Opening in New York: Barry Manilow’s “Harmony” About the Comedian Harmonists
The story of the six-member close harmony group known as Comedian Harmonists – the toast of Germany and elsewhere in
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A Farcical Comedy: Victor Herbert’s “The Only Girl” Returns to New York
For a work that, for all its cherishable qualities, can hardly be said to rate as one of Victor Herbert’s
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Turning “Die lustige Witwe” into a 1920s Revue in Dortmund
At Theater Dortmund a new version of Die lustige Witwe presents the Lehár show as “a revue operetta” with a
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The Winter Opera of Saint Louis & “The Gondoliers”
Online auditions; canceled flights; efforts to keep cast, orchestra and tech crew members healthy and protected; a scant five days
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The Boys Are Back: “Operette für zwei schwule Tenöre” Returns To BKA With New Cast
The Operette für zwei schwule Tenöre by composer Florian Ludewig and text author Johannes Kram is back in Berlin for
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Marthaler’s Joyless “Giuditta” In Munich
One should have known this would happen. If you hire the 70-year-old Christoph Marthaler, you get exactly that: Marthaler. He
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Glitzy Genitalia & A New Cast: Kosky’s “Orpheus in der Unterwelt“ Arrives In Berlin
After a very (very!) long wait, Barrie Kosky’s vision of Offenbach’s Orphée aux enfers has finally arrived at Berlin’s Komische
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Christiane Rösinger’s “Planet Egalia”: A Sci-Fi Operetta About Feminism and Queerness?
The world of science fiction is somewhat underexplored when it comes to operetta. Even though Offenbach famously wrote Le voyage
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Are We Finally Getting The Full Original Version Of “La Vie Parisienne”?
What if Die Fledermaus by Johann Strauss, the most famous German language operetta, had been performed incomplete for the last
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“Bitte Britisch”: Wenn Frankensteins Monster die Hose runterlässt
Vermutlich kennen Fans der Mel-Brooks-Filme den ekstatischen Liebesschrei „A Sweet Mystery of Life“ besser als die meisten Operettenfans hierzulande. Denn
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Kosky macht Kopfkino: Minimalistisches Mahagonny
Kurz nachdem im Spätsommer die lang erwartete (und mehrfach verschobene) Dreigroschenoper am Berliner Ensemble herauskam und ekstatische Reaktionen hervorrief, ging
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Benatzky’s “Der reichste Mann der Welt“ In Annaberg-Buchholz
With the discovery of the opera Leonce and Lena by Erich Zeisl and, now, the first production of Ralph Benatzky’s
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Ersan Mondtag’s Over-The-Top Gay Production Of “Der Silbersee”
Kurt Weill’s “Wintermärchen” Der Silbersee is not exactly an operetta, more of a fairy tale “with music” that tells the
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The Patriarchy Thinks Dicks Smell Like Roses: “Lila Lied” As Queer Cabaret At SchwuZ
“Welcome to the 20s” says the poster for Lila Lied, “The Queer Cabaret” that was presented in Berlin’s SchwuZ. In
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Curtain Raisers: “Les Deux Aveugles” and “Cox and Box” At Wilton’s Music Hall
Opera della Luna, under the artistic direction of Jeff Clarke, has built a well-deserved reputation for staging inventive productions of
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Berliner Ensemble: “Dreigroschenoper” As Cellblock Tango Without Fosse
It’s not unusual for Barrie Kosky to stage something outside of Komische Oper, but usually he doesn’t do it in
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Live In Buxton: The 27th International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival
The 27th International Gilbert & Sullivan Festival takes place at Buxton every year, before moving on to Harrogate. International even
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“Magna Mater”: Operetta As a Dionysian Festival That Points To The Future
It’s impossible to just write a review about the artistic merits (or non-merits) of the new tutti d*amore production that’s
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The Birth Of Operetta From A Gigantic Vagina: Dutch National Opera Academy Presents “Fledermaus”
Last week the Dutch National Opera Academy and Residentie Orkest presented Die Fledermaus in the Compagnietheater for four sold out
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Bare-Butted Dancers In A Screw-It-Together IKEA Box: “Pariser Leben” in Neustrelitz
The new intendant of the “Festspiele im Schlossgarten” in Neustrelitz – one and a half hours north of Berlin –
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“Sissi, Queen of Hungary”: Huszka’s Operetta Turned Into A “National Heritage” Production
The Hungarian “Monarchia Operett” (Monarchy Operetta Company [1]), under the artistic direction of dance comedian and costume designer Péter Erik
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Reizvolle Ausgrabung: Benatzkys “Zur gold’nen Liebe” auf der Bühne Burgäschi
Die in der Schweiz glücklicherweise immer noch zahlreichen Amateur-Theatertrupen leisten gerade bei der Operettenpflege Beachtliches. Die „Bühne Burgäschi“ hatte zuletzt
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A Murderous Musical Mystery Tour: “Express G & S” In London
Express G&S was conceived during lockdown, and is the well nigh perfect post-lockdown entertainment, especially for Gilbert & Sullivan aficionados,
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„Eine Stimme für Deutschland“: Grüne Fotze vs. genderfluide AfD-Kandidatin
Politiksatiren können ganz wunderbar als Musical oder Operette funktionieren, wie nicht nur Jacques Offenbach im 19. Jahrhundert immer wieder gezeigt
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What’s The Use Of Rethinking “Der Zigeunerbaron” When Stefan Soltesz Delivers A Retro-Reading?
With a delay of almost five months, the new production of Johann Strauss’ Der “Zigeuner“baron [sic] finally premiered at Komische
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Rediscovering “Das Haus dazwischen” By Spoliansky & Schiffer After 90 Years
On 24 August 1932 the newspaper Berliner Börsen-Courier reported that “this morning the well known revue poet Marcellus Schiffer was
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“Die Fledermaus Zuhaus”: When 35 Artists From 7 Time Zones Come Together On YouTube
Die Fledermaus Zuhaus (The Bat At Home) is an abridged version of Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus developed during the various
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“Barbarella” Meets “Vetter aus Dingsda” At Gärtnerplatztheater Munich
One of the things that irritates me about Richard Traubner’s book Operetta: A Theatrical History is the way he dismisses
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“Gypsy” Xmas Stripper Shtick Reduxed
Gypsy Rose Lee has climbed the laddered stocking of the stripper world, tassel by tassel, and mounted a new summit
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Lorenzo Viotti Wants To Overcome The “Stiffness” Of The Classical Music World: “Csardasfürstin” From Zurich
The Zurich Opera presented its new Csardasfürstin on Friday, after a long Corona delay. As compensation for the waiting, the
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“Bretter, die die die Welt bedeuten“: The DDR Musical Returns To Musikalische Komödie Leipzig
Is this the start of something like “reparation” after an endless period of neglect? On 18 September 2020 Bretter, die
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A Semi-Staged “Camelot” At The Watermill Theatre
In the United Kingdom restrictions on ‘live’ performance, owing to Covid-19, were lifted with regard to outdoor theatre at the
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What The Nasty Old Lady Said. Or: “Zigeunerbaron” At Volksoper Vienna
I had really been looking forward to seeing the new production of Der Zigeunerbaron in Vienna because I had enjoyed
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Victor Herbert’s Tune-Free Opera “Madeleine” (1914) Revived
Alyce Mott’s enterprising company Victor Herbert Renaissance Project Live! dedicated to all things Victor Herbert risked alienating the operetta regulars
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“Ich wollt’ ich wär’ ein Huhn “: Tackling Toxic Nazi Era Material At Komische Oper Berlin
It’s a daring and adventurous undertaking: while everyone else is busy with “The (New) Twenties” these days, Komische Oper Berlin
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Paul Abraham’s “Dschainah – Das Mädchen aus dem Tanzhaus” Revived After 84 Years
If expectations are exceptionally high for a Paul Abraham operetta at Komische Oper Berlin that’s because, in the past, the
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