Benatzky’s “Liebe im Schnee” With The Kammeroperette Münster
The so called Kammeroperette Münster specialises in staging “minimalist” productions of neglected operettas: this year one of Benatzky’s first full-length
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“Son of Dublin”: An Irish-American Victor Herbert Concert
The “All Irish” season of the Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live! continues with a concert of music by Victor Herbert
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A New “Student Prince” With John Mauceri
This CD could probably only be released for a German market and for German operetta fans who have no idea
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“Voici le sabre de mon père”: Offenbach’s “Grand Duchess” In Kassel
The industrial city of Kassel in middle-Germany boasts a modern, superbly designed 900 seat theatre with a large stage and
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Club Of Sperm Drinkers? “Die Fledermaus” At Neuköllner Oper
Did you think you’d ever see the day that the eternally popular Fledermaus would return to its pornographic roots? Admittedly,
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Rediscovering Offenbach: Felicitas Wetzel’s “Deine Operette – Ein Portrait in mehreren Stimmen”
An interview with Felicitas Wetzel, a German sound artist who created a concert performance with Offenbach music and quotes called
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Viennese Operetta Gems 1927-1949: A Classic Naxos Compilation
Any operetta compilation that starts with Charles Kullmann singing “Als flotter Geist, doch früh verwaist” like this has my immediate
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Kalman’s “Faschingsfee”: Carnival Spectacle At Munich’s Gärtnerplatz
The nomadic company of Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz has staged a rare, highly successful and most enjoyable revival of Kalman’s 1917
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Shades Of Grey: “Axel an der Himmelstür” In Vienna
Considering the continuing number of revivals of Im weißen Rössl one could be forgiven for thinking that Benatzky composed nothing
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Eduard Künneke’s “Lady Hamilton” In Dessau
Eduard Künneke (1885-1953) has been described by Kurt Ganzl as “the most appreciable German composer for the mid-20th-century musical stage”;
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Kalman’s “Zirkusprinzessin” At The Volksoper Wien
The Vienna Volksoper’s new staging – their first since 1988 – of Die Zirkusprinzessin is unashamedly old-fashioned – and there’s
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Kalman’s “Die Bajadere”: Radio Recording From Cologne
With Die Bajadere, Emmerich Kalman embarked on a new path as a composer in 1921: he changed his librettist team
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Re-Thinking The Concept Of “Escapism”: Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land”
This month, Damien Chazelle’s movie musical La La Land hits theaters in Europe. It is a must-see for anyone interested
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Offenbach’s “Ritter Blaubart” In Cottbus: Reviving Felsenstein
Offenbach’s glorious sex-and-social-conventions farce Barbe-bleue was a huge hit in Paris and Vienna back in the 1860s, when Hortense Schneider
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“Sex in Vienna”: New Exhibition At The Wien Museum Explores Forgotten Aspects Of Operetta History
We admit, in many ways the year 2016 hasn’t exactly been “good news” all around. Yet, from an operetta perspective
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Ivor Novello: “Composer of the Week” On BBC3
Operetta star performer and writer Ivor Novello (1893-1951) will be featured as “Composer of the Week” for BBC Radio 3
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Lehár’s “Der Graf von Luxemburg” In Duisburg: With Barihunk Bo Skovhus
I can think of only two reasons for visiting the post-industrial city of Duisburg: firstly to hear the gorgeously expressive
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Rediscovering The 1945 Broadway Hit “Marinka”
Writing from the point of view as an American visiting Berlin, the Komische Oper’s second concert performance of Emmerich Kálmán’s
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Charles Kalman “Gedenktafel” In Munich 2017
There will be a new memorial plaque on Maximilianstraße 56 next year: on February 22, the second anniversary of his
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Sigmund Romberg’s 1933 “Melody”: First Complete Cast Album
Romberg’s Broadway operettas have not been revived professionally in the UK since matinee idol John Hanson – he of the
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Victor Hollaender and Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater: A Transatlantic Affair (Part 1)
America’s popular music tradition is often referred to as the “Great American Songbook,” a national heritage. A focus on its
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Victor Hollaender and Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater: A Transatlantic Affair (Part 2)
Victor Hollaender described his first American sojourn and the German-American scene of Milwaukee in his memoirs, which were published in
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“Die Perlen der Cleopatra”: Updating Oscar Straus For Berlin
It has arrived: the 2016 pull-out-all-the-stops operetta spectacle at the Komische Oper Berlin. The title of choice is Oscar Straus’
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“The Csárdás Princess” In London: The World-Tour Continues
Over 100 years after its world-premiere, Emmerich Kálmán’s The Csárdás Princess comes to London once more on 28 November 2016.
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Joseph Beer’s “Polnische Hochzeit” (1937) On CPO
“In der Heimat blüh’n die Rosen – nicht für mich den Heimatlosen”, sings Count Boleslav in his first big solo
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The Talk Of The Town: “Frau Luna” At The Tipi In Berlin
Strolling westwards from the Bundestag, across the parkland which occupies much of this part of Berlin, one would be forgiven
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Victor Herbert’s “Princess Pat” (1915) Revived In New York
Victor Herbert’s 1915 charmer The Princess Pat was lovingly resurrected by Alyce Mott’s intrepid group as the opener of their
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“Popular Musical Theatre Under Socialism”: A Conference In Freiburg In 2017
In February 2017, theater historian Dr. Wolfgang Jansen is organizing a conference on the topic of “Popular musical theatre under
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Sigmund Romberg’s 1933 Musical Romance “Melody” On CD: New Cast Recording
It is seemingly inevitable that a conversation among Broadway aficionados about composer Sigmund Romberg (1887-1951) eventually turns to the question:
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Emmerich Kalman’s “Marinka” At The Komische Oper Berlin
It’s a special treat, that’s for sure: the Komische Oper Berlin is ending its Emmerich Kalman cycle of Christmas operettas
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An Irish-Themed Victor Herbert Season In New York City 2016/17
“A themed season? Who does themed seasons anymore?” muses Alyce Mott, Artistic Director of the NYC-based Victor Herbert Renaissance Project
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“Every Country Gets The Operetta It Deserves”: Trends, Ideological Wars And New Books
In variation of the famous saying “Every country has the government it deserves” – by 18th century political philosopher Joseph-Marie
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András Szentpéteri: Exporting Hungarian Operetta And Bringing Broadway To Budapest
András Szentpéteri is the head of Pentaton Concert and Artist Management, the company in charge of organising the international tours
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Re-Sampling A Legend: “Ziegfeld And His Follies” By Cynthia And Sara Brideson
Here is a splashy new biography of “Broadway’s Greatest Producer,” Florenz Ziegfeld, written by the team of the Brideson sisters,
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“Brutal Cultural Politics”: Dagmar Schellenberger Kicked Out Of Mörbisch Festival
In a way you could see it coming: the Seefestpiele Mörbisch tried breaking away from the stuffy (but much beloved)
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Jacques Offenbach 2019: Celebtrating His 200th Birthday
In June 2019 the world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Jacques Offenbach, “The 19th century’s most popular musical-theatre composer.”
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