Ivor Novello’s “The Dancing Years”: The First Complete Recording
The effect of Ivor Novello’s music on me was immediate: I remember the first time I heard his songs on
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“Gaiety, Glitz and Glamour — or Dispirited Historical Dregs? A Re-Evaluation of Operetta”: A Conversation with Prof. Derek B. Scott
From 10 to 12 January 2019 the University of Leeds is hosting an international operetta conference entitled Gaiety, Glitz and
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“Lächeln trotz Weh und tausend Schmerzen”: Franz Lehárs Rundfunkaufnahmen im Dritten Reich
Yes, they are very famous and widely known: Lehár’s operettas as recorded by the Nazis, often with stellar casts, offering
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Andreas Homoki’s “Land des Lächelns” From Zurich: Starring Piotr Beczala
Everyone knows that Lehár had a not-so-secret longing for the ‘grand operatic’ and devoted the latter part of his long
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“Wie einst im Mai” At The Summer Festival in Neustrelitz
Neustrelitz is a small, historic, beautiful, charming, quiet town, set amidst the lakes north of Berlin. For British readers: can
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Gaiety, Glitz and Glamour? Conference at the University of Leeds 2019
British researchers are continuing their conference series Gaiety, Glitz and Glamour. For the next installment at the School of Music,
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“Don’t Forget, Goebbels Was A Ladies’ Man”: Memories Of The Hiller Girls
Sitting in her tidy Munich apartment, as snowflakes swirl outside, Jenny Hiller is far away as she watches her younger
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The First Sperm-Donor Operetta: How “Axel an der Himmelstür” Became “Liebespremiere” In 1943
The Hollywood spoof Axel an der Himmelstür, with music by Ralph Benatzky, premiered at the Theater an der Wien in
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Abraham’s “Ball im Savoy” In Koblenz: No Lavish Sets But SS Officers
Having hugely enjoyed Barrie Kosky’s 2013 exuberant production of Abraham’s Ball im Savoy several times, I was interested to see
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Re-Writing “Roxy und ihr Wunderteam” As A Gay Football Farce In Augsburg
Theater Augsburg is in the midst of refurbishment, so the various ensembles have decamped to several venues around the city.
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Berlin Letter: Major Revival Of Forgotten Weimar-Era Operetta Is Proving A Hit
For a city so rich in culture, and drowning in history, it is surprising to experience first-hand Berlin’s long cultural
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Alberto Spadolini: The Nude Spy & Dancer From “Die lustige Witwe” 1940
We recently ran an article on “Operetta in the Third Reich,” reporting on the new book of the same title
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“Maske in Blau” In Baden: With Uli Scherbel As A Tap-Dancing Hero
The small spa town of Baden-bei-Wien, 26 kilometers south-west of Vienna and with a population of 26,000, boasts a 500
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“Die große Sünderin”: Gorgeous Künneke Melodies, Sumptuously Orchestrated
Kevin Clarke has recently penned a fascinating article concerning the background to the composition of Die große Sünderin, first produced
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Kismet Meets Operetta: Nico Dostal’s “Prinzessin Nofretete” From Leipzig
If you like your operettas exotic, grand, over-the-top and as a total blast, you will probably love the overture to
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Künneke’s “Die große Sünderin” In Leipzig: Bringing Back Aryan Operetta Today
You might recall that back in the 1990s a renewed interest in so called ‘degenerate’ operettas spread around the world.
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Sensationell: Sophia Euskirchen als Sally Bowles
Ja, dieser Auftritt der neuen Sally-Bowles-Darstellerin im Berliner Tipi-Zelt am Kanzleramt ist vergleichbar mit einem Blitzeinschlag – der mit gleißendem
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Barbara Denscher’s Victor Léon Biography & Matthias Kauffmann’s “Operette im Dritten Reich”
Has operetta research shifted gear? One could think so, considering that there are finally in-depth academic studies coming out that
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How Do You Solve A Problem Like “Saison in Salzburg”? The New Production In Ischl
The Lehár Festival in Ischl just presented a new production of Fred Raymond’s Saison in Salzburg – as a colorful
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Lehár’s New “Graf von Luxemburg” On OEHMS Classics
If you grew up as a kid in Germany, you probably learned early from a famous TV program to always
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A History Of Popular Musical Theater In Dresden, 1844 Until Today
The Staatsoperette Dresden has been – for many years – one of the few theaters in Germany, before and after
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A New Biogragphy Of Charles Amberg – Lyricist Of “Clivia”
Charles Amberg (1894-1946) is not exactly a household name today, and even dedicated operetta fans will be hard pressed to
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An Overdose Of Nostalgia: The Arthaus TV Operetta Series
Can this really be happening, is Arthaus-Unitel seriously re-issuing all of these old TV operetta adaptations from the early 1970s
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Viennese Operetta Gems 1927-1949: A Classic Naxos Compilation
Any operetta compilation that starts with Charles Kullmann singing “Als flotter Geist, doch früh verwaist” like this has my immediate
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Joseph Beer’s “Polnische Hochzeit” (1937) On CPO
“In der Heimat blüh’n die Rosen – nicht für mich den Heimatlosen”, sings Count Boleslav in his first big solo
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Dostal’s “Ungarische Hochzeit” (1939): First Complete Recording Of “Lebensraum” Operetta
Here is a new and first complete recording of Nico Dostal’s 1939 operetta Ungarische Hochzeit – premiered at the opera
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“Axel an der Himmelstür” in Vienna: Take Your Clothes Off, Beautfiful Operetta Lady!
The Volksoper Vienna has revived the 1936 hit Axel an der Himmeltür, originally written for Zarah Leander and Max Hansen.
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“Stella: Ein deutsches Singspiel” By Wolfgang Böhmer And Peter Lund
It seems there is a new and inspiring wave of “history musicals,” with Hamilton on Broadway leading the way: a
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„Ich reiß mir eine Wimper aus und stech’ dich damit tot!“ Die Entnazifizierung der NS-Operette zwischen 1945 und 2015
Nach der sogenannten „Stunde Null“ am 8. Mai 1945 hatten die Menschen in Deutschland mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit andere Sorgen, als sich
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“Leichte Muse im Wandel der Zeit”: A Conference On Nazi Operetta In Nuremberg
Nuremberg is a special place for a conference that wishes to examine “Operetta in Nazi Times.” Because the so called
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Paul Lincke’s “Frau Luna” At The Tipi Tent In Berlin
Most people outside of Germany will probably know Paul Lincke’s 1899 hit show Frau Luna because of the rousing march
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“Swing tanzen verboten”: A Little Book On Operetta After 1933
It’s a small book, but full of interesting content: Swing tanzen verboten. Unterhaltungsmusik nach 1933 zwischen Widerstand, Propaganda und Vertreibung.
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Jessel’s “Schwarzwaldmädel” At Hamburg’s Engelsaal
Leon Jessel’s 1917 operetta Das Schwarzwaldmädel was one of the great WW1 hits coming from Berlin, because it transported war-weary
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Nico Dostal’s “Prinzessin Nofretete” New In Leipzig
The Oper Leipzig annouced its new season this week, including the program for the associated Musikalische Komödie. There is a
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“Frau Luna” At The Tipi Am Kanzleramt
There are news, and there are NEWS. This certainly qualifies for the latter category, in capital letters: Berlin’s private theater
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Vienna’s New Year’s Concert: Using Johann Strauss As A PR-Tool For Tourism
How could we get through January 1st without the obligatory New Year’s Concert from Vienna? The 2016 edition was conducted
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