The First Great Dickensian Operetta: “Pickwick” (1889)
Retrospect Opera, a registered charity in Britain, has launched a project to record the operetta Pickwick (1889) by Sir Francis
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“Grimm”: Tomorrow’s Stars In Today’s Hit-Show
Yes, here it finally is: the original cast album and DVD version of Grimm. This fairy tale musical, with some
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“Spring Awakening” With Deaf Actors
I must confess that I admired more than loved Spring Awakening in its 2007 Broadway premiere, and really didn’t care
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“Baby, You Can Can-Can Too”
In their 2015 summer season, the Ohio Light Opera presented the original stage version of Cole Porter’s Can-Can. It’s a
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Hatice Point The Way: Black- And Yellow-Face in Operetta
Most people would probably agree: operetta is all about performance. And, more to the point, about turning realities upside down
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The “Csardasfürstin” From Budapest
It’s holiday time, obviously. So unless you’re on your way to some summer festival, chances that you’ll catch a regular
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What Is Johann Strauss Doing In The Exhibition “Homosexualität_en”?
To say that I was surprised would be putting it mildly. Here I was, at the opening of the grand
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Grimm!, or Who’s Afraid of the Big, Dancing Wolf?
Last year, while in Berlin, I went to see the musical produced by the UDK musical-theatre school and its graduating
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Down To My Last Two Days: Linie 1 & Lillie Claus
Down to my last two days in Berlin. The Komische Oper was hosting a three-day symposium on operetta, the last
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A Musical Comedy Orgasm: Seeing “Clivia” In Berlin From A Broadway Perspective
Tuesday and Wednesday in Berlin were exasperating for me. A combination of misunderstandings, bad directions, getting lost, buying a theatre
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An American in Berlin: Seeing Operetta At The Komische Oper
Richard C. Norton, New York City based author of A Chronology of American Musical Theater, regular contributor to the Operetta
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From Dingsda To The Mississipi: Bumping Into Alen Hodzovic Again
Perhaps you know that feeling: you see a super-duper operetta performer one day, and the next he’s vanished. Or so
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Coffee With Jochen Kowalski – And Laughing With Novikova
Admittedly, Heilbronn is not the first city that comes to (my) mind when talking about operetta “Made in Berlin.” Still,
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Rodgers & Hammerstein’s “Allegro” Returns to New York
As this Off-Broadway revival of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein’s 1947 failure Allegro is directed by John Doyle – he
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“The Golden Apple”: Reclaiming A Classic In Texas
The Golden Apple (1954) is widely acknowledged by musical theatre scholars as a much-neglected gem, and it is presently receiving
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Who Will Be The Savior of Operetta in the 21st Century: Volker Klotz Or Barrie Kosky?
This week-end, a new production of Offenbach’s La belle Hélène premieres at the Komische Oper Berlin. Its director, Barrie Kosky,
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“Yellowface, in Your Face”: Is “The Mikado” Racist?
In Seattle, a new production of The Mikado by the local Gilbert & Sullivan Society has sparked a heated debate
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A Trip to Ohio. Or: Six Operettas (And More) in Four Days
For the last five days, I’ve been in Ohio. Yes, Ohio, USA. Yes, I know I said, years ago, that
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Reviving Cole Porter’s “The Ambassador Revue”
Last Friday at New York’s Town Hall marked a major event for historians of musical theatre. For one night only,
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Going Up? The Music of Louis Hirsch
Never heard of Louis Hirsch (1881–1924) and his Broadway operettas? Well, we can change that easily. Because our friends at
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The Fall and Fall of the Town of Mahagonny
It’s June, and somehow, this season, I had not yet been to an opera at the Staatsoper, where I experienced
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Liberace on the Blue Danube
I don’t think I have been to a solo piano concert since I was at school. Julius Katchen. Lili Kraus.
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Sweeney Todd: Der teuflische Barbier von Freak Street
I’m just back – exhausted – from Magdeburg. Yes, I didn’t know where it was either. But I do now,
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“Um acht beginnt die Nacht”: Lehar program in Berlin
I don’t know what it is about Lehar that attracts so many people. Well, that’s not entirely true. I do
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Altenburg bei Paris? Or: “Toi c’est moi”
Yesterday I went to Altenburg. I know, even my German friends say ‘where?’. Well, it’s a lovely town in Thüringen,
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