The Tragedy of Josepha and Leopold: “Im weißen Rössl“ in Braunschweig
In Braunschweig, Germany, a new production of Im weißen Rössl by stage director Immo Karaman is causing quite a bit
read morePosts Tagged 'Jazz Operetta'
It’s Finally Here: Karin Meesmann’s Biography of Paul Ábrahám
Anyone interested in Paul Ábrahám will have known – or will have heard – that Karin Meesmann has been working
read more
Linz & Wien: Zweimal „Gräfin Mariza“ von Thomas Enzinger
Kálmáns Gräfin Mariza ist (neben der Csardasfürstin) eine seiner perfektesten, beliebtesten und daher zu Recht jahrein jahraus, landauf landab, im
read more
Berlin’s “Theater des Volkes”: The Dark Side of Germany’s Entertainment Industry
The history of Berliner Großes Schauspielhaus – birthplace of the great 1920s Eric Charell revues and especially of Im weißen
read more
Turning “Die lustige Witwe” into a 1920s Revue in Dortmund
At Theater Dortmund a new version of Die lustige Witwe presents the Lehár show as “a revue operetta” with a
read more
Rediscovering Marcel Lattès’ Swing Operetta “Le Diable à Paris” (1927)
I knew that I should enjoy this 1927 French operetta directly after I read Richard Traubner’s dismissal of Marcel Lattès
read more
“Roxy und ihr Wunderteam” Comes To Bühne Burgäschi In 2022
So, the success story continues: the recently rediscovered “vaudeville operetta” Roxy und ihr Wunderteam by Paul Abraham will come to
read more
On the Air: “Blume von Hawaii” Comes to Deutschlandradio Kultur
It’s the end of an era. For ten years Barrie Kosky made it his mission to revive forgotten Weimar Republic
read more
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 more
Barrie Kosky’s All-Singing, All-Dancing Yiddish Revue – Plus Other Farewell-Highlights
Of course he wasn’t going to present his last season as intendant of Komische Oper Berlin via Zoom or only
read more
“Roxy und ihr Wunderteam” Comes To Volksoper Wien In September 2021
Finally, Paul Ábrahám’s football vaudeville Roxy und ihr Wunderteam returns to Vienna, the place where the German version by Alfred
read more
World Premiere Recording of Ábrahám’s Jazzy 1932 “Ball at the Savoy” In English
Paul Abrahám’s flavorsome jazz operetta, which premiered to great acclaim in 1932 Berlin at Großes Schauspielhaus, only to have its
read more
A New Dawn In Leipzig? Musikalische Komödie Reopens With A “Gräfin Mariza” Stream
“Another opening, another show…” But not in Philly or Boston, as Cole Porter once rhymed for Kiss Me, Kate, but
read more
“The Operetta Empire”: A New Book By Micaela Baranello
Rejoice greatly! There’s another big English language book on operetta, following last year’s Cambridge Companion to Operetta. This new publication
read more
Is The Gold & Silver Terminology Nothing More Than Camouflaged Anti-Semitism?
On 27 January, 1945 the Nazi concentration in Auschwitz was liberated by the Soviet Army. Memorial speeches all over the
read more
Tackling A Tauber Role: Sebastian Kohlhepp In “Schön ist die Welt” From The Bavarian State Opera
Okay, Munich has the Gärtnerplatztheater and thus a center of operetta “maintenance” in Germany which competes with Staatsoperette Dresden, Musikalische
read more
“Ball im Savoy” From Estonia, Arranged & Sung By Mart Sander
When I visited Tallinn in 2016 and saw that they were playing Ball im Savoy at the Estonian National Opera,
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
“Barbarella” Meets “Vetter aus Dingsda” At Gärtnerplatztheater Munich
One of the things that irritates me about Richard Traubner’s book Operetta: A Theatrical History is the way he dismisses
read more
Too Many New Covid-19 Infections: Komische Oper Berlin Cancels Its “Blume von Hawaii” Live Stream
After rumors had already started circulating, it’s now official: Komische Oper Berlin has cancelled its live stream of Paul Abraham’s
read more
Gorki Theater Streams “Alles Schwindel” With English Subtitles For Christmas
When I saw the news today that Gorki Theater Berlin will stream one of the greatest operetta productions I have
read more
Here Comes “Blume von Hawaii” As A Live Stream From Komische Oper Berlin
Yeehaw! Komische Oper Berlin has finally awoken from its Sleeping Beauty Corona mode; the company has decided to offer something
read more
“Vetter aus Dingsda” Premieres Online From Gärtnerplatztheater Munich
Putting on Eduard Künneke’s 1920 hit Der Vetter aus Dingsda seemed like a good idea in times of Corona restrictions:
read more
Lotte de Beer: The Future Of Operetta At Volksoper Wien Is Female
The future of operetta in Vienna is female: Lotte de Beer was presented this week as new artistic director of
read more
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
read more
Lehár’s “Cloclo” On DVD: A 2018 Live Performance From Ohio Light Opera
A performance of Lehár’s Clo-Clo from the Ohio Light Opera – filmed live at the theater in Wooster – has
read more
“Kunst der Oberfläche. Operette zwischen Bravour und Banalität”
Unter ihrem Intendanten Barrie Kosky hat die Komische Oper Berlin seit 2012 einen eigenen, unverwechselbaren Operettenstil gefunden: sehr bunt und
read more
Carita von Horst (1864-1935): The Baroness Who Composed “Gentleman Jack” And Bamboozled Hitler
How many female operetta composers can you name? Here is one who was also a baroness, no less. Her operetta
read more
Paul Abraham’s “Dschainah – Das Mädchen aus dem Tanzhaus” Revived After 84 Years
If expectations are exceptionally high for a Paul Abraham operetta at Komische Oper Berlin that’s because, in the past, the
read more
Bringing Back Abraham: “Märchen Im Grand Hotel” At Staatstheater Hannover
It’s hard to believe, but this is actually only the second fully staged production of Paul Abraham’s Märchen im Grand
read more
Operetta Between The Two World Wars: International Musicological Symposium In Ljubljana
The staging of musical-dramatic works in the late nineteenth century was dominated by operetta, which effectively dictated the programmes of
read more
Ábrahám’s “Roxy und ihr Wunderteam” At Komische Oper Berlin: Watch The Live-Stream
At Komische Oper Berlin, Paul Ábrahám’s ‘last’ operetta premiered in a new production by Stefan Huber, with a newly arranged
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
The 2019 Season At The Lehár Festival In Bad Ischl: “Im weißen Rössl” & More
The Ischl Lehár Festival has announced what you may expect in 2019 – with the new artistic director Thomas Enzinger.
read more
Nils Grosch & Carolin Stahrenberg: “Im weißen Rössl. Kulturgeschichtliche Perspektiven”
Over the past twenty years, German-speaking operetta has been enjoying a revival, especially Berlin operettas of the Weimar Republic by
read more
Berlin’s Entertainment Industry In The 1920s As Seen By Willy Römer & On Sheet Music Covers
Tea might be the only simple pleasure left to us, as Oscar Wilde once remarked. But you need to be
read more