Rediscovering The 1945 Broadway Hit “Marinka”
Writing from the point of view as an American visiting Berlin, the Komische Oper’s second concert performance of Emmerich Kálmán’s
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“Die Perlen der Cleopatra”: Updating Oscar Straus For Berlin
It has arrived: the 2016 pull-out-all-the-stops operetta spectacle at the Komische Oper Berlin. The title of choice is Oscar Straus’
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Emmerich Kalman’s “Marinka” At The Komische Oper Berlin
It’s a special treat, that’s for sure: the Komische Oper Berlin is ending its Emmerich Kalman cycle of Christmas operettas
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“The Golden Bride,” Or: Broadway’s New Demand For Yiddish Operetta
Because of popular demand – and there obviously is much demand in New York City right now – the production
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“Der Vampyr”: Marschner’s Horror Spectacle As A Savoy Opera?
Heinrich Marschner’s 1828 “Gothic” opera Der Vampyr is set in England, the characters have names such as Lord Ruthven and
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Talking With “Schwarzwaldmädel” Star Philip Lüsebrink
German tenor Philip Lüsebrink studied at Hamburg’s Johannes Brahms Conservatory; and built quite a career for himself singing and directing
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Clouds of Rain: Nigel Shore’s New Album
Yes, you are right: there are not that many operettas set in South America. Okay, there is Moïse Simons‘ stunning
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Happy Birthday, Barrie Kosky And Kurt Gänzl!
Astrologically speaking, we’re still living under an Aquarian moon. And this week, we are celebrating the birthdays of two of
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“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
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“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
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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
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The Gayest Show in Berlin: “Kiss Me, Kate” At The Komische Oper
Barrie Kosky’s first foray into the Broadway musical at the Komische Oper was Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate in 2008,
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Operetta Stars Make Berlin’s New “My Fair Lady” Sparkle
Should anyone be surprised? The new production of My Fair Lady at the Komische Oper Berlin is sold out to
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Race And Operetta: The Next Frontier?
It is often interesting to compare how researchers in different parts of the Western world look at art forms in
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Kunst der Oberfläche: Operette zwischen Bravour & Banalität
The Komische Oper Berlin – together with researchers Bettina Brandl-Risi and Clemens Risi – has put together a highly diverse
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Demonstration der Homosexuellen: Skandalscenen in der Komischen Oper!
This in an article from the magazine Das Freundschaftsblatt, 8 July, 1927, reporting on a ground breaking incident in the
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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
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“I Want To Be A Primadonna”: Christoph Marti Turns 50 Today
It’s a ultra-pink birthday today, and a reason for the operetta world to celebrate one of its greatest divas of
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The “Europäische Stiftung Operette” Is Back With A Vengeance
The headline in the email to the local press certainly caught our attention: “Europäische Stiftung Operette (ESO) präsentiert Berliner Operette
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What Is Johann Strauss Doing In The Exhibition “Homosexualität_en”?
To say that I was surprised would be putting it mildly. Here I was, at the opening of the grand
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Forget Dames At Sea: Here Come Twelve Gay Sailors
My first reaction was: ‘Not another fairy tale musical!’ But after Monday night’s concert at The Ballery in Berlin, where
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Mission Impossible? Teaching Teenagers To Love Operetta
The motto of the project was “Oper sucht Klasse!“, but it was actually all about getting teenagers to sing operetta:
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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
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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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Revisiting 1932 with Oscar Straus’ “Eine Frau, die weiß was sie will”
I can’t help it. I’m an addict. I’m hopelessly addicted to Komische Oper in Berlin. For me, as an American
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Yiddish Operetta Songs: A Re-Discovery On Auschwitz Memorial Day?
The 27th of January 2015 was a memorial day, not only in Germany, but there especially. 70 years ago the
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“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
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Down To My Last Two Days: Linie 1 & Lillie Claus
Down to my last two days in Berlin. The Komische Oper was hosting a three-day symposium on operetta, the last
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Is There An Ideal “La Belle Hélène” Recording – With Sex Appeal?
Last week-end, the Komische Oper presented their very first Operetta Symposium, dealing with the “kinky” side of the genre (among
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Flying Down To Berlin: For the First Operetta Festival At The Komische Oper
You know it’s finally happening when the first international guests fly in and need to be picked up at Tegel
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A Musical Comedy Orgasm: Seeing “Clivia” In Berlin From A Broadway Perspective
Tuesday and Wednesday in Berlin were exasperating for me. A combination of misunderstandings, bad directions, getting lost, buying a theatre
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An American in Berlin: Seeing Operetta At The Komische Oper
Richard C. Norton, New York City based author of A Chronology of American Musical Theater, regular contributor to the Operetta
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From Dingsda To The Mississipi: Bumping Into Alen Hodzovic Again
Perhaps you know that feeling: you see a super-duper operetta performer one day, and the next he’s vanished. Or so
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A Kálmán Bonanza For Christmas: “Mariza”, “Arizona Lady” & “Csárdásfürstin”
It’s a real Kálmán bonanza this holiday season. Wherever you turn, there is Kálmán, and more Kálmán. In St. Gallen
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“Bodies & Gender”: Operetta Symposium In Berlin
Finally, you might say. Or, as the Germans would put it: „Endlich!“ Yes, the Komische Oper Berlin will present the
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“Ich reiß’ mir eine Wimper aus”: How To Revive Operettas From The Nazi Era
It is an inventive new approach to an old question: how do we deal with the ideological baggage of operettas
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