Paul Abraham: An Interview with His First Biographer
The German journalist Klaus Waller has written a 240 pages biography of Paul Abraham: Der tragische König der Operette. It
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“Der Zarewitsch und der Tänzer”: How Gay Is Lehár’s Operetta?
„Warum mag er die Frauen nicht?“ Diese Frage stellen sich nicht nur die Damen der Aristokratie, die in der Theaterpause
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Here Come The Lunatics: Jeff Clarke Talks About Operetta In The UK
Opera in the UK doesn’t only happen in big London theatres with rob-the-bank ticket prices. All over the country there
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“Gasparone”: Wenn nur die Plattenfirma großes Lob verdient
Das CD-Label cpo und sein Executive Producer Burkhard Schmilgun haben eine neue Aufnahme von Carl Millöckers zweiter Erfolgsoperette Gasparone vorgelegt
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Behind the Lines: Wolfgang Dosch Sings Songs From WW1
Wolfgang Dosch is not just a great operetta teacher at the conservatory in Vienna, he is also an assured singer
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“On the Town”: Leonard Bernstein’s Classic A Must-See On Broadway
In December 1944, composer Leonard Bernstein, choreographer Jerome Robbins, and librettists Betty Comden and Adolph Green all made their Broadway
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The “White Horse Inn” of Saxony
Yes, there is going to be another one: The Musikalische Komödie will present the Ralph Benatzky/Erik Charell “Singspiel” Im weißen
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Two New Ábrahám Biographies
You could call it the battle of the biographers. Who will be first? Who will be better? Who will have
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Who Will Be The Savior of Operetta in the 21st Century: Volker Klotz Or Barrie Kosky?
This week-end, a new production of Offenbach’s La belle Hélène premieres at the Komische Oper Berlin. Its director, Barrie Kosky,
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Behind the Candelabra: A New “Zarewitsch” in Dresden
This week-end, the Staatsoperette Dresden will present a new staging of Lehár’s notoriously homoerotic Der Zarewitsch where the tenor turns
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An Academic Symposium on “White Horse Inn” in 2015
Hold your breath: There’s going to be an „interdisciplinary symposium“ on White Horse Inn, examining „new cultural-historical perspectives 1930-2015.“ When?
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BBC2: A Two-Hour Tribute to Ivor Novello
„Friday Night is Music Night“: that’s the slogan of the BBC2 concert radio series. Last Friday’s concert was devoted to
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Operetta Goddess of the Future: Lady Gaga
You have to hand it to the Americans. They certainly know how to make their classics sound fresh and funky,
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A Star Is Born: Johannes Dunz
Because of illness, the Komische Oper Berlin had to re-cast its production of Nico Dostal’s Clivia. The original star, Tobias
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Hamburg’s “Belle Hélène” To Be Realeased On DVD?
Here it is, a first look at the new La belle Hélène in Hamburg. The large-scale production by Renaud Doucet
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“Unbemannt im Weltall”: Ass-Dur Back in Berlin
In case you missed it during the last week, the topic of “boylesque” is not off the menu here. On
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Galgenhumor: An Interview About Nostalgia & World War 1
Two researchers from the Austrian Cabaret Archive (ÖKA), Iris Fink and Hans Veigl, have just published a 275 page book
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A Definitive Richard Tauber Biography?
You could have been fooled into thinking there cannot possibly be anything new to say on the topic of Richard
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Staatsoperette Dresden: Ready To Move Downtown
Finally, there are images of the new Staatsoperette Dresden. It will be situated in Kraftwerk Mitte. And for the first
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Double-Whopper: “La belle Hélène” in Hamburg and Berlin
It is somewhat astonishing that all of a sudden Offenbach’s La belle Hélène is returning to the stages of Northern
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A Pure Joy: “Die Fledermaus” As A Ballet From La Scala
It certainly is a little unusual: a ballet version by Roland Petit of the Johann Strauss classic Die Fledermaus. Filmed
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A Vienna Heart in the Star-Spangled Banner: Bruno Granichstaedten
The Austrian music historian, film director and author Ernst Kaufmann has written a biography of his uncle – composer Bruno
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Opening of the Season in Leipzig – With “In Frisco ist der Teufel los”
Did you know that the word „zapping“ comes from Wild West times and originally meant shooting down your opponent? Today,
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Operetta After 1933: An Exhibition at the Brucknerfest Linz
During the Brucknerfest in Linz, Austria, a new exhibition will open at the Tabakfabrik on September 9. Its title: Operette
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“The Desert Song”: A Glorious Technicolor Version on DVD for the First Time
Sigmund Romberg’s North Africa spectacle The Desert Song “is arguably the best of the group of romantic operettas that found
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Zulma Bouffar: The “Other” Prima Donna of the Offenbach-Age
Zulma Bouffar (b Nérac, 24 May 1841) made her first appearance on the stage at the age of six, at
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Deep Throat: Jonas Kaufmann Sings 1920s Operetta
When a PR-savvy superstar of the Jonas Kaufmann caliber issues a “cross-over“ album filled with operetta goodies, people take notice.
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“In Holly-Holly-Hollywood”: Zarah Leander in “Axel an der Himmeltür” 1936 and 1958
It might come as a bit of a surprise to operetta fans of today to find a so-called “Viennese Operetta”,
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Richard Tauber: An Evening for “The King of Berlin”
The Stadtmuseum in Berlin has a special treat in store: on September 10, at 9 pm, they will present an
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The Original Operetta-Diva: Hortense Schneider
She was the six-year shooting star of Offenbach’s Théâtre des Variétés series whose dazzling career declined at the same time
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Lydia Thompson, the “Father of All Drag Kings”?
Lydia Thompson [Eliza Hodges Thompson] is one of the theatre’s ‘legends’, and as in the case of other such legendary
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Let the Facts Speak for Themselves: A Novel Tauber Biography
Martin Sollfrank has written an exhaustive, 568 page biographical documentation entitled Musik war sein Leben: Richard Tauber – Weltstar des
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You Dont Have to Be a Skinny to Be a Superstar: Marie Desclauzas
Marie Desclauzas was a buxom and eventually hefty star of the opérette stage who became the most admired musical character
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Italian Sex Spectacles: Operettas By Carlo Lombardo & Co.
Half the world loves Italian music, whether it’s popular songs of the „Volare“ type or operas from Rossini to Verdi
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Vienna’s Merry Apocalypse
A little book dealing with the entertainment industry during the Great War: Galgenhumor. Kleine Kunst im Großen Krieg. Ein Beitrag
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Another Rainbow Over Berlin?
We have been talking about burlesque and boylesque a lot here, lately. But have you ever heard of “Berlinesque”? And,
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