Adam Benzwi Discusses “Dreigroschenoper” & Singing Brecht/Weill Today
Pianist and musical director Adam Benzwi was slated to premiere “his” Dreigroschenoper interpretation – in collaboration with stage director Barrie
read morePosts Tagged 'Fritzi Massary'
Thomas Enzinger Claims To Reconstruct The 1928 “Lustige Witwe” In Dortmund
You need to read this announcement very carefully: the opera house in Dortmund has released a statement that says they
read more
RSC: Reconstructing Erik Charell’s Shakespeare Adaptation “Swingin’ the Dream”
When the Shakespeare adaptation Swingin‘ the Dream opened on Broadway in 1939 it followed Erik Charell’s earlier XXL-sized Broadway hit
read more
What Is The Best “Fledermaus” On Disc?
Ah yes, another Fledermaus recording. As if there aren’t enough already, right? Well, actually, this one from the NDR Radiophilharmonie
read more
Like Emma Kirkby Singing Wagner: “The Art Of Operetta” As A “Gramophone” December Special
“The Art of Operetta“ is the headline on the cover of the December issue of Gramophone magazine from the UK.
read more
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.
read more
A New “Exilmuseum” In Berlin – Will It Include The Entertainment World?
It’s going to happen: Berlin will get an “Exilmuseum,” a museum dedicated to the stories of those who went into
read more
“The Merry Widow” À La “Mad Men” With Tony Award Winning Conductor Franz Allers & Lisa Della Casa
The aspect that initially drew my attention to this brand new re-release of The Merry Widow in “hi-fidelity stereo” was
read more
“Die lustige Witwe”: First CD Release Of The Original 1907 Berlin Cast
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that this first ever CD release of Die lustige Witwe with the 1906/7
read more
Listening To The Berlin Recordings Of Josef Josephi. Or: The “Elitekorps der Operette”
I’ve been on a bit of a Truesound Transfers trip these past few days. You know, that small Berlin based
read more
Colonialism & Operetta. Or: What To Do With Leo Fall’s “Die Rose von Stambul”
At the end of March 2020, the Nationaltheater Weimar will host an international conference entitled “Musiktheater und Kolonialismus,” i.e. musical
read more
“…was verloren ging”: A New Book About Operetta Before & After 1933
Im Jahr 2005 profilierte sich die Staatsoperette Dresden mit einer überregional vielbeachteten Konferenz, die den Titel Operette unterm Hakenkreuz trug.
read more
“Die lustige Witwe” With Marlis Petersen And Iurii Samoilov – Live From Oper Frankfurt
The original composer chosen für Die lustige Witwe by authors Leo Stein and Victor Léon was: Richard Heuberger. After he
read more
A New “Madame Pompadour” At Musikalische Komödie, Leipzig
The 1922 Madame Pompadour is not only one of Leo Fall’s last stage works (he died in 1925), it is
read more
How Big Is The Stretch From “Fosse/Verdon” And “Judy” To A TV-Series About Erik Charell And Fritzi Massary?
As I sit watching the current TV series Fosse/Verdon, starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams as two show business legends,
read more
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
read more
Thank You For The Music! Duophon Records Founder Alfred Wagner Has Died
It’s with great sadness that we heard about the death of Alfred Wagner this morning. He was the man behind
read more
Kálmán’s “Faschingsfee” Live From Gärtnerplatz Theater Munich
Kálmán’s Faschingsfee started her phenomenal career abroad, to be exact: in Budapest and New York City. First the show premiered
read more
Updating “Die Csardasfürstin” For Vienna: Peter Lund’s New Volksoper Production
It can be exciting to re-imagine and re-interpret beloved shows: we are witnessing this, again and again, in modern musical
read more
Sophia Euskirchen & Jörn-Felix Alt Revive The Weimar Era: “Cabaret” Back In Berlin
It’s a weird and wonderful experience to sit in the Tipi-am-Kanzleramt tent, waiting for a performance of Kander & Ebb’s
read more
Message In A Bottle? YouTube As Global Popular Home-Archive For Operetta
In a 2018 essay entitled Das Webvideo als Flaschenpost, or “the web video as message in a bottle,” Chris Tedjasukmana
read more
Sugar-Free Chocolate: Kálmán’s “Die Faschingsfee” In Möchengladbach-Krefeld
Emmerich Kálmán’s Die Faschingsfee had a very chequered history in its first few years. It was first seen in Budapest
read more
Too Depressing To Write About? Leo Fall’s “Die Kaiserin” At Theater Baden
It’s only a short review of Leo Fall’s Die Kaiserin, I’m afraid. It was too depressing to write more. I
read more
Kalman’s “Faschingsfee”: Carnival Spectacle At Munich’s Gärtnerplatz
The nomadic company of Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz has staged a rare, highly successful and most enjoyable revival of Kalman’s 1917
read more
Victor Hollaender: The Musical Voice of Wilhelmine Berlin
Alan Lareau, Professor of German at the University of Oshkosh and a scholar specialized in the cabaret culture of the
read more
“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
read more
Putting Operetta Back On The A-List: The Top 5 Productions 2015
Berlin’s ultra-hip and queer urban magazine Siegessäule has published a hot list of the top 5 films and stage productions
read more
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,
read more
Fritzi Massary Revisited: An Interview With Her New Biographer
Take a deep breath and prepare yourself: there will be – finally – a new and English language biography of
read more
Did Leo Fall Suffer From Serious Drug Addiction?
It’s always a good time to pay attention to Leo Fall (1873-1925) because his operettas – Der fidele Bauer, Die
read more
At the Cross-Roads? A New “Bettelsstudent” from Mörbisch on DVD
As of 2013, the Austrian operetta festival in Mörbisch—near the Hungarian border—has a new director. Dagmar Schellenberger replaced Harald Serafin
read more
„Spiel’ das mal schwul“: Interview mit Adam Benzwi
Heterosexuelle Gesangsstudenten entdecken bei Prof. Adam Benzwi von der Berliner Universität der Künste seit 20 Jahren den Schlüssel zur Operette,
read more
“Made in Berlin”: Otto Schneidereit Revisited
There’s a lot of talk, again, these days about „Operetta Made In Berlin”—how it differs from other German language types
read more
Retro-Muschi: La Nick und der “Schwanz, der noch ficken will und kann”
In der Berliner Theaterszene hängt natürlich immer alles mit allem zusammen. Irgendwie. Was ja auch den besonderen Reiz unserer Hauptstadt
read more
“The Rose of Stambul” from the Chicago Folks Operetta
Of course, there have been many recordings of operetta in English before. There’s the famous Decca series featuring Kitty Carlisle,
read more
Das Osmanische Reich als Vorbild wider Willen in Leo Falls “Rose von Stambul”
Als sich am Abend des 2. Dezember 1916, mit wenigen Tagen zeitbedingter Verspätung, der Vorhang im eleganten Theater an der
read more