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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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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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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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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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 & 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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Wolfgang Jansen’s New Book About Musicals Vs. Operetta: An Interview With The Author
Wolfgang Jansen has published many books: on the history of revues and revue operettas in the Weimar Republic, on Broadway
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Gorki Theater Streams “Alles Schwindel” With English Subtitles For Christmas
When I saw the news today that Gorki Theater Berlin will stream one of the greatest operetta productions I have
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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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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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“Popular Music Theatre Under Socialism”: Operettas & Musicals In The Eastern European States 1945-1990
Yesterday, a surprising book arrived on my desk: Popular Music Theatre Under Socialism. I guessed straight away that we weren’t
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Here Comes “Blume von Hawaii” As A Live Stream From Komische Oper Berlin
Yeehaw! Komische Oper Berlin has finally awoken from its Sleeping Beauty Corona mode; the company has decided to offer something
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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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“Vetter aus Dingsda” Premieres Online From Gärtnerplatztheater Munich
Putting on Eduard Künneke’s 1920 hit Der Vetter aus Dingsda seemed like a good idea in times of Corona restrictions:
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A Christmas Marathon Of Operetta Streams: From “Frau Luna” To “Cinderella” And Offenbach
It seems that the operetta scene is finally awaking to the possibilities of the internet as a chance to overcome
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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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“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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The Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live! Presents “Heart O’Mine” Online
Over the last several months, the beloved New York institution dedicated to all things Victor Herbert, has been streaming video
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When Theaters Stay Closed, Operettas Go Online – Not Just In Budapest
The 2nd wave Corona lockdown has made operetta performances virtually impossible in many countries, and it looks like it might
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Jaromir Weinberger’s Last Weimar Operetta “Frühlingsstürme” On DVD
You might be as baffled by this new release as I am: the recent production of Jaromir Weinberger’s “last Weimar
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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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Waiting For Offenbach In Times Of A New Corona Lockdown: So What Happens Now?
You could say it’s a bitter irony: ever since theaters in Germany re-opened after the summer, Barrie Kosky has said
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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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“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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Marktplätze, Kampfzonen und Elysium: Zwei neue Bände zu „Musik und Gesellschaft“
Beim Verlag Königshausen & Neumann ist soeben in zwei Bänden Musik und Gesellschaft erschienen, mit den Schlagwörtern „Marktplätze – Kampfzonen
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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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