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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Volker Klotz: 20. Dezember 1930 – 31. Mai 2023
Volker Klotz, der vor knapp vier Monaten im hohen Alter von 92 Jahren verstarb, war ein außergewöhnlich produktiver und dabei
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Opera Rara’s New “La Princesse de Trébizonde”
Ever since that night so many years ago when I saw my first Offenbach (November 4, 1974, Hoffmanns Erzählungen, at
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It’s Finally Here: Karin Meesmann’s Biography of Paul Ábrahám
Anyone interested in Paul Ábrahám will have known – or will have heard – that Karin Meesmann has been working
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New Recording from Graz: Nico Dostal’s “Clivia” on cpo
Nico Dostal scored a hit with his Clivia when it premiered at Berlin’s Theater am Nollendorfplatz in December 1933, after
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Erstmals auf DVD: Benatzkys „Der reichste Mann der Welt“
In der Geschichte der deutschsprachigen Operette bedeutet die sogenannte Machtergreifung der Nationalsozialisten Anfang 1933 einen radikalen Einschnitt: Die bis dahin
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World Premiere Recording: Walter W. Goetze’s “Wenn Männer schwindeln”
The works of German pre-WW1 composers have only recently come back into focus again – as opposed to the better-known
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Wiener Operette, Moderne und kulturelle Viefalt: Moritz Csákys Essay in neuer Auflage
1996 erschien Moritz Csákys „kulturhistorischer Essay“ Ideologie der Operette und Wiener Moderne (Wien – Köln – Weimar: Böhlau). 2021 kam
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CAMELOT Musical in 2 acts by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe
Camelot had the impossibly difficult task of following behind My Fair Lady in the opus of Lerner and Loewe, and
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“Camelot” Returns With A New Broadway Cast Album
I have always liked 90 percent of Camelot. And 100 percent of its delicious source material. I am, yes, too
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“They Haven’t Lost Their Mojo”: The Ohio Light Opera Festival 2023
For the first time in four years, Ohio Light Opera has returned for a full indoor season of shows (though
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The History of the Imperial Summer Theater in Bad Ischl
Teresa Hrdlicka has just published a 184-page book entitled Das kaiserliche Sommertheater in Bad Ischl: Operette und Oper unter Kaiser
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“Iolanthe”: Betting Dollars to Donuts on These Fairies At Carnegie Hall
It’s only May, but I’m betting dollars to donuts that this starry production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s seventh comic opera
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Victor Herbert’s “Cyrano de Bergerac”: Live in New York
“You’re about to see a flop,” VHRP Artistic Director Alyce Mott impishly teased the packed house a few moments before
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Uraufführung von Moritz Eggerts neuer Operette „Die letzte Verschwörung“
Ich werde diese Szene nie vergessen. Als sich während eines der Zwischenlockdowns mein Elektriker endlich wieder in meine Wohnung wagte,
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Linz & Wien: Zweimal „Gräfin Mariza“ von Thomas Enzinger
Kálmáns Gräfin Mariza ist (neben der Csardasfürstin) eine seiner perfektesten, beliebtesten und daher zu Recht jahrein jahraus, landauf landab, im
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Rodgers & Hammerstein Revisited: “The King and I” & “South Pacific” on Jay Records
This morning I had an interesting package on my desktop. Complete recordings of The King and I (1994) and South
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Jacques Offenbach and the Making of Modern Culture: An Interview with 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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Stanislavsky and “The Mikado”
Operetta was one of the most successful forms of theatre to go transglobal in the 19th and early 20th century.
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“Linie 1”: Revising Berlin’s Legendary Subway Musical at GRIPS Theater
When Linie 1 premiered in West-Berlin back in 1986, three years before the wall came down and East and West
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“Lustige Witwe”: Barrie Kosky Tackles the “Führer’s” Favorite Operetta in Zurich
In the past, Barrie Kosky has shunned the works of Franz Lehár. His operetta focus has been on works by
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Springtime for Fritzi: A New Play About Massary with Daniela Ziegler
While the world is still waiting for a full-scale bio pic about the life of Fritzi Massary (1882-1969), the Theater
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Paul Lincke’s “Frau Luna” – A Radio Recording from Cologne on CPO
There is no real shortage of Frau Luna recordings, the Paul Lincke classic from 1899 has always worked well as
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Gilbert & Sullivan: Is Sexual Innuendo Imbedded in “HMS Pinafore”?
It is an accepted notion that Gilbert and Sullivan were careful to exclude anything in their comic operas that could
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Alyce Mott Brings Herbert’s “The Red Mill” Back to New York City
This is VHRP Artistic Director Alyce Mott’s fourth go-round with Victor Herbert’s popular musical comedy – originally a vehicle for
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“Czech Operetta and Its Transnational Context”: A Conference in Prague
In March 2023 there’s a three-day conference in Prague devoted to the question of “Czech Operetta and Its Transnational Context”.
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The Battle of the Divas – Desirée Nick, Stefanie Dietrich & Christoph Marti
There are no real operetta divas around anymore. Or are there? It seems that nowadays most sopranos singing the once-famous
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Aus Perspektive eines Operettennostalgikers: „Rebecca“ und „Glöckner“ in Wien
Operettenfreunde in Österreich haben derzeit einen schweren Stand. Im sogenannten „Mekka der Operette“ in Mörbisch wird, seit Altbeau Alfons Haider
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