Johann Strauss’ “Ritter Pásmán”: Live Recording From Vienna 1975 Released On CD
In 1892 Johann Strauss – the world-famous dance music composer and author of numerous operetta classics – managed to premiere
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Refreshing & Modern: Musikalische Komödie Starts Collaboration with Young Filmmakers
Operetta goes online? That’s not exactly news, after more than a year of Corona lockdowns and closed theaters, when there
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Right Wing Propaganda Or Enriching? The New Interest In Nationalist Operetta Histories
What’s new in the world of operetta research? Well, after the recent conference in Ljubljana dedicated to Operetta Between the
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“Das hab’ ich von Papa gelernt”: Thomas Fritsch Dies At The Age Of 77
On 21 April, 2021, the actor and singer Thomas Fritsch died at the age of 77. He was the son
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“Pardon, Madame”: UdK Students Present Their Version Of “In Stanniolpapier” Online
The students at UdK (Universität der Künste) in Berlin who are training to be stars in the field “Musical/Show” are
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Two Trans Characters Looking For Their True Gender? The Persian Themed Zarzuela “Benamor”
At a time when the Covid-19 situation generates distress in our daily lives, Madrid’s Teatro de la Zarzuela presents a
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The Jerusalem Opera Wants To Present Madcap Offenbach In The Middle East
When it comes to the Middle-East, there’s not an awful lot of operetta performance history that comes to mind.
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Free Streaming: National G&S Company’s “Pirates of Penzance” From Buxton
Having had to cancel the 2020 festival owing to Covid restrictions, this year’s Gilbert and Sullivan Festival, taking place at
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The Incomparable Maudi Darrell: One-Time Darling Of London’s Gaiety Theatre
The story begins almost like a fairy tale: Once upon a time there were three brothers, George, Edward and John.
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Basic Operetta Opinions: 11 Questions For Ethel Merhaut
Soprano Ethel Merhaut is part of the “young musical scene of Vienna” and likes to “use lots of charme and
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Ethel Merhaut Sings “Bittersweet” Operetta For Sony Masterworks
It’s astonishing that Sony Masterworks is releasing an album of operetta songs – in jazz arrangements! Presented by the young
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Big Bang Moments: Martin Mitterrutzner Sings Tenor Hits Of The 1930s
The repertoire Tyrolean tenor Martin Mitterrutzner presents on his new album Heut’ ist der schönste Tag was made popular in
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Hervé’s “L’œil crevé” (1867) On YouTube: Live From L’Opéra de Bordeaux
Hervé’s 1867 opéra bouffe L’œil crevé (literally “The pierced eye” or “It hit me right in the eye”) was first
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La Belle Hélène lernt Italienisch: Studie zur Rezeption französischer Operetten in Italien 1860-90
Die Operette ist in noch stärkerem Maße als die Oper ein internationales Phänomen. Die Bühnenwerke von Jacques Offenbach werden ebenso
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Another “First” Recording Of Reynaldo Hahn’s 1933 “Ô Mon Bel Inconnu”
Venezuelan born Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947) lived in Paris for most of his life, composed his first successful song (“If My
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Offenbach’s Singing Cannibals On The Radio As “Das gräuliche Festmahl” For Easter
The Berlin based “collective for contemporary operette*” which calls itself Tutti d*Amore presented their take on Offenbach’s 1857 one-acter Vent-du-soir
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“Die Fledermaus Zuhaus”: When 35 Artists From 7 Time Zones Come Together On YouTube
Die Fledermaus Zuhaus (The Bat At Home) is an abridged version of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus developed during the various
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Coming-out als Operettenrettung? Interview zum Queer Reading des „Dreimäderlhaus“
Als das Dreimäderlhaus am 15. Januar 1916 im Wiener Raimundtheater in Premiere ging waren die Kritiken gespalten. Denn Komponist Heinrich
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Reynaldo Hahn (1874-1947): Only One Enduring Score?.
Born in Caracas, Venezuela, on 9 August, 1874, Reynaldo Hahn was the elegant, soigné composer whose work for the French
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How To Handle The Racism & Sexism Of “Z*******”-Baron Today? A Conductor’s Response
Austrian author and feminist activist Marlene Streeruwitz spoke out against the patriotic “kitsch culture” in her homeland in an interview
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The Night Nicole Kidman Went To See “The Merry Widow” And Got Swatted
Who said that operettas don’t make headlines anymore? And that super stars from Hollywood wouldn’t be interested in the genre
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Lorenzo Viotti: Operetta In His Blood & Conducting “Die lustige Witwe”
Yes, it’s great to see that a younger generation of rising “star” conductors is expressing interest in operetta. More than
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Is The Gold & Silver Terminology Nothing More Than Camouflaged Anti-Semitism?
On 27 January, 1945 the Nazi concentration in Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army. Memorial speeches all over the
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Koskys “Orphée aux enferns”: Swarovski-Genitalien auf der Suche nach der Hölle
Zum Offenbach-Jubiläum 2019 spielten die Salzburger Festspiele erstmals eine Offenbach-Operette und übertrugen die Regie Barrie Kosky. Leider gaben sie ihm
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Tackling A Tauber Role: Sebastian Kohlhepp In “Schön ist die Welt” From The Bavarian State Opera
Okay, Munich has the Gärtnerplatztheater and thus a center of operetta “maintenance” in Germany which competes with Staatsoperette Dresden, Musikalische
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“Ball im Savoy” From Estonia, Arranged & Sung By Mart Sander
When I visited Tallinn in 2016 and saw that they were playing Ball im Savoy at the Estonian National Opera,
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Kero Publishes His Memoirs In The Shadow Of #metoo
Theater memoirs are rarely published in Hungary, mostly because they are not being written. The entangled interpersonal relationships of artistic
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My Corona Year 2020: Discovering Wolfgang Anheisser’s “Operetten Gala”
My first theatre visit of 2020 was an ominous forewarning of what was to come: On 2 January I saw
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RSC: Reconstructing Erik Charell’s Shakespeare Adaptation “Swingin’ the Dream”
When the Shakespeare adaptation Swingin‘ the Dream opened on Broadway in 1939 it followed Erik Charell’s earlier XXL-sized Broadway hit
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Deflowering Austria: The New Year’s Concert From Vienna Lets Suppé Sparkle
There’s something supremely uplifting about starting the new year with Franz von Suppé’s rousing Fatinitza march as played by the
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What Is The Best “Fledermaus” On Disc?
Ah yes, another Fledermaus recording. As if there aren’t enough already, right? Well, actually, this one from the NDR Radiophilharmonie
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March of the Falsettos: Streaming Sasha Regan’s “Pirates of Penzance” From The Palace Theatre
The gimmick with which the West End revival of Sasha Regan’s Pirates of Penzance at the Palace Theatre was recently
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A Revived Interest In “Heiteres Musiktheater der DDR”? It’s Not Just About Nostalgia
Recently, Wolfgang Jansen published a collection of essays dealing with “Popular Music Theater under Socialism,” an aspect of 20th century
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Dumbing Down Operetta: Thomas Macho’s New Lehár Movie On Arte
Obviously, there are many ways to present history, including musical history. At the moment, you can watch the amazing Viola
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COX AND BOX, or The Long Lost Brothers: Musical Triumviretta In 1 Act With Music By Arthur Sullivan
This Musical triumviretta in 1 act was adapted from J Maddison Morton’s farce Box and Cox by F C Burnand,
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“Cox & Box – The Film”: A Christmas Special From The New York Gilbert & Sullivan Players
I’m an old conservative. I was ‘a little con-ser-va-tive’ (as opposed to a ‘little li-ber-al’) from the moment I was
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