http://operetta-research-center.org/balfes-satanella-plus-mermans-apprentice/ The #1 Archive for Musical Theater Tue, 24 Feb 2026 19:54:13 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=3.9.40 http://operetta-research-center.org/balfes-satanella-plus-mermans-apprentice/#comment-1761 Sun, 28 Feb 2016 11:02:01 +0000 http://operetta-research-center.org/?p=9124#comment-1761 Yes, that’s a big drawn-back: that opera fans today seem to think dialogue is not important, and that many opera singers are incapable of dilivering dialogue in an interesting way. (Not to mention many operetta singers.) I guess this has to do with the fact that we are living in an age of deconstruction where “plot” has become irrelvant for many professional theatre people, mostly in Germany and Austria. While at the same time, Hollywood blockbusters and grand TV series are successful because of their novel ways of story-telling. Mad world!

]]> http://operetta-research-center.org/balfes-satanella-plus-mermans-apprentice/#comment-1760 Sun, 28 Feb 2016 09:48:08 +0000 http://operetta-research-center.org/?p=9124#comment-1760 unfortunately there are NO dialogues recorded in the new satanella – and I find that an acute draw-back as it sabotages the genre and reduces the musical offerings to a nice platter of operatic dishes, a sort of revuewith no coherance. even though the libretto can bedownloaded I find this typical bonynge. he did the same with the soso bohemian girl on decca. its like fidelio or zauberfloete without texts and very much like operatic highlight-lps of the fifties. a missed chance. dialogue was the trademark of british opera of the time. too bad for an otherwise nicely executed recording. hs

]]>