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
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Offenbach’s Bavarian Romp “Fantasio” – Finally On Disc And Complete
Offenbach aficionados may rejoice. Here is the first complete recording of his opéra comique in 3 acts, 4 tableaux, Fantasio.
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Josefine GALLMEYER (b Leipzig, 27 February 1838; d Vienna, 2 February 1884)
‘Die fesche Pepi’ – ‘Jolly Josie’ – was one of the most popular and famous stars of the Viennese musical
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Marie GEISTINGER (b Graz, 26 July 1836; d Klagenfurt, 30 September 1903)
Born in Graz to theatrical parents, Geistinger first went on the stage as a child and had an early exposure
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Here Come The Lunatics: Jeff Clarke Talks About Operetta In The UK
Opera in the UK doesn’t only happen in big London theatres with rob-the-bank ticket prices. All over the country there
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Hamburg’s “Belle Hélène” To Be Realeased On DVD?
Here it is, a first look at the new La belle Hélène in Hamburg. The large-scale production by Renaud Doucet
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Double-Whopper: “La belle Hélène” in Hamburg and Berlin
It is somewhat astonishing that all of a sudden Offenbach’s La belle Hélène is returning to the stages of Northern
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Zulma Bouffar: The “Other” Prima Donna of the Offenbach-Age
Zulma Bouffar (b Nérac, 24 May 1841) made her first appearance on the stage at the age of six, at
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The Original Operetta-Diva: Hortense Schneider
She was the six-year shooting star of Offenbach’s Théâtre des Variétés series whose dazzling career declined at the same time
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Lydia Thompson, the “Father of All Drag Kings”?
Lydia Thompson [Eliza Hodges Thompson] is one of the theatre’s ‘legends’, and as in the case of other such legendary
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You Dont Have to Be a Skinny to Be a Superstar: Marie Desclauzas
Marie Desclauzas was a buxom and eventually hefty star of the opérette stage who became the most admired musical character
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The Cologne Collection: The Old EMI-Series Re-Released
It is often hugely fascinating to see how and where classic operetta recordings get recycled. Take for example the EMI
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Aspects of “Barbe-bleue”: Essays on Musical Theater Versions of the Bluebeard Legend
Here’s a brand-new bundle of essays on musical theater version of the Bluebeard legend, published in a special edition of
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“Yellowface, in Your Face”: Is “The Mikado” Racist?
In Seattle, a new production of The Mikado by the local Gilbert & Sullivan Society has sparked a heated debate
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Dutch Operetta Today? Peter Bording Talks About A Desaster-Zone
Dutch baritone Peter Bording studied singing with Jan Handerson, graduated from the Sweelinck Conservatorium Amsterdam and concluded his studies at
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What Is Your Favorite LGBT-Themed Show?
Last week-end, there were various Gay Pride Marches in the USA, but also in Europe. Our colleagues at Playbill.com took
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Exporting Operette: The World Is Not Enough
What became eventually known as “operetta” or “opérette” didn’t start its life under that name. The earliest works of the
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“Horrible Prettiness or Satanic Subversiveness”?
“Gender Studies” are something on everyone’s lips these days. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, the operetta world has hardly taken note of
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One Touch of Venus: A Broadway Operetta
Yes, I know. Kurt Weill’s One Touch of Venus is generally considered a classic Broadway musical. And rightly so. Still,
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Emily Soldene: In Search of a Singer
I don’t suppose the name means very much nowadays to anyone but a handful of music and theatre historians. Emily
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Offenbach’s “Orpheus” in Berlin
Am 18. Dezember 1983 erlebte die Deutsche Oper Berlin eine kleine Sternstunde heiteren Musiktheaters. In der dritten Spielzeit seiner Intendanz
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“Orpheus in der Unterwelt” Live From Berlin 1984 – The Götz Friedrich Production On DVD
It’s a historic document, of a special kind: when the Deutsche Oper Berlin was the only opera company in good
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The 19th century’s most popular musical-theatre composer: Jacques Offenbach
The son of a German bookbinder, music-teacher and cantor called Eberst, but known as Offenbach, the young Jacob was given
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ORPHÉE AUX ENFERS Opéra-bouffon in 2 acts
Orphée aux enfers was Offenbach’s first venture into mounting a full-scale opéra-bouffe at his blossoming little Théâtre des Bouffes-Parisiens, where
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“Der Krimi geht weiter. Noch immer lässt die Offenbach-Philologie viele Fragen offen”
Gehört Offenbach nicht allen? Auch Jean-Christophe Kecks Offenbach-Edition lässt Fragen offen. Ein Versuch, einige zu klären. Die Offenbach-Philologie ist eine
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Operette – die aus der Zeit gefallene Kunst?
Als mich vor ein, zwei Jahren eine humanistische Gesellschaft wegen eines Vortrags ansprach, mich gleichzeitig aber darauf aufmerksam machte, dass
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LA BELLE HÉLÈNE Opéra-bouffe in 3 acts
The fourth of Offenbach’s great opéras-bouffes burlesqueing ancient historical legend or mythology (after Orphée aux enfers, Geneviève de Brabant and
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Offenbach, the Opéra-Comique and “Vert-Vert”
In 1867, the year of the extravagant Paris Exposition Universelle , Offenbach’s success reached its apogee. His new opera bouffes,
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Entre Nous: Celebrating Offenbach
Offenbachianer werden die neue 2-CD-Box Entre Nous. Celebrating Offenbach des englischen Entdecker-Labels Opera Rara mit einem lachenden und einem weinenden
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„Kitschig, campy und unvorstellbar schön…“
Wie konnte das geschehen? Wie konnte aus der aktuellen, witzigen, frivolen und vorwiegend austrojudäischen Kunstform Operette, die speziell in den
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BARBE-BLEUE Opéra-bouffe in 3 acts
After their enormous success with La Belle Hélène at the Théâtre des Variétés, the Meilhac-Halévy-Offenbach team followed up with a
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Offenbach’s Universe
Leidenschaftliche Offenbachianer werden Laurent Fraisons klingende Offenbach-Anthologie bereits in der seltenen Vinyl-Edition besitzen. Für alle anderen macht das Label Forlane
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Offenbach und die Schauplätze seines Musiktheaters
Der Klassiker als Sittenverderber. Erstmals aus den Quellen aufgearbeitet: die deutsche Rezeptionsgeschichte Jacques Offenbachs im 19. Jahrhundert. Die deutschsprachige Aufführungsgeschichte Jacques Offenbachs
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“Kätz”-Premiere in der Neuköllner Oper
Von den 102 Bühnenwerken, die Jacques Offenbach in seiner dreißigjährigen Komponistenkarriere geschaffen hat, sind einem, wenns hoch kommt, eine Handvoll
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