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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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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