The Very Model of a Modern-Day Burlesque
If you like Burlesque – in its historical form – you might enjoy Hostel Hermannstraße as performed by Ades Zabel
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What Is Your Favorite LGBT-Themed Show?
Last week-end, there were various Gay Pride Marches in the USA, but also in Europe. Our colleagues at Playbill.com took
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A “Fledermaus” in Tel Aviv
The Israel Philharmonic Orchestra will present a concert version of Die Fledermaus on July 6, at the Charles Bronfman Auditorium.
A Swiss Operetta Discotheque: Comparing “Csárdásfürstin” CDs
The Swiss Radio SRF2 will dedicate a whole program to comparing Csárdásfürstin recordings on CD. The host of the show
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Is “Maske in Blau” Worth Reviving?
Why Fred Raymond’s Maske in Blau (1937) is so popular right now, is anyone’s guess. But the show that contains
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Farewell to Sonja Mottl: A Funeral Speech for the Viennese Diva
Liebe Trauerfamilie, liebe Freunde von Sonja Mottl! Wir tragen heute wieder ein Stück Wiener Theatergeschichte zu Grabe, nehmen Abschied von
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Exporting Operette: The World Is Not Enough
What became eventually known as “operetta” or “opérette” didn’t start its life under that name. The earliest works of the
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Did Leo Fall Suffer From Serious Drug Addiction?
It’s always a good time to pay attention to Leo Fall (1873-1925) because his operettas – Der fidele Bauer, Die
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“Im weißen Rössl” Revisited
Most Germans are familiar-very familiar-with the White Horse Inn. That’s because the film version starring Peter Alexander and Waltraud Haas
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Coward & Novello
Noël Coward (1899-1973) and Ivor Novello (1893-1951), both English, both homosexual, were the two most enduring proponents of English language
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At the Cross-Roads? A New “Bettelsstudent” from Mörbisch on DVD
As of 2013, the Austrian operetta festival in Mörbisch—near the Hungarian border—has a new director. Dagmar Schellenberger replaced Harald Serafin
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“L’Alchimiste” at the Opéra de Barie
So it’s going to be “Hervé Forever” this summer. Apart from the performance in Caen in July, there is also
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Hervé’s “L’Elixir” at the Festival Viva Voce de Caen
Some people think that Hervé is the real father of “operetta”. And, of course, they’re right. His great opéra-bouffes are
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„Spiel’ das mal schwul“: Interview mit Adam Benzwi
Heterosexuelle Gesangsstudenten entdecken bei Prof. Adam Benzwi von der Berliner Universität der Künste seit 20 Jahren den Schlüssel zur Operette,
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Why, Oh Why, Oh Why, Oh? First International Operetta Conference in Ohio
The founding Artistic Director of the Ohio Light Opera, James Stuart, has always taken the mission of his company very
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“Horrible Prettiness or Satanic Subversiveness”?
“Gender Studies” are something on everyone’s lips these days. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, the operetta world has hardly taken note of
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Kálmán’s Voodoo Magic: “Golden Dawn” (1927)
Fern von Europa und vom europäischen Markt vollkommen unbeachtet, kommt am 29. Juli 1930 in den USA die Verfilmung von
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Going Up? The Music of Louis Hirsch
Never heard of Louis Hirsch (1881–1924) and his Broadway operettas? Well, we can change that easily. Because our friends at
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Lehar’s ‘Frederica’ by Concert Operetta Theater
Concert Operetta Theater productions usually win my heart because they immerse their audience in an airy world of romance and
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Jean Gilbert, Walter Kollo and Berlin Operetta After 1914
They were two of the most successful and influential operetta composers in Berlin: Jean Gilbert and Walter Kollo. One Jewish,
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Essays On Kurt Weill’s Broadway Operetta
Here it is, fresh off the press: A German language collection of texts dealing with Kurt Weill’s only “operetta”, The
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Korngold’s “Stumme Serenade” in Arnhem and Berlin
Erich Wolfgang Korngold is mostly remembered today as an adapter of operettas. He re-wrote many famous shows and created versions
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Fred Raymond: A New Official Homepage
Fred Raymond was one of the most successful operetta composers in Germany between 1933 and 1945. His Maske in Blau
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Ivor Novello’s “Valley of Song” on CD
After a sell-out show in January 2014 by Tarquin Productions, the WestEnders are delighted to announce the launch of the original
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Piotr Beczala’s Tribute CD to Richard Tauber
There are two truly stunning moments on this new disc by tenor Piotr Beczala devoted to Richard Tauber. And not
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The Fall and Fall of the Town of Mahagonny
It’s June, and somehow, this season, I had not yet been to an opera at the Staatsoper, where I experienced
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Her Soldier’s Boy: Young World War Heroes Laid Bare
Yes, it’s memorial time. You’ll remember that 2014 is the 100th anniversary of the start of World War 1. There
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One Touch of Venus: A Broadway Operetta
Yes, I know. Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus is generally considered a classic Broadway musical. And rightly so. Still,
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The Empress Josephine Revisited
Yes, she’s the Empress Josephine, and even 200 years after her death she still fascinates. Emmerich Kálmán wrote a whole
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Cheyenne Jackson: A New Kind of Operetta Hero?
It doesn’t happy very often that a recording takes my breath away. But the new West Side Story from San Francisco—of
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The First “Operetten Festival” in Berlin, at the Komische Oper
You will probably remember that the Komische Oper Berlin has had quite a few remarkable operetta productions lately, ever since
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Der ‘Firebrand of Florence’ in Dessau
Jetzt mal im Ernst: Kurt Weill ein Operettenkomponist? Das ist zugegebenermaßen nicht das erste, was einem zu “Kurt” einfällt, oder?
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Kálmán’s “Arizona Lady”: Two Cowboys in 3/4-Time?
An interview with Charles Kálmán, the son of Emmerich Kálmán, on his father’s last operetta, “Arizona Lady”. Most people nowadays
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Messeschlager Gisela
The guys in Rüdersdorf are at it again. They have just announced the new operetta production that will be shown
Zehn Musicalstudenten der UdK in einer phantastischen Show
Es dauert nicht lange bis klar wird, dass dies ein außergewöhnlicher Musiktheaterabend wird – der nach dem post-postmodernen Dekonstruktionsprinzip die
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Die Drei von der Tankstelle
Manchmal lohnt sich ja ein Ausflug in die tiefste Musiktheaterprovinz. Zum Beispiel ins schöne Stendal in der Altmark. Die meisten
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