Berlin’s Entertainment Industry In The 1920s As Seen By Willy Römer & On Sheet Music Covers
Tea might be the only simple pleasure left to us, as Oscar Wilde once remarked. But you need to be
read moreMedia
A Franz von Suppé Biography In French By José-Luis Munoz
Be careful what you wish for, says the old adage. You may get it … and in spades! Forty years
read more
“Offenbachiades” And Their Context: A New Study By Peter Hawig
Let’s start this review backwards, shall we? The last sentence in Peter Hawig’s new book for the Offenbach bicentenary is:
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
Jonas Kaufmann And Franz Welser-Möst Present “Die Fledermaus” In Dresden
Does the world really need another Fledermaus recording? Absolutely, yes! There are many glorious versions available already with singularly good
read more
“Jacques Offenbach – Meister des Vergnügens”: Ein Interview mit Heiko Schon
Große Ereignisse werfen ihre Schatten voraus, und so sind im Vorfeld des 200. Offenbach-Geburtstags 2019 mehrere neue Bücher auf den
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
The Revolution Of 1918/1919 In Berlin: A New Exhibition Incorporates Entertainment Culture
There are many events and exhibitions, TV documentaries and newspaper articles in circulations right now in Germany, commemorating the end
read more
Operetta and Modernity: A New Book By Ethel Matala de Mazza
When I first heard of this book I got really excited: the famous S. Fischer publishing house would release a
read more
“La comédie musicale britannique XIXème et XXème siècle”: A New Collection Of Essays In English, French And German
Just out is a large-size almost catalogue-like publication in English, French and German in the Revue Musicorum series, no. 20/2018.
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
Cross-Dressed Military Operetta In World War 1 And 2: An Exhibition In Meiningen And A New Book
Back in 2014, corresponding with the centenary of the outbreak of World War 1, the Schwules Museum in Berlin offered
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
Berlin Babylon. Or: A New “Die Tote Stadt” at Komische Oper By Robert Carson
Is Korngold’s 1920 psycho thriller Die tote Stadt an operetta? Obviously not, but there are various links to the genre,
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
Updating “Die Csardasfürstin” For Vienna: Peter Lund’s New Volksoper Production
It can be exciting to re-imagine and re-interpret beloved shows: we are witnessing this, again and again, in modern musical
read more
Andreas Homoki’s “Land des Lächelns” From Zurich: Starring Piotr Beczala
Everyone knows that Lehár had a not-so-secret longing for the ‘grand operatic’ and devoted the latter part of his long
read more
“Make Me Look Beautiful, Madame D’Ora!” Or: Revivisting Elsie Altmann And The Viennese Operetta Soubrette
Ah, yes: Madame D‘Ora! She’s been one of my great operetta heroines, ever since I first found her portrait of
read more
“Hervé par lui-même” Presented By Pascal Blanchet At Palazzetto Bru Zane
It has been a splendid winter. Three new musical-theatre works – one English, two French – have crossed my desk,
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
A New Biography: “André Messager. Le passeur de siècle” By Christophe Mirambeau
The Musical Theatre book of the decade. I sha’n’t gush. Well, I’ll try not to. But … I thought that
read more
The Three Lives of Jetty Treffz, First Wife of Johann Strauss: A New Biography By Peter Sommeregger
Here it is, finally: a full biography of Jetty Treffz (1818-1878), first wife of Johann Strauss and responsible for bringing
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
A Critical Quotebook: Marion Linhardt’s “Stimmen zur Unterhaltung” Revisited
This is one of those publications that should have made a big splash – but didn’t. Back in 2009, Marion
read more
Message In A Bottle? YouTube As Global Popular Home-Archive For Operetta
In a 2018 essay entitled Das Webvideo als Flaschenpost, or “the web video as message in a bottle,” Chris Tedjasukmana
read more
Palazzetto Bru-Zane Celebrates Offenbach’s 200th Birthday With New Recordings
Next year the world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Jacques Offenbach. After having dedicated themselves to Hervé and his
read more
Offenbach And Opera Rara. Or: Waiting For A Recording Of The Original French “Robinson Crusoé”
It’s interesting how you can have a full cast recording sitting on your CD shelf for decades, and it never
read more
Leo Fall’s “Brüderlein fein”: The Problem With The Cologne Broadcasts
Leo Fall’s one-act operetta Brüderlein fein premiered in the notorious basement cabaret of the Theater an der Wien, called “Die
read more
The First Sperm-Donor Operetta: How “Axel an der Himmelstür” Became “Liebespremiere” In 1943
The Hollywood spoof Axel an der Himmelstür, with music by Ralph Benatzky, premiered at the Theater an der Wien in
read more