The First Truly “Complete” Recording Of Kálmán’s “Gräfin Mariza” On CPO
Did it really take until 2021 for a complete Countess Mariza recording to come out? Of course, there have been
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Gustave Kerker’s “The Belle of New York” Is Coming To Theater für Niedersachsen
It was originally planned for May 2021, but didn’t happen because of you-know-what. However, Theater für Niedersachen (TfN) didn’t give
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Leo Fall’s “Die Rose von Stambul”: What About The Hijab Controversy?
This new recording starts overwhelmingly: with gongs, whole tone scales, rhythmic oriental rattling, bouncing horn passages à la Richard Strauss.
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A New “Eine Nacht in Venedig” From Oper Graz On CPO
What grabbed my immediate attention with this new Eine Nacht in Venedig on cpo are the names on the cover:
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Oscar Straus’ Piano Concerto & Other Rare Orchestra Pieces
My first ‘live’ encounter with Oscar Straus was attending a wonderfully inspired production of his first operetta Die lustigen Nibelungen
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Daddy Issues At Ohio Light Opera: How Could “Constructive” Critcism Work With Lehár’s “Cloclo”?
The other day I had a long transatlantic phone conversation with an US-American operetta researcher I greatly admire for his
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Anchors Away: Franz von Suppé’s “Il Ritorno del Marinaio” On CPO
Anyone taking a close look at the oeuvre list of Franz von Suppé (1819-1895) in search for an opera entitled
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Fritzi Massary Sings “Csardasfürstin” & “Faschingsfee” In 1916/18
There’s a wonderful interview with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf in which she talks about her student days in Berlin. She mentions that
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Jacques Offenbach’s “Folies symphoniques”: Howard Griffiths & Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
You’ll forgive me for saying this, but provincial Brandenburg and the city of Frankfurt an der Oder (next to the
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Joseph Beer’s “Polnische Hochzeit” at Oper Graz: Simply Superb!
Austrian-Jewish composer Joseph Beer’s operetta Polnische Hochzeit (‘Polish Wedding’) received its premiere in Zurich in 1937: it was quickly translated
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Kálmán’s “Kaiserin Josephine” (1936) On CPO: Live From The Léhar Festival in Ischl
Kálmán composed Kaiserin Josephine after his ‘regular’ first night theater, the Theater an der Wien, had gone bankrupt as a
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Johann Strauss’s “Aschenbrödel” (1899): A Modern-Day Cinderella Story Conducted By Ernst Theis
It’s not exactly a secret that Johann Strauss was a great dance music composer. Before he turned to operetta in
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Leo Fall’s “Brüderlein fein”: The Problem With The Cologne Broadcasts
Leo Fall’s one-act operetta Brüderlein fein premiered in the notorious basement cabaret of the Theater an der Wien, called “Die
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Daring To Be Different: Lehár’s “Die Juxheirat” On CPO
Viennese operetta at the beginning of the 20th century was a genre in transition, claims Stefan Frey in an essay
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A New “Student Prince” With John Mauceri
This CD could probably only be released for a German market and for German operetta fans who have no idea
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Kalman’s “Die Bajadere”: Radio Recording From Cologne
With Die Bajadere, Emmerich Kalman embarked on a new path as a composer in 1921: he changed his librettist team
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Dostal’s “Ungarische Hochzeit” (1939): First Complete Recording Of “Lebensraum” Operetta
Here is a new and first complete recording of Nico Dostal’s 1939 operetta Ungarische Hochzeit – premiered at the opera
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“Viktoria und ihr Husar”: The 2016 Cast Album From Mörbisch
Paul Abraham’s Viktoria und ihr Husar conquered the German language operetta scene in 1930 – and pretty much swept away
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Lehár’s “Giuditta” With Christiane Libor On cpo
Giuditta spielt in Süditalien und Libyen. Aktueller können Orte von Handlungen nicht sein. Mit einen gewichtigen Unterschied zur Gegenwart. Damals
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Lehár’s “Giuditta”: A New Recording From Munich With Ulf Schirmer
There are many reasons why one can fall head-over-heels for Lehar’s “musikalische Komödie” Giuditta, first produced in January 1934 at
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Ein roter Liebesluftballon unter der Zirkuskuppel
Deutschland, geteiltes Operettenland: In Berlin knistert es an Barrie Koskys Komischer Oper erotisch, in München, wo Josef Köpplinger das Gärtnerplatztheater
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Burning to Sing: Gustave Kerker’s Operetta Rediscovered
It’s good to know that German operetta aficionados are busy rediscovering gems from the vaults of the genre’s history. And,
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