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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Berlin Letter: Major Revival Of Forgotten Weimar-Era Operetta Is Proving A Hit
For a city so rich in culture, and drowning in history, it is surprising to experience first-hand Berlin’s long cultural
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Sloppy Production With A Great Tenor: “Eine Nacht in Venedig” At Volksoper Wien
Musically, Vienna Volksoper’s 2013 production of Strauss’ Eine Nacht in Venedig has much to commend it: firstly the spirited conducting
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Rosa von Praunheim’s “Jeder Idiot hat eine Oma, nur ich nicht”: The Revival of Cabaret Operetta?
The format of the cabaret operetta has fallen out of favor, somewhat. 100 years ago, theaters all over the world
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A Trip To The Moon With Geschwister Pfister: Talking About “Frau Luna” and Queer-Feminism In Operetta
The Geschwister Pfister – a German-Swiss-Croatian comedy trio – have written operetta history, many times over. Yes, they were the
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Johann Strauss’ moderne “Journalisten-Operetten”: “Fürstin Ninetta” & “Waldmeister”
Nach der Uraufführung von Fürstin Ninetta am 10. Jänner 1893 schrieb die Tageszeitung Die Presse: „Die Musik der Operette ist
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A 15 Year Old “Fledermaus” At Semperoper Dresden: Is Johann Strauss Beneath Them?
Dresden’s Fledermaus production is 15 years old and the performance I attended was its 90th outing. It is a very
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When “Der Opernball” Meets “Downton Abbey” In Plauen-Zwickau
The small, very attractive, eastern German city of Zwickau boasts an historic theatre that is, at present, being refurbished. As
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The Gay Hussars, Or: Kálmán’s “Ein Herbstmanöver” At Theater Giessen
The unpretentious German city of Giessen has a population of 78,000 and boasts two fine buildings: the railway station and
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George W. Chadwick’s Burlesque Opera “Tabasco” Shakes Up New Orleans
A fortunate series of simultaneous anniversaries—the 300th of the founding of New Orleans, the 75th of the New Orleans Opera,
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Die Operette mit “Herzton” als musikdramatisches Modell der Moderne. Edmund Eyslers “Künstlerblut” (1906)
Back in June 2012, Marion Linhardt from the University of Bayreuth presented a paper on the Eysler operetta Künstlerblut in
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Alberto Spadolini: The Nude Spy & Dancer From “Die lustige Witwe” 1940
We recently ran an article on “Operetta in the Third Reich,” reporting on the new book of the same title
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The Problem With Thielemann’s Dresden New Year’s Concert
Yes, it’s that time of year again when New Year’s concerts are unavoidable. It’s also the time when those in
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“Maske in Blau” In Baden: With Uli Scherbel As A Tap-Dancing Hero
The small spa town of Baden-bei-Wien, 26 kilometers south-west of Vienna and with a population of 26,000, boasts a 500
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“A Greek Slave”: Musical Comedy In 2 Acts With Music By Sidney Jones
Musical comedy in 2 acts by Owen Hall. Lyrics by Harry Greenbank and Adrian Ross. Music by Sidney Jones. Additional
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“Pretty little China girl, velly, velly nice”: How Do You Revive Kerker’s “Belle of New York” Today?
As a conductor and operetta researcher, I have been working, for the last month or so, on restoring the orchestral
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From Persia to Performing German Schlager From the 1920s: Atrin Madani
It’s always a special treat to see new – and interesting – people coming to musical material that some consider
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Csárdás Interruptus: Three Kálmán CDs With Historical Recordings From The USA
Back in 1997, Michael Miller, the chair of the Ohio Light Opera Board of Directors, and president of the Operetta
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Anneliese Rothenberger & Max Hansen In “Orpheus in der Unterwelt” 1958
It’s an unusual coupling, to say the very least: Anneliese Rothenberger and Max Hansen in one recording? The hairspray-star of
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Paul Abráhám’s “Märchen im Grand Hotel” (1934) At The Komische Oper Berlin
Of course there’ve been chamber operettas long before 1933, just think of the glorious small scale pieces written by Mischa
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A Star Is Born: Jonas Dassler In Spoliansky’s “Alles Schwindel” At Gorki Theater
In a way, it’s what every operetta fan secretly dreams of: you go to a performance with new unknown singers,
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Barbara Denscher: Der Operettenlibrettist Victor Léon
Victor Léon (1858-1940) hat im Lauf seiner mehr als fünfzigjährigen Theater-Karriere über hundert Bühnenstücke geschrieben, knapp die Hälfte davon wird
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