Boys Will Be Boys, Or: “Die blaue Mazur” At Bühne Baden
Operetta “live” in Austria? Bühne Baden is one of the few places where you can actually experience the genre on
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The Show Will Go On, Or: A New “Großherzogin von Gerolstein” At Komische Oper
“344 Menschen, that‘s besser wie nix!” That’s what intendant Barrie Kosky said when he presented his brand new schedule for
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Remembering Mady Mesplé – France’s “Madame Opérette”
I heard yesterday that Mady Mesplé had died. I have to admit that, to me, she belonged to a past
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Adolf Wohlbrück or Anton Walbrook? A Retrospective In Berlin & A New Book From Vienna
Wohlbrück or Walbrook? Adolf or Anton? Whatever you choose to call him, the actor known under two names was one
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Interview With Mr. Barihunks: The Beefcake Side Of Oper(ett)a
In 2007, a music manager in the US started a blog called Barihunks, dedicated to hunky baritones. Over the years,
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The Father Of The “Silver Operetta” Age? Happy Birthday, Franz Lehár
It doesn’t happen often that an operetta composer gets that much attention in the general media, certainly the Germany language
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“One Long Gender-Bender”: Berlin’s Queer Operetta Revolution In The Years 2010-2020
The Drama Review (TDR) is planning a special issue on the developments in the German theater scene from 2010 to
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Mörbisch Festival 2020 Cancelled – Bad Ischl Plans To Go On
There’s a certain irony at play here: the world’s largest operetta festival in Mörbisch kicked out their old director, Dagmar
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Focussing On Kurt Weill And Johann Strauss: Komische Oper In 2020/21
So here it is: the new season at Komische Oper, presented in the midst of the Corona crisis in digital
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Offenbach’s “Häuptling Abendwind” Or: Queer Operetta For The Price Of A Hawaiian Pizza
Offenbach’s 1857 Vent du soir, ou l’horrible festin is one of his more famous titles in the German speaking theater
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“Gisela, Frisco, Bunbury”: Rediscovering “Heiteres Musiktheater” From The DDR
It’s mind boggling that the entire operetta repertoire created and performed in the former DDR between 1949 and 1990 has
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Colonialism & Operetta. Or: What To Do With Leo Fall’s “Die Rose von Stambul”
At the end of March 2020, the Nationaltheater Weimar will host an international conference entitled “Musiktheater und Kolonialismus,” i.e. musical
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De-Nazifying The “Radetzky March” At The 2020 Vienna New Year’s Concert
The New Year’s concert from Vienna, with the Vienna Philharmonic, is a beloved tradition for many. It rarely has anything
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Composer Jerry Herman Dies At Age 88 In Miami
Some will claim that Hello Dolly, Mame or La Cage aux Folles are among the greatest modern operettas in the
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Jean Gilbert (1879-1942) As Part Of The New “Cindy & Bert” Show At Tipi Am Kanzleramt
Composer Jean Gilbert (1879-1942) might have been one of the most successful German operetta stars in the pre-WW1 years, he
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Bringing Back Abraham: “Märchen Im Grand Hotel” At Staatstheater Hannover
It’s hard to believe, but this is actually only the second fully staged production of Paul Abraham’s Märchen im Grand
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The Victor Herbert World Says Goodbye To Restorationist Quade Winter (1951-2019)
The Victor Herbert world says goodbye to one of its restorationists. Quade Winter of Pendleton, Oregon, died of cardiac arrest
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Ready For Her Close-Up: Desirée Nick In “Gräfin Mariza” At Staatstheater Wiesbaden
There’s exciting news coming from Wiesbaden, Germany. The local Hessisches Staatstheater is presenting a new Gräfin Mariza production, directed by
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The 2020 Seasons At Léhar Festival In Bad Ischl And In Mörbisch
The operetta festival in Bad Ischl has ended its 2019 summer season with an 8 percent increase in audience numbers,
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The Walking Dead? “Operetta Made In Austria” With Ildiko Raimondi and Herbert Lippert
It’s a pretty grand claim to make: “With their multi-media stage show Operetta Made in Austria stage stars Ildiko Raimondi
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Operetta Between The Two World Wars: International Musicological Symposium In Ljubljana
The staging of musical-dramatic works in the late nineteenth century was dominated by operetta, which effectively dictated the programmes of
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Evelin Förster Presents: “Sommerfrische (Bade)Chansons” From 1910–1930
The heat wave is back, in Germany at least. And the only appropriate way to cool off – operetta style!
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Sex, Gender Fluidity, Abortion & Operetta in Northern Ireland: The Offenbach Bicentenary Festival
In August 2019, Northern Ireland Opera presents an Offenbach Bicentenary Festival. The choice of shows for this festival is remarkable, because
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Ethnic Exoticism & Chinese Stereotypes. Or: Lehár’s “Das Land des Lächelns” At The Mörbisch Summer Festival 2019
Bigger is not automatically better, some claim, and that’s especially true for operetta, or operetta festivals. So just because the
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Marked For Immediate Removal: The Grave Of Rosy Barsony In Vienna
In Vienna the great operetta artist Rosy Barsony has found her final resting place. The Jewish performer was born as
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Rüdersdorfer Operettensommer Presents “Frau Luna” In 2019 – With Christian Miebach
The operetta summer festival in Rüdersdorf – just outside of Berlin, down in the south-east – has gone through some
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Ábrahám’s “Märchen im Grand-Hotel” In Hamburg, Hannover, Luzern & Meiningen
After having been forgotten for more than 80 year, new interest in Paul Ábrahám’s Märchen im Grand-Hotel is noticeable. You’ll
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Herbert’s “Babes in Toyland” At Theater Plauen-Zwickau: First German Production
The show title Abenteuer im Spielzeugland might not directly ring a bell. But if you translate it into Babes in
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A Memorial For J D Wallace: The Man Who Turned “Belle of New York” Into The Biggest Hit Of Its Era
Today, in the expanses of Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney, Australia, with only the workmen as witnesses, a vacant-looking plot of earth
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Daniel Pantano: Living With Oscar Straus’ “Die Lustigen Nibelungen” For 14 Years
My journey with Oscar Straus all began when a colleague at a music conservatory where we worked handed me the
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Thank You For The Music! Duophon Records Founder Alfred Wagner Has Died
It’s with great sadness that we heard about the death of Alfred Wagner this morning. He was the man behind
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The 2019 Season At The Lehár Festival In Bad Ischl: “Im weißen Rössl” & More
The Ischl Lehár Festival has announced what you may expect in 2019 – with the new artistic director Thomas Enzinger.
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Jaromir Weinberger’s “Frühlingsstürme” And Paul Ábrahám’s “Dschainah” At Komische Oper Berlin 2019/20
“We’re not an operetta palace!“ Says Komische Oper intendant Barrie Kosky at the press conference where he announced the new
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“Grüezi” In Burgäschi & Zurich. Or: The Swiss Answer To “Im weißen Rössl”
Just when you think there cannot, possibly, be any more Im weißen Rössl stuff coming your way – there is!
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Rediscovered: The Viennese Nestroy/Binder Version of “Orpheus in der Unterwelt” (1860)
The double jubilee of Jacques Offenbach’s and Franz von Suppé’s 200th birthdays in 2019 has prompted the Wienbibliothek in Rathaus
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“Zur Geburt der Wiener Operette: Musikalische und historische Wurzeln. Heute – Reminiszenz oder Aktualität?”
For 2019, the Wiener Institut für Strauss-Forschung (WISF) is offering a three-day operetta ‘special‘ that‘s entitled Zur Geburt der Wiener
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