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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Butchering Irving Berlin: The Screen-To-Stage Adaptation of “Holiday Inn”
When was the last time you saw a new 1947 musical for the first time? Roundabout Theatre Company and Universal
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Dostal’s “Ungarische Hochzeit” (1939): First Complete Recording Of “Lebensraum” Operetta
Here is a new and first complete recording of Nico Dostal’s 1939 operetta Ungarische Hochzeit – premiered at the opera
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Reviewing The Operetta Aspects In “New York’s Yiddish Theater”
As a companion volume to its recent exhibition on New York’s Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway, the Museum
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“An Autumn Trilogy”: The Budapest Operetta Theater In Ravenna
Ravenna in Northern Italy is famous for many things: it was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402
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The Demystification Of “The Black Crook”
One thing leads to another … Answering various queries, after my 15 years old article on The Black Crook, which
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New York’s Yiddish Theater: From the Bowery to Broadway
Considering that most new books dealing with Broadway history in coffee table format simply recycle what has already been written
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Grand Opening: The New Emmerich Kálmán Theátrum In Budapest
For their 2016/17 season, the Budapest Operetta Theater (BOT) has some surprises in store. They might have opened the season
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THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE, or The Slave of Duty: Comic opera in 2 acts by Gilbert & Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan’s successor to the phenomenal HMS Pinafore proved to be another enormous international opéra-bouffe hit. Where the former
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