Four “Legendary Recordings” Of Richard Genée Shows, Including “Seekadett” & “Nanon”
On a sunny summer afternoon last year I had a long inspiring conversation about Richard Genée (1823-1895) with two operetta
read moreOn the Record
Sullivan, Cellier & Ford: “Haddon Hall,” “Captain Billy” And “Mr Jericho” On CD For The First Time
In 2018 the National Gilbert and Sullivan Opera Company staged the first professional revival of Haddon Hall for about one
read more
Offenbach’s Final Farewell: “Die Schöne Lurette” (1880) In Two DDR Versions
As the times of self-isolation continue, so does the catching up on old and new operetta releases that I’ve been
read more
The Glory Of Offenbach: 2 1/2 Historical “Die Banditen” Recordings From Germany
When the world is under quarantine and everything is shut down because of a new virus – you have lots
read more
Dario Salvi: Recording Johann Strauss’ “Blindekuh” (1878) For Naxos In Sofia
“Blindekuh”, literally “blind cow”, is the German term for the “blind man’s buff” game – and it is the title
read more
Offenbach’s Hispanic Vogue: “Maître Péronilla” & “La Périchole” On Palazzetto Bru Zane
Offenbach and “The Hispanic Vogue”? As it turns out, there are two interesting new recordings out on Palazzetto Bru Zane
read more
World Premiere Recording Of Johann Strauss’ “Blindekuh” On Naxos
As part of their Johann Strauss “rediscovery series” the label Naxos is releasing the 1878 operetta Blindekuh which premiered at
read more
Revisiting Kurt Gänzl’s “Guide to Musical Theatre On Record”
“Wonderfully opinionated, outrageously frank, and always sensible” Yes, that was me. I suppose it still is … but in 1991
read more
Francisco Barbieri’s “Barberillo de Lavapies”: The Classic BBC Recording In English
This is totally delightful! Francisco Barbieri (1823-94) was the leading exponent of the zarzuela revival of the mid-19th century. He
read more
Leo Fall’s “Die Dollarprinzessin” With Ulf Schirmer From Munich
As part of their ongoing Leo Fall series, the label cpo has released a full cast album of Die Dollarprinzessin,
read more
The Songs Of Reynaldo Hahn On Palazzetto Bru Zane
For many, he’s just another famous representative of the Belle Époque, but there are few people that really know much
read more
Heymann, Offenbach & Ábrahám: New Albums And Concerts With The Capitol Symphony Orchestra
Here’s something truly special: an album of Werner Richard Heymann’s symphonic music that has not been available acoustically earlier and
read more
Dagmar Manzel’s New Solo Album “Sehnsucht” – With Three Paul Abraham Tracks
The fact that Dagmar Manzel has been involved in the Weimar Republic operetta revival at Komische Oper Berlin from the
read more
“Offenbach Colorature”: The Award-Winning Solo Album By Jodie Devos
Any solo album that starts off by knocking you on the head with the boisterous couplet of the animal trainer
read more
Dangerous When Wet: Offenbach’s Rediscovered “Le Royaume de Neptune” From the 1874 “Orphée Aux Enfers”
When Germany’s ultra-conservative Offenbach crusader Peter Hawig – who in a recent Jacques Offenbach Society newsletter remarked that “tying” the
read more
A Man And His Shadow: “Jonas Kaufmann Wien”
No, this is not scheduled as a mid-summer treat to coincide with the various operetta festival productions in Austria: the
read more
“Die lustige Witwe” With Marlis Petersen And Iurii Samoilov – Live From Oper Frankfurt
The original composer chosen für Die lustige Witwe by authors Leo Stein and Victor Léon was: Richard Heuberger. After he
read more
Fritzi Massary Sings “Csardasfürstin” & “Faschingsfee” In 1916/18
There’s a wonderful interview with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in which she talks about her student days in Berlin. She mentions that
read more
Kálmán’s “Faschingsfee” Live From Gärtnerplatz Theater Munich
Kálmán’s Faschingsfee started her phenomenal career abroad, to be exact: in Budapest and New York City. First the show premiered
read more
Jacques Offenbach’s “Folies symphoniques”: Howard Griffiths & Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
You’ll forgive me for saying this, but provincial Brandenburg and the city of Frankfurt an der Oder (next to the
read more
Emmerich Kálmán’s “Ein Herbstmanöver” From Gießen With Michael Hofstetter
“The Gay Hussars”? I admit, the title of the 1909 Broadway version of Emmerich Kalman’s first operetta hit Tatájárás caught
read more
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
read more
“Dorothy” By Alfred Cellier: World Premiere Recording
Before the building of railways into London from the rest of south-east England in the third quarter of the nineteenth
read more
Thank Heaven for Little Girls: André Messager’s “Les p’tites Michu” On Palazzetto Bru Zane
Nature or nurture – that’s the central question in this charming social experiment operetta in three acts by André Messager.
read more
Kálmán’s “Kaiserin Josephine” (1936) On CPO: Live From The Léhar Festival in Ischl
Kálmán composed Kaiserin Josephine after his ‘regular’ first night theater, the Theater an der Wien, had gone bankrupt as a
read more
Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s “Das Lied der Liebe” From Leipzig
You know it’s Korngold alright from the very first bars: it’s an explosion of sound, hyper-intense like the opening of
read more
Ivor Novello’s “The Dancing Years”: The First Complete Recording
The effect of Ivor Novello’s music on me was immediate: I remember the first time I heard his songs on
read more
Ivor Novello & Kurt Gänzl: “The Dancing Years” On JAY Records
Any week now, John Yap’s company, JAY Records, is going to release a recording of Ivor Novello and Christopher Hassall’s
read more
“Lächeln trotz Weh und tausend Schmerzen”: Franz Lehárs Rundfunkaufnahmen im Dritten Reich
Yes, they are very famous and widely known: Lehár’s operettas as recorded by the Nazis, often with stellar casts, offering
read more
Desert Island Disc? “La Périchole” From Montpellier With Marc Minkowski
So here it is, finally: the live broadcast of Marc Minkowski’s performance of La Périchole with his Les Musiciens du
read more
Johann Strauss’s “Aschenbrödel” (1899): A Modern-Day Cinderella Story Conducted By Ernst Theis
It’s not exactly a secret that Johann Strauss was a great dance music composer. Before he turned to operetta in
read more
Hommage Mécanique: Jérôme Collomb’s Tribute to Jacques Offenbach
Before the dawn of the phonographic era and before iTunes came along you had to either go to the theater
read more
“Broadway Sampler: 1915.” Twenty-Five Musicals And Twenty-Six Songs
You might remember the CD series The Broadway Musicals of… created, written and hosted by Scott Siegel. They started, thematically,
read more
Künneke’s “Herz über Bord”: A New Recording Of The Complete Score With Wayne Marshall
When Eduard Künneke presented his syncopated Der Vetter aus Dingsda in Berlin 1921, it was quite revolutionary to have so
read more
“Der tapfere Soldat”: What Recordings Are There Of The 1908 Oscar Straus Show?
Munich’s recently renovated and re-opened Gärtnerplatz Theater just offered a brand-new staging of The Chocolate Soldier, in the original German
read more
“The Mountebanks” By Gilbert And Cellier: A New BBC Recording
After the success of The Gondoliers in December 1889, D’Oyly Carte, Gilbert and Sullivan had a well-publicised disagreement because Gilbert
read more