Comments on: “Brutal Cultural Politics”: Dagmar Schellenberger Kicked Out Of Mörbisch Festival

By: Ralf

Ralf — Tue, 18 Apr 2017 13:57:24 +0000

“But these times are over, they were partially already over while Mr. Serafin was still in charge. ”
Why would those time have being over when livetv was present, audience and critics were happy, finances positive and world class artsits made news?
Schellenberger was a disaster and Pichowetz can only hope to follow the footsteps of the Serafin´s Era.

By: John

John — Sun, 30 Oct 2016 14:15:01 +0000

I was both astonished and distressed to learn that Dagmar Schellenberger was to be replaced so soon after taking up the reins at Morbisch. I saw nothing wrong with Harald Serafin’s approach but I did wonder whether he might have been quite pleased after 20 years to hand over to someone of the stature of Frau Schellenberger. I have to confess that I am English and have no knowledge of the politics behind all this. I also know the Seefestspielen only through the dvds, since it is not possible for me to come to Morbisch, much as I should like to do so. I always enjoy Harald Serafin’s productions but I thought that with “Eine Nacht in Venedig” and “Viktoria und ihr Husar” Dagmar Schellenberger had taken the Morbish Seefestspiel to even greater heights of excellence and enjoyment. It will certainly be very interesting to see whether Herr Pichowetz can produce anything as good.

By: Anna

Anna — Sat, 22 Oct 2016 13:45:10 +0000

Yes, that’s true!! We will have to see. The sad thing is, that we cannot recognize, that some specialist evaluated any consequence to draw from Serafin and Schellenberger. Why exactly Serafin was good, and why Schellenberger did not really succeed?
Where was Serafin a winner? Quality in all domains! You think, this does not fit our present times? The lack of quality is the main reason, why we still have to discuss about the value of this allegedly „minor“ genre, where second class parametres are sufficiently. It was the elegance of the Rolf Langenfass sets, the energy and poetry of the Austrian operetta’s pope Rudolf Bibl, or the timeless, sensual, often cheeky imagination and grandeur of Giorgio Madia’s choreography. Impossible to declare their work as the past – there are not many of those. Definitely their craftsmenship and love for the genre needs to be carried into future projects, and some of them are still around.
I think the main question is not about commercial success and the production dimensions, but only about the quality of the stagings themselves, however they are created for Mörbisch, Paris, Volksoper, Leipzig or Tipi, …. The treasures suggested by first class researchers need to meet up with the first class staging professionals. Of course, it would have been quite „reasonable“ to take up from Serafin’s practises for a venue like Mörbisch to move on this special tradition into changing times. But yes, you are so perfectly right – especially in Austria a discussion about the all topic is more than overdue.

By: Operetta Research Center

Operetta Research Center — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 16:39:32 +0000

Dear Anna, thank you for your insightful comment. You are right, Mr. Serafin did bring Mörbisch to an impressive standard and to international fame during his many years there. And the style he and his artistic choices represent were – in turn – 100% representative of the times. But these times are over, they were partially already over while Mr. Serafin was still in charge. The question is: what could commercially successful operetta look like in the future? Does anyone really want commercially successful operetta on such a grand scale anymore? There could and should be a lot of discussion about this in Austria. But this secret selection process and this choice of a new director does not signal anything new or particularly promissing. In my opinion. Nothing that deserves the title “Vive le Roi”! Maybe I am wrong. We’ll have to wait and see.

By: HD Roser

HD Roser — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 16:30:59 +0000

Pichowetz hat natürlich nie eine Operette inszeniert. Er hat an der Volksoper in 3 Operettenroduktionen als Gast mitgewirkt – als Cupido in Orpheus, als Würmle im Vogelhändler und als Eunuch in Land des Lächelns. Auch in Graz hat er nicht inszeniert, sonder nur als Schauspieler gastiert. Offensichtlich wurde dieser Unsinn von den Inszenierungen bei der Präsentation verpasst.

By: Operetta Research Center

Operetta Research Center — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 16:29:17 +0000

KLEINE ZEITUNG: “Das im Mai gestartete Auswahlverfahren sei von einem externen Berater durchgeführt worden, erklärte Bieler. Die Entscheidung über die neue Intendanz traf eine fünfköpfige Jury unter dem Vorsitz von Peter Zulehner, früher Personalvorstand bei Magna International. Die Kandidaten wurden nach sieben Kriterien abgeklopft – von künstlerischer Kompetenz im Bereich Operette über bisherige Erfolge bis hin zur Fähigkeit, wieder mehr Besucher in die Operettenhochburg zu locken – erläuterte Zulehner. Die neue Intendanz sei ‘eindeutig’ bei allen fünf Kommissionsmitgliedern als Sieger aus dem Hearing hervorgegangen.”

By: Anna

Anna — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 11:43:11 +0000

Your evalution is a bit irritating, since next to your well-agreed merits for the research about operetta your are confusing some facts within the whole context, which is also not well described.
You are right, a secret selection procedure of a new Artistic Director is not to accept in a democratic country, a status that Austria quite light-heartedly is giving up these days. But this is not your point.
You are right, it was a good idea to set „Viktoria und ihr Husar“ in Mörbisch, just meeting the Zeitgeist, which is pulsating in the events in Berlin, in Komische Oper Berlin, and since a while carried to the German speaking stages. The researchers’ re-discoveries are great, indeed, even though mostly the pieces are not staged and cast well. But this is also not your point.

Allow me to correct and add some facts: Harald Serafin build the Seefestspiele Mörbisch from ground up. He brought it from nothing to record sales. During times, when live-streams have been science fiction, he brought the premieres live to the national Austrian TV. He could win great to huge voices, that after he had discovered them, made it in the best theatres in the world, where then they became famous, Met, Berlin State Opera, Scala, Paris. There were times, when he had the best designers for that purpose, outstanding and specialized conductors, musical leaders, who know how to perform this genre, and he consciously dealt with choreography by choosing the very best choreographer he could get, knowing the stage, the conditions of a huge spectacle and respecting every parameter as a very serious task. They all were world class, sorry for calling upon this huge term. They knew how to stage operetta.

It was the other way around than you describe: Mörbisch with Serafin had an audience, quality, enough money and good titles. Schellenberger didn’t make it to keep this at the reached level. If her dismissal is coming from an Austrian attitude towards a German lady leader (as Hans-Dieter Roser says) or more from an interdependancy of several parametres – this might be the interesting point in an all-over analysis.

A bit limitating is your partial argumentation skipping some – well, tremendous! – facts.
Since I really appreciate your work, i thought it necessary to comment on your post.
For now – „Le Roi est mort! Vive le Roi!“

By: Michael

Michael — Thu, 20 Oct 2016 14:35:21 +0000

I am very sorry to hear that Dagmar Schellenberger is leaving Mörbisch in such a way. Such a way meaning: without any public discussion of what a festival like Mörbisch could and should look like. There are many things one can critisize about her artistic choices (show titles, stage directors, choreographers, singers etc.), and it would have been worth analyzing the last three years in details, in order to find a path for the future. But to just install a man who is popular in Austria via a 1990s TV show and has “done” some operetta at the Volksoper and in Graz as the “solution” – without any public debate whatsoever – is more than just a little questionable. What are his answers and visions for operetta after 2018? More musicals and more local stars? Maybe they should just hire André Rieu, play Strauss operettas in colorful “historic” costumes, have waltzing all around and make everyone happy in the tourist industry of Burgenland? (Plus sell many CDs.)