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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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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Adam Benzwi Discusses “Dreigroschenoper” & Singing Brecht/Weill Today
Pianist and musical director Adam Benzwi was slated to premiere “his” Dreigroschenoper interpretation – in collaboration with stage director Barrie
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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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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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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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New Art is True Art: Kurt Weill’s “One Touch of Venus”
When Staatsoperette Dresden presented Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus as part of their “Broadway in Dresden” series, in a
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World Premiere Recording Of Kálmán’s Symphonic Poems “Saturnalia” & “Endre és Johanna”
In 2013 and 2016 the University of British Columbia performed two of Emmerich Kálmán’s early symphonic poems, Saturnalia and Endre
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“Sehnsucht 202” On DVD: A Very Queer Version Of Vienna With Fritz Schulz & Paul Kemp
The Austrian newspaper Der Standard has added a forgotten film operetta to their DVD series “Der österreichische Film”, a movie
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Why oh why oh why oh! Burleycue in Ohio: “The Bandbox Revue” Of 1922
This picture looked to me like a rather nice American girlie entertainment from the Twenties. Wonder what it is, thought
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David Monod’s “Vaudeville & The Making Of Modern Entertainment” 1890-1925
David Monod, professor of American social and cultural history, has undertaken a massive challenge in presenting a history of American
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Ivan Caryll & The Heyday Of The Gaiety Musical Comedy
Ivan Caryll was the principal composer and conductor for the heyday of the Gaiety musical comedy who encouraged the development
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CHIN-CHIN, Or A Modern Aladdin Musical Fantasy (1914) With Music By Ivan Caryll
An updated version of the Aladdin story, rewritten to feature the comedians Dave Montgomery and Fred Stone, Chin-Chin cast its
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Offenbach, Composer Of Zarzuelas? An Interview With Enrique Mejías García
From 14 October onwards the Fundación Juan March is presenting a special program dedicated to Jacques Offenbach. The series of
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A Legendary American Burlesque: “Evangeline” (1874), Beautiful Country Girls & A Dancing Heifer
A burlesque of Longfellow’s poem of the same name, the extravaganza Evangeline followed the trials and tribulations of its heroine
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A Bi-Polar “Merry Widow”: The Life Of Lily Elsie (1886-1962) Revisited
Elsie Hodder was born in a rather squalid theatrical lodging house in Leeds on 8 April, 1886. Her mother was
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Jeanette MacDonald (1901-1965): Hollywood’s Most Successful Soprano Star Of Celluloid Operetta
After beginning her singing career as a teenager in the chorus of a New York revue, Miss MacDonald (born in
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Maurice Chevalier (1888-1972): Parisian Music-Hall Star & Hollywood’s Singing Very-Frenchman
After an early career spent performing in cafés and suburban music halls, Maurice Chevalier (born in Ménilmontant on 12 September,
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Lily Elsie (1886-1962): Becoming “The Most Photographed Woman In The World”
A child of mysterious origins (she was rumoured, when fame came, to have been the illegitimate daughter of an aristocrat
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Broadway Producer Henry W. Savage (1859-1927): “Merry Widow” and “Sari” Were His Greatest Hits
Harvard-educated Henry Wilson Savage was born in New Durham (New Hampshire) on 21 March 1859 and well established as a
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Ethel Jackson (1877-1957): Broadway’s First “Merry Widow”
A descendant of the painter Henry Inman, Miss Jackson was born in New York on 3 February 1877. She studied
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And Here’s Broadway’s First Danilo in “The Merry Widow”: Donald Brian (1877-1948)
Donald Brian was the bright-eyed and boyish star of more than 20 years of Broadway operettas and musicals, among them the
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The First English Language Danilo in “The Merry Widow”: US-Comedian Joseph Coyne (1867-1941)
Joseph Coyne was a light comedy actor-who-sings who moved from silly-ass rôles in his native America to stardom as Britain’s
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The Planned Assassination Of Napoléon Bonaparte: “Viva Napoli” by Francis Lopez
Probably the best of the later, post Raymond Vincy, musical shows written by the already fading Francis Lopez, Viva Napoli
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Turning Point In French Musical Theatre: “La Belle de Cadix” By Francis Lopez
As much as one show can, La Belle de Cadix marked the same kind of a turning in the musical
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“Le Chanteur de Mexico”: An “Opérette à Grand Spectacle” By Francis Lopez
Le Chanteur de Mexico followed behind La Belle de Cadix and Andalousie in the continuing series of Raymond Vincy/Francis Lopez
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A New “Eine Nacht in Venedig” From Oper Graz On CPO
What grabbed my immediate attention with this new Eine Nacht in Venedig on cpo are the names on the cover:
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“Ghost Lights: Ivor Novello and His Leading Ladies“ – A Conversation With David Slattery-Christy About His New Play
Most operetta fans will know David Slattery-Christy as the biographer of Ivor Novello (1893-1951) and as a tireless champion of
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“Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm and Race” By Richard Carlin & Ken Bloom
Eubie Blake: Rags, Rhythm and Race arrives as a most welcome and long overdue biography of pianist and composer Eubie
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Lehár’s “Cloclo” On DVD: A 2018 Live Performance From Ohio Light Opera
A performance of Lehár’s Clo-Clo from the Ohio Light Opera – filmed live at the theater in Wooster – has
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The World-Premiere Recording Of Walter Jurmann’s “Windy City” (1946)
Because of the required commitment of time, money, and dedication, it is a safe bet, with the exception of the
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The First American Musical: “The Doctor of Alcantara” (1862)
Today I got asked, for the umpteenth time, ‘what was the first American musical?’ Well, all those three qualifications narrow
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Ábrahám’s “Ball at the Savoy” At Drury Lane In A 1933 Oscar Hammerstein Production
Paul Abraham’s Ball im Savoy opened at Berlin’s Großes Schauspielhaus in December 1932 with a superstar cast – and was
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Revisiting Ivan Caryll’s “The Shop Girl” As A Palaeophonics Cast Album
The record label Palaeophonics is specialized in historic cast albums attractively packed as old The Play reprints of the respective
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Remembering Hans May And His “Die tanzende Stadt” Or “The Dancing City” (1934)
In 2018 the score of Hans May’s operetta Die tanzende Stadt (The Dancing City, 1934) came up for sale in
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Lehár’s “Cloclo” (1924) On CD & DVD From The Ischl Festival And Ohio Light Opera
Franz Lehár’s 1924 operetta Cloclo is not one of his more famous titles, and it hasn’t stayed in the repertoire
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