Zwei Offenbach-Premieren in Wien: “Orpheus in der Unterwelt” und “La Périchole”
Wien war einst Jacques Offenbachs „zweites Paris“. 89 seiner Werke wurden hier aufgeführt, einige davon sogar uraufgeführt. Diese Tradition (ja
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Offenbach and the Theatre Bouffe in Saint Petersburg, 1870-1878
Offenbach was introduced to the Russian stage when a French company played La belle Hélène at the Imperial Mikhailovsky Theatre
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The (Forgotten) World of Greek Operetta – An Interview With Evi Nikita
While many people know Viennese and French operetta, even Spanish Zarzuela and a few Italian titles, Greek operetta is not
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Laurent Pelly’s “Barbe-bleue” From Opéra de Lyon Arrives On DVD
Laurent Pelly’s celebrated production of Offenbach’s Barbe-bleue from the Opéra de Lyon has finally arrived on DVD. It offers Yann
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LA VIE PARISIENNE Opéra-bouffe in 4 (originally 5) acts by Jacques Offenbach
In the midst of Meilhac, Halévy and Offenbach’s dazzling series of successes with the earliest of their famous opéras-bouffes –
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Hervé In Paris – And Palazzetto Bru Zane’s Grand Operetta Plans For The Future
When the invitation from Palazzetto Bru Zane arrived, to fly to Paris and attend a performance of Hervé’s V’lan dans
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“V’lan dans l’oeil”: Folie musicale in 3 acts by Hervé
Hervé’s second attempt, after Les Chevaliers de la table ronde (1866), to produce a full-length burlesque opérette to challenge the
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The Jerusalem Opera Wants To Present Madcap Offenbach In The Middle East
When it comes to the Middle-East, there’s not an awful lot of operetta performance history that comes to mind.
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Hervé’s “L’œil crevé” (1867) On YouTube: Live From L’Opéra de Bordeaux
Hervé’s 1867 opéra bouffe L’œil crevé (literally “The pierced eye” or “It hit me right in the eye”) was first
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Offenbach’s Singing Cannibals On The Radio As “Das gräuliche Festmahl” For Easter
The Berlin based “collective for contemporary operette*” which calls itself Tutti d*Amore presented their take on Offenbach’s 1857 one-acter Vent-du-soir
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The Glory Of Offenbach: 2 1/2 Historical “Die Banditen” Recordings From Germany
When the world is under quarantine and everything is shut down because of a new virus – you have lots
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Who Was The Great Opéra-Bouffe Tenor “Potel” – Also Known As “Le Bel Armand”?
The folk who created the musical works of Meilhac, Halévy, Crémieux, Hervé and their colleagues, and of the parallel composers,
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Offenbach’s Hispanic Vogue: “Maître Péronilla” & “La Périchole” On Palazzetto Bru Zane
Offenbach and “The Hispanic Vogue”? As it turns out, there are two interesting new recordings out on Palazzetto Bru Zane
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Offenbach On Arte TV: “Orphée aux enfers” From Salzburg and “Gerolstein” From Cologne
You might wonder whether they are serious – ‘them’ being the French-German Kultursender arte. They are celebrating the 200th birthday
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“The Pa! The Ma! And the Shah!”: Offenbach’s “Island of Tulipatan” As A “Persian Operatic Bouffonerie”
The one-act l‘île de Tulipatan, written by Jacques Offenbach with his librettists Henri Chivot and Alfred Duru in 1868 for
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Dance in Jacques Offenbach’s Théâtre musical léger – Between Imagination, Improvisation and Choreography
Jacques Offenbach could not have asked for a better way to curry favour for theatre priveleges than by publishing a
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The Queen of Offenbach’s Bouffes: The Life & Career Of Lise Tautin
The Queen of Offenbach’s Bouffes? Oh, yes, I hear the unenlightened nod. ‘Hortense Schneider. We’ve all heard of her’. I:
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A Memorial For J D Wallace: The Man Who Turned “Belle of New York” Into The Biggest Hit Of Its Era
Today, in the expanses of Rookwood Cemetery, Sydney, Australia, with only the workmen as witnesses, a vacant-looking plot of earth
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The “Voix de Flûte”: Offenbach’s Star Comedian Léonce (1820-1900)
Édouard Théodore Nicole, better known as Léonce (b Paris, 12 January 1820) was a slim, bespectacled (off-stage) low comedian with
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Offenbach’s Superstar Désiré (1823-1873): The World’s First Jupiter
In 1847 the young comedian known as Désiré asked Hervé for a two-handed musical sketch to play at his benefit.
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Ass-Dur At Bar jeder Vernunft. Or: “Les deux aveugles” Reloaded
In his new book Der Klang von Paris – “The Sound(s) of Paris” – Volker Hagedorn embarkes on “a trip
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Jacques Offenbach’s “Folies symphoniques”: Howard Griffiths & Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester Frankfurt
You’ll forgive me for saying this, but provincial Brandenburg and the city of Frankfurt an der Oder (next to the
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The History of Jacques Offenbach’s “La Princesse de Trébizonde”
Originally produced at Baden-Baden during the 1869 summer season, with the young Mdlle Périer in its principal travesty rôle, La
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Paris Finally Has An Operetta Season: 2019 With Palazzetto Bru Zane
They now call themselves “Bouffes de Bru Zane,” and they are taking up the operetta torch at the Théâtre Marigny
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Desert Island Disc? “La Périchole” From Montpellier With Marc Minkowski
So here it is, finally: the live broadcast of Marc Minkowski’s performance of La Périchole with his Les Musiciens du
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Trying To Define Opéra-Bouffe: An Article From “The Era” 1870 About “Chilpéric” At The Lyceum
In his 2 volume biography Emily Soldene: In Search of a Singer Kurt Gänzl chronicles the initial success of opéra
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“The Pretty Polish Girl Who Sat Astride Her Virtue”: Early Opéra-Bouffe Star Joseph Kelm (1805-1882)
My last post and its original five pictures, borrowed from the gold mines of Blois, included four taken from the
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“Hervé par lui-même” Presented By Pascal Blanchet At Palazzetto Bru Zane
It has been a splendid winter. Three new musical-theatre works – one English, two French – have crossed my desk,
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Palazzetto Bru-Zane Celebrates Offenbach’s 200th Birthday With New Recordings
Next year the world will celebrate the 200th birthday of Jacques Offenbach. After having dedicated themselves to Hervé and his
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“Ritter Blaubart” At Komische Oper: Stefan Herheim’s Varieté Vanitas
Yes, it was a good idea to bring back Offenbach’s murderous Barbe-Bleue to Berlin at Komische Oper where, you will
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Great Ladies of Wrestling. Or: Early 1840s Offenbach Songs
The sensational success of Jacques Offenbach in Second Empire Paris and internationally, in the 19th century, has many reasons. One
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“Orpheus in der Unterwelt” At The New Staatsoperette Dresden
The Staatsoperette Dresden has recently moved into a new, much-needed, purpose built theatre in the centre of the city. The
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Oozing Sex: Julia Baron, Opéra-Bouffe Star And Top Paris Courtesan
When I lived in St Paul de Vence, my partner Ian and I took a weekly bus jaunt down to
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A New Monography On Offenbach’s “Orpheus in the Underworld”
For many operetta fans, Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underword is the masterpiece with which it all began, back in 1858.
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“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
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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
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