Barbara Denscher’s Victor Léon Biography & Matthias Kauffmann’s “Operette im Dritten Reich”
Has operetta research shifted gear? One could think so, considering that there are finally in-depth academic studies coming out that
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How Do You Solve A Problem Like “Saison in Salzburg”? The New Production In Ischl
The Lehár Festival in Ischl just presented a new production of Fred Raymond’s Saison in Salzburg – as a colorful
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Lehár’s “Der Graf von Luxemburg”: Live-Recording From Frankfurt With Amazing Conductor
Early Lehár operetta seems to be en vogue this season, on record at least. Here is a new release on
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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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Lehár’s New “Graf von Luxemburg” On OEHMS Classics
If you grew up as a kid in Germany, you probably learned early from a famous TV program to always
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First Modern Recording of Franz Lehár’s Feminist “Die Juxheirat”
Julius Bauer (1854-1941) was, like many Viennese operetta librettists, a highly cultured and witty man. He studied medicine and then
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Re-Visiting The Villas Of Bad Ischl: Marie-Theres Arnbom’s New Book
Anyone who is even remotely interested in the history of German language operetta knows that Bad Ischl – a kind
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An Overdose Of Nostalgia: The Arthaus TV Operetta Series
Can this really be happening, is Arthaus-Unitel seriously re-issuing all of these old TV operetta adaptations from the early 1970s
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Viennese Operetta Gems 1927-1949: A Classic Naxos Compilation
Any operetta compilation that starts with Charles Kullmann singing “Als flotter Geist, doch früh verwaist” like this has my immediate
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Lehár’s “Der Graf von Luxemburg” In Duisburg: With Barihunk Bo Skovhus
I can think of only two reasons for visiting the post-industrial city of Duisburg: firstly to hear the gorgeously expressive
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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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“An Autumn Trilogy”: The Budapest Operetta Theater In Ravenna
Ravenna in Northern Italy is famous for many things: it was the capital of the Western Roman Empire from 402
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Grand Opening: The New Emmerich Kálmán Theátrum In Budapest
For their 2016/17 season, the Budapest Operetta Theater (BOT) has some surprises in store. They might have opened the season
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Erich von Stroheim’s “The Merry Widow” At The Staatsoperette Dresden
Some years ago I was asked by the former Dutch Film Museum (renamed Eye Film Institute today) to accompany The
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Shifts At The Top: German Theater Statistics
The statistics are out for the number of musical theater performances in Germany during the 2014/15 season. They were published
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International Operetta Singing Competition of Franz Lehár
Not too long ago, Berlin’s operetta pioneer Barrie Kosky stated in the Österreichische Musikzeitschrift, that he considers the performers of
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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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GIUDITTA: Musical play in 5 scenes by Paul Knepler and Fritz Löhner-Beda. Music by Franz Lehár
Giuditta was the last of the series of darkly coloured romantic operettas (this one purposely titled ‘musikalische Komödie’) composed by
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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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“Operette: hipp oder miefig?” The New Issue Of The Österreichische Musikzeitschrift
It doesn’t happen too often that a musicological magazine dedicates an entire issue to “operetta”: with eight short essays dealing
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Summer Operetta Season In Baden: “Frasquita” And “Dreimäderlhaus”
The summer season for operetta has started, and various festivals are about to open. Coming up in Baden, near Vienna,
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Zsolt Vadász: “Land des Lächelns” in St. Petersburg And Tassilo In Munich
Every country, and every generation for that matter, has its “no. 1” tenor. In Germany, back in the 1920s and
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“Männe, hak’ mir mal die Taille auf!”: Erotic Cabaret Songs
The art of the suggestive song is not restricted to any particular historic era; it is, however, limited to a
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Andreas Homoki Will Stage “Das Land des Lächelns” With Piotr Beczala In Zurich
What the Opera House Zurich and the Komische Oper Berlin have in common are their architects: both were built by
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“Die Lustige Witwe und ihre Freundinnen”: An Operetta Evening In Berlin
If poster images – or mood photos attached to an official press release – are any indication of what’s to
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Operette in Wien in den Jahren 1938 bis 1944: Eine Bestandsaufnahme
Am 12. März 1938 nachmittags hatten sich in der Wohnung des Dramaturgen und Regisseurs Kurt Hellmer in Naschmarktnähe ein paar
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Elisabeth Schwarzkopf At 100: “Komm’ mit mir ins Chambre separée”
Today, soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf would have celebrated her 100th birthday. That’s a perfect occasion to remember her enormous recorded legacy,
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The 2015 Ohio Light Opera Season. Or: Operetta Delights in Wooster
Though an unfortunate scheduling conflict prevented my attending this delightful company’s second annual symposium as I did last year, I
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A Black “Merry Widow of Malagawi”: Re-Imagining A Classic
Another Merry Widow? Yeah, we hear you. (And you’re right.) It’s probably the most over-produced operetta in operetta history, together
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Rare First Editions of Offenbach & Co.
Getting hold of scores – for operettas – has always been a challenge. Admittedly, the situation has become a lot
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“Sluts” Are Great Singers Too: The Return Of Operetta-Diva Julia Migenes
If you live in Germany and are interested in classical music, you probably know the broschure concerti. They have a
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New Season At Ohio Light Opera: What Will Be Re-Discovered In 2015?
The Ohio Light Opera has announced its 2015 season. After all the razzle-dazzle last year and the many rediscovered goodies
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“La Rondine”: Does The Operetta Revolution In Berlin Continue With Puccini?
Are we entering the second phase of the operetta revolution in Berlin? After the Komische Oper re-discovered the genre and
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The “Dancing Conductor” Joseph R. Olefirowicz In Munich
If you’re watching this space, you might have registered some recent frustration with current operetta conductors who were not quite
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4 For 45: Operetta Movie Classics On Sale At Warner
It is not quite an “indecent proposal,” as in the 1993 Robert Redford movie. But still, it’s a stunning offer:
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Five Year Plan: Glorious Rarities At The Festival In Ischl
Yes, it might be true that the Austrian operetta festival in Bad Ischl is fighting for “pure survival,” as director
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