First Full Recording Of Johann Strauss’ “Waldmeister” (1895)
The label Naxos is continuing its Johann Strauss series with a new recording of late operetta Waldmeister, which originally premiered
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What A Voyage! Historic “La Fille de Madame Angot” Recordings In English, French & Italian
The sky is blue, the sun is shining, the waves are tinkling on the shore a hundred metres from me
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World Premiere Recording of Ábrahám’s Jazzy 1932 “Ball at the Savoy” In English
Paul Abrahám’s flavorsome jazz operetta, which premiered to great acclaim in 1932 Berlin at Großes Schauspielhaus, only to have its
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The Showtime Series: Historic Recordings Of “Mademoiselle Modiste” & “Naughty Marietta”
After 1945, Decca and American Columbia developed the 33 rpm LP vinyl record to replace the 78 rpm shellac disc.
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The Smithsonian’s 1981 Recording Of “Naughty Marietta” On CD For The First Time
Harbinger Records is planning a re-issue – for the first time on CD – of the Smithsonian Institution’s 1981 recording
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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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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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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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“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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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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PASSIONNÉMENT! Comédie Musicale in 3 Acts with Music by André Messager
On 13 December, 2020, the Bavarian radio station BR-Klassik will broadcasts a live performance of André Messager‘s ‘comédie musicale’ Passionnément!
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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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George London On Broadway – But Without His Partner Mario Lanza
And now, I would like to talk to you about George London. Yes, I am aware that he didn’t sing
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Georges Prêtre Conducts Two Outstanding Offenbachs In His Final La Scala Concert
Conductor Georges Prêtre is generally considered one of the best interpreters of French music, and the list of famous recordings
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“Jery und Bätely” From Malmö: Operas & Operettas By Women Composers
Women opera and operetta composers are often even more in the shadows than women composers in general, and if it
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Leo Fall’s “Die Rose von Stambul”: What About The Hijab Controversy?
This new recording starts overwhelmingly: with gongs, whole tone scales, rhythmic oriental rattling, bouncing horn passages à la Richard Strauss.
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Revisiting “Daniela Ziegler Sings Ralph Benatzky”
At the beginning of August 2020 Helga Benatzky died at the blessed age of 96: she had been in charge
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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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“The Merry Widow” À La “Mad Men” With Tony Award Winning Conductor Franz Allers & Lisa Della Casa
The aspect that initially drew my attention to this brand new re-release of The Merry Widow in “hi-fidelity stereo” was
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Oscar Straus’ Piano Concerto & Other Rare Orchestra Pieces
My first ‘live’ encounter with Oscar Straus was attending a wonderfully inspired production of his first operetta Die lustigen Nibelungen
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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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Anchors Away: Franz von Suppé’s “Il Ritorno del Marinaio” On CPO
Anyone taking a close look at the oeuvre list of Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) in search for an opera entitled
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Paleophonics: A Journey To The Dawn Of Recorded Sound In Musical Comedy
If you are interested in what original audiences of early 20th century English operetta and musical comedy heard, there is
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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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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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The Royal Voice of Betty Fischer On Truesound Transfers
In 1924 Betty Fischer created one of the greatest operetta roles of the 20th century: Gräfin Mariza in Emmerich Kálmán’s
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“Die lustige Witwe”: First CD Release Of The Original 1907 Berlin Cast
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this first ever CD release of Die lustige Witwe with the 1906/7
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Listening To The Berlin Recordings Of Josef Josephi. Or: The “Elitekorps der Operette”
I’ve been on a bit of a Truesound Transfers trip these past few days. You know, that small Berlin based
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Opéra-Comique Overtures By Lecocq, Offenbach & Co.
The record label Naxos has just released a fascinating CD containing French 19th century overtures. One of these is the
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Robert Stolz At The Vatican. Or: 68 Versions Of “Ave Maria”
Soprano and producer Andrea Chudak has been working with settings of the “Ave Maria” for over 15 years. During this
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“Trafalgar sur un volcan”: An(other) Operetta About Terrorists?
The German record label cpo has recently released a CD of two short operettas. One of them is a real
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World-Premiere Recording of Strauss’ “Blindekuh” (1878) On Naxos
When it comes to Naxos and operetta, and Johann Strauss shows in particular, the famous budget label has a rather
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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
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