“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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Lehár’s “Land des Lächelns“ as a Modern Day Dating Operetta?
Franz Lehár’s 1929 hit Das Land des Lächelns, written for star tenor Richard Tauber and containing the ever popular “Dein
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Hugo Hirsch’s “Der Fürst von Pappenheim“ Revived in Annaberg-Buchholz
It’s announced as a “rarity“ – and it certainly is. The Winterstein Theater in Annaberg-Buchholz in Saxony/Germany will present Hugo
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First Full Cast Recording of Gustave Kerker’s “The Belle of New York”
As everyone who’s currently watching season 2 of The Gilded Age knows: marriage in New York City among the super-rich
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Stefan Huber (1960-2023): Ein Nachruf aus Zuschauerperspektive
Diese Woche verstarb der Regisseur Stefan Huber. Er hat u.a. mit seiner Operettenserie an der Komischen Oper Berlin Aufmerksamkeit erregt,
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No Laughs Left: Gothic Opera Presents “Rip Van Winkle”
In 1878 The Chimes of Normandy became the ‘hit’ musical show in London, running for over 700 performances, which was
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The “Fake” Disney Princess: Diana Damrau Sings Operetta
So, here it is at last: Diana Damrau’s operetta album dedicated to the “life embracing side” of the genre and
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The Biography of Valtesse de la Bigne, Mistress of Paris
We’ve all read stories about the big players: Jacques Offenbach, Ludovic Halevy, Henri Meilhac, and certainly Napoleon III. But you
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The “La fille de Madame Angot” Disaster at Opéra Comique
The last time this wonderful operetta by Charles Lecocq was performed in Paris was in 1984, at the Châtelet. I
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“Prinz von Preußen”: A Forgotten DDR Musical Revived in Zittau
At the small Gerhart Hauptmann Theater in Zittau (close to the Czech and Polish border in Eastern Germany) you can
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