A New Generation of (Yummy?) Operetta Singers

The students of the Hochschule für Musik und Theater “Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy,“ in Leipzig, will present their version and vision of Offenbach’s La belle Hélène starting this Friday.

It’s a production by stage director Matthias Winter, conducted by Diego Romano. There are further performances until December 1, every Monday and Tuesday at 7.30 pm, and Saturday/Sunday at 3 pm. It will be interesting to hear and especially see how the students of the “MA Opera Class” will cope with the very distinct stylistic challenges of French opéra bouffe. The fact that the university is making them tackle operetta to gain “more real-life orientated theater experiences” (“Praxisanforderungen“) is an all round and generally good sign for the revival of operetta. And if a new style of singing can be found by the next generation of operetta interpreters, so much the better.

It also helps, that the Leipzig actor of Paris looks positively yummy, even if the smoky colored champagne glasses are highly 80s retro, in the worst possible way.

For more information and performance dates, click here.

Right after this Schöne Helena run, there will be a lecture at the local Leipzig University on opéra bouffe, operetta and gender questions on December 14. The titel: “Horrible Prettiness – Die Geburt der Operette aus dem Geist der Pornografie.” Not new entirely, but new to Leipzig at the Institut für Romanistik. The lecture is part of the course “Roman und Melodram – Literatur und Oper im intermedialen Dialog.”