Comments on: “Der Vampyr”: Marschner’s Horror Spectacle As A Savoy Opera?

By: Nathan Redshield

Nathan Redshield — Mon, 04 Dec 2017 23:38:02 +0000

When I played my CD of Vampyr (1974 Munich perf) I immediately noted that the interrupted wedding chorus of the finale must be deliberately parodied in Ruddygore Act I; I don’t know how well-known Vampyr was in England. Must get my passport in order; I missed Hans Heiling at Vienna. There was a new version done here in Boston, Mass USA in 2014; different plot but same music. I went twice.

By: kevin

kevin — Wed, 23 Mar 2016 08:16:02 +0000

As Erik Urban wrote in the BZ AM MITTAG, 1927 about Erik Charell’s totally rewritten MIKADO: “Erich Urban von der BZ am Mittag sah in dieser Art Modernisierung alter Werke den Weg zur Renaissance der Operette: “[E]in Mikado à la mode, à l’americain, à la Charell. Aus dem Orchester steigt eine Musik auf, die Sullivan in Jazz-Seligkeit fortreißt. […[ Befruchtet von der glühenden Phantasie Ernst Sterns wird der Übergang gefunden zu den Erscheinungen des Jahres 1927. Regie-Fülle, Bändigung und neue Gesichtswinkel – das ist Eri[k] Charell im Mikado geglückt. Ich bekenne, daß man die alte Operette nur so spielen darf, daß man ihre Seele nimmt und sie in einen neuen, springlebendigen Körper setzt. Nur keine falsche Scham!” Maybe this VAMPYR is the modern-day equivalent to this? It remains to be seen how “springlebendig” the new version of this show will prove.

By: herbert schneider

herbert schneider — Tue, 22 Mar 2016 07:12:32 +0000

sorry I have to disagree, cutting nearly one half of the original music, cutting ALL the dialogue and interpolating additional trashy “modern” music to fix the gaps says a lot about the respect the metteur-en-scene has for this very important early opera, the prerunner to wagners holländer and one of the important trrias at the beginning of the 19th century. gothic opera is no musical but has important historical and social connections.
sorry. this is blatant ignorance – as usual. another rocky horrort show. why then do it if one cannot recognize the original piece any more? no-one of the younger ones have ever seen this on stage. so its easy to sell it as the quasi-orginal. ignorance and assumption! do NOT go there! its a fraud.