spielten die Salzburger Festspiele erstmals eine Offenbach-Operette und übertrugen die Regie Barrie Kosky. Leider gaben sie ihm
read moreTackling A Tauber Role: Sebastian Kohlhepp In “Schön ist die Welt” From The Bavarian State Opera
Okay, Munich has the Gärtnerplatztheater and thus a center of operetta “maintenance” in Germany which competes with Staatsoperette Dresden, Musikalische
read more“Ball im Savoy” From Estonia, Arranged & Sung By Mart Sander
When I visited Tallinn in 2016 and saw that they were playing Ball im Savoy at the Estonian National Opera,
read moreKero Publishes His Memoires In The Shadow Of #metoo
Theater memoirs are rarely published in Hungary, mostly because they are not being written. The entangled interpersonal relationships of artistic
read moreMy Corona Year 2020: Discovering Wolfgang Anheisser’s “Operetten Gala”
My first theatre visit of 2020 was an ominous forewarning of what was to come: On 2 January I saw
read moreRSC: Reconstructing Erik Charell’s Shakespeare Adaptation “Swingin’ the Dream”
When the Shakespeare adaptation Swingin‘ the Dream opened on Broadway in 1939 it followed Erik Charell’s earlier XXL-sized Broadway hit
read moreDeflowering Austria: The New Year’s Concert From Vienna Lets Suppé Sparkle
There’s something supremely uplifting about starting the new year with Franz von Suppé’s rousing Fatinitza march as played by the
read moreWhat Is The Best “Fledermaus” On Disc?
Ah yes, another Fledermaus recording. As if there aren’t enough already, right? Well, actually, this one from the NDR Radiophilharmonie
read moreMarch of the Falsettos: Streaming Sasha Regan’s “Pirates of Penzance” From The Palace Theatre
The gimmick with which the West End revival of Sasha Regan’s Pirates of Penzance at the Palace Theatre was recently
read moreA Revived Interest In “Heiteres Musiktheater der DDR”? It’s Not Just About Nostalgia
Recently, Wolfgang Jansen published a collection of essays dealing with “Popular Music Theater under Socialism,” an aspect of 20th century
read moreDumbing Down Operetta: Thomas Macho’s New Lehár Movie On Arte
Obviously, there are many ways to present history, including musical history. At the moment, you can watch the amazing Viola
read moreCOX AND BOX, or The Long Lost Brothers: Musical Triumviretta In 1 Act With Music By Arthur Sullivan
This Musical triumviretta in 1 act was adapted from J Maddison Morton’s farce Box and Cox by F C Burnand,
read more“Cox & Box – The Film”: A Christmas Special From The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
I’m an old conservative. I was ‘a little con-ser-va-tive’ (as opposed to a ‘little li-ber-al’) from the moment I was
read more“Barbarella” Meets “Vetter aus Dingsda” At Gärtnerplatztheater Munich
One of the things that irritates me about Richard Traubner’s book Operetta: A Theatrical History is the way he dismisses
read moreToo Many New Covid-19 Infections: Komische Oper Berlin Cancels Its “Blume von Hawaii” Live Stream
After rumors had already started circulating, it’s now official: Komische Oper Berlin has cancelled its live stream of Paul Abraham’s
read more“Gypsy” Xmas Stripper Shtick Reduxed
Gypsy Rose Lee has climbed the laddered stocking of the stripper world, tassel by tassel, and mounted a new summit
read moreLike Emma Kirkby Singing Wagner: “The Art Of Operetta” As A “Gramophone” December Special
“The Art of Operetta“ is the headline on the cover of the December issue of Gramophone magazine from the UK.
read moreWolfgang Jansen’s New Book About Musicals Vs. Operetta: An Interview With The Author
Wolfgang Jansen has published many books: on the history of revues and revue operettas in the Weimar Republic, on Broadway
read moreGorki Theater Streams “Alles Schwindel” With English Subtitles For Christmas
When I saw the news today that Gorki Theater Berlin will stream one of the greatest operetta productions I have
read moreNew Art is True Art: Kurt Weill’s “One Touch of Venus”
When Staatsoperette Dresden presented Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus as part of their “Broadway in Dresden” series, in a
read more“Popular Music Theatre Under Socialism”: Operettas & Musicals In The Eastern European States 1945-1990
Yesterday, a surprising book arrived on my desk: Popular Music Theatre Under Socialism. I guessed straight away that we weren’t
read moreHere Comes “Blume von Hawaii” As A Live Stream From Komische Oper Berlin
Yeehaw! Komische Oper Berlin has finally awoken from its Sleeping Beauty Corona mode; the company has decided to offer something
read moreWorld Premiere Recording Of Kálmán’s Symphonic Poems “Saturnalia” & “Endre és Johanna”
In 2013 and 2016 the University of British Columbia performed two of Emmerich Kálmán’s early symphonic poems, Saturnalia and Endre
read more“Vetter aus Dingsda” Premieres Online From Gärtnerplatztheater Munich
Putting on Eduard Künneke’s 1920 hit Der Vetter aus Dingsda seemed like a good idea in times of Corona restrictions:
read moreA Christmas Marathon Of Operetta Streams: From “Frau Luna” To “Cinderella” And Offenbach
It seems that the operetta scene is finally awaking to the possibilities of the internet as a chance to overcome
read moreGeorge London On Broadway – But Without His Partner Mario Lanza
And now, I would like to talk to you about George London. Yes, I am aware that he didn’t sing
read more“Sehnsucht 202” On DVD: A Very Queer Version Of Vienna With Fritz Schulz & Paul Kemp
The Austrian newspaper Der Standard has added a forgotten film operetta to their DVD series “Der österreichische Film”, a movie
read moreWhy oh why oh why oh! Burleycue in Ohio: “The Bandbox Revue” Of 1922
This picture looked to me like a rather nice American girlie entertainment from the Twenties. Wonder what it is, thought
read moreA Naughty Gaiety Girl …
When you ‘live’ in a certain ‘world’ – in my case, that of the 19th century musical theatre – you
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