Offenbach’s Gender-Bending “L’ile de Tulipatan” From New York
The Light Opera of New York (LOONY) shifted gears this spring from its annual early American operetta – usually by
read morePosts Tagged 'Jacques Offenbach'
Offenbach’s “Ritter Blaubart” Returns: The New Operetta Season At Komische Oper
Berlin’s Komische Oper and its artistic director Barrie Kosky are always good for a surprise, most certainly when it comes
read more
“Voici le sabre de mon père”: Offenbach’s “Grand Duchess” In Kassel
The industrial city of Kassel in middle-Germany boasts a modern, superbly designed 900 seat theatre with a large stage and
read more
Rediscovering Offenbach: Felicitas Wetzel’s “Deine Operette – Ein Portrait in mehreren Stimmen”
An interview with Felicitas Wetzel, a German sound artist who created a concert performance with Offenbach music and quotes called
read more
Offenbach’s “Ritter Blaubart” In Cottbus: Reviving Felsenstein
Offenbach’s glorious sex-and-social-conventions farce Barbe-bleue was a huge hit in Paris and Vienna back in the 1860s, when Hortense Schneider
read more
Jacques Offenbach 2019: Celebtrating His 200th Birthday
In June 2019 the world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Jacques Offenbach, “The 19th century’s most popular musical-theatre composer.”
read more
Sex, Gender, Gay Marriage And Modernity In Offenbach’s “Isle of Tulipatan” and “Croquefer”
Jeff Clarke has been the Artistic Director of UK’s Opera della Luna since 1994. With that company, he has made
read more
Mystery Solved: The Truth About Gilbert & Sullivan’s Star Lilian LaRue
Lilian La Rue? Oh heavens, that name sounds like something out of a New Orleans drag show. Lily Street, maybe?
read more
A Major Star Of 19th Century French Musical Theatre: Jean-François Philibert Berthelier
Jean-François Philibert Berthelier (b Panissières, Loire, 14 December 1828; d Paris, 29 September 1888) was a comic actor and singer
read more
“Bouffe”: A New Theater Piece About Offenbach And Hortense Schneider At The Brighton Fringe Festival
We could not agree more with this statement of Red Blonde Productions and West Sussex Opera: “What Cabaret was to
read more
“Stars Of David”: The Influence Of Jewish Artists On Popular Music
It’s not every day that you get to see images of Jacques Offenbach, Johann Strauss Jr. and Richard Tauber right
read more
„Emerging From The Closet Of Representation“: Homosexuality And Same-Sex Marriage On The Musical Theater Stage
The genre operetta was invented around 1850 in Paris, as a new and independent musical theater form in the modern
read more
Operetta In Cottbus: “Blaubart” and “Wirtshaus im Spessart”
One does not need much prompting to travel to Cottbus: the small town south-east of Berlin has one of the
read more
Meyerbeer’s “Les Huguenots” Return To Berlin: With Juan Diego Flórez
Anyone seriously interested in Offenbach will also be interested in Meyerbeer, and the various other composers successful in the first
read more
Nikolaus Harnoncourt Dead: What’s His Operetta Legacy?
For many people in the classical music world, the name of Nikolaus Harnoncourt is almost sacred. The conductor who died
read more
“Fantasio” At The Komische Oper Berlin: The 1869 Tenor Version
Yes, it’s always a treat to hear Offenbach live, especially those works that are not part of the over-familiar group
read more
Palazzetto Bru Zane: “Let’s Talk About Hervé!”
Palazzetto Bru Zane has devoted its energy to the rediscovery of forgotten (French) operas, so far. But now, an opéra
read more
“Salon Pitzelberger” At The Komische Oper Berlin
What a way to start the Offenbach festivities: the Berlin Operetta Festival at the Komische Oper started with a late-night
read more
An Offenbach Festival in Berlin: Four Shows in Seven Days
So this time round it is going to be: Offenbach. The Komische Oper is dedicating its 2016 operetta festival in
read more
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
read more
Oscar Straus – Ein deutscher Offenbach?
Yes, there’s a new book on Oscar Straus, that often over-looked composer of Ein Walzertraum but also of Die lustigen
read more
Male-To-Female Cross Dressing: “Rotes Sofa” Talk In Leipzig
Men dressed up as women: that’s nothing new in the world of operetta. In many Offenbach shows, this kind of
read more
“Baby, You Can Can-Can Too”
In their 2015 summer season, the Ohio Light Opera presented the original stage version of Cole Porter’s Can-Can. It’s a
read more
Walter Felsenstein Revisited: A New Biography
Stage director Walter Felsenstein (1901-1975) is famous for various things: he founded the Komische Oper in East Berlin after WW2
read more
“Orphee Aux Enfers” At Iford Festival: An Enjoyable Romp
The UK based company Opera della Luna has just presented their version of Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld at the
read more
“La Vie Parisienne” in Tilburg at MIDI
This week-end, Dutch operetta fans can see a brand new student production of La Vie Parisienne at the Fontys Conservatory.
read more
Gay Pride Season 2015 or: Uniformed Men On The Operetta Stage
There is a special connection between police forces – and operetta! Whether it is Offenbach’s Les Brigands or Genevieve de
read more
Offenbach’s sexy medieval spoof “Geneviève de Brabant”
Of the great opéras-bouffes of Offenbach’s early years, the one which has suffered the most inexplicable eclipse in the 20th
read more
Rare First Editions of Offenbach & Co.
Getting hold of scores – for operettas – has always been a challenge. Admittedly, the situation has become a lot
read more
“Girls With No Clothes To Speak Of”: Broadway-Operetta Then And Now
There is a renewed interest in operetta internationally, not just the French and Austrian variety of the genre, but also
read more
“L’Île de Tulipatan”: Playing With Notions Of Gender And The Idea Of Same-Sex-Marriage
Even after the success of his full-length opéras-bouffes and the disappearance of the constrictions which had limited him in earlier
read more
Spielen und Anspielen: Gedanken zu den Operetten-Libretti von Johann Strauss
This is the lecture Prof. Hans-Dieter Roser gave in the Festsaal of the Vienna town hall, as part of the
read more
Offenbach’s “La Princesse de Trébizonde” Returns To The Stage
Jacques Offenbach’s La Princesse de Trébizonde premiered in 1869 in the fashionable spa town of Baden Baden – in their
read more
Orgasmic Operettas: The New Season At The Komische Oper Berlin
There is something slightly orgasmic about the news from the Komische Oper Berlin. The house announced the titles for their
read more
“Die schöne Helena” As A WW2 Drama Of Homosexuality
Considering that Offenbach’s La belle Hélène recently received two extremely “gay” interpretations at the opera houses of Hamburg and Berlin
read more
Happy New Year: Josef Strauss Meets Offenbach For A Quadrille Ride
If you know your operetta history, you will be aware of the fact that Johann Strauss Jr. was the most
read more