In der Geschichte der deutschsprachigen Operette bedeutet die sogenannte Machtergreifung der Nationalsozialisten Anfang 1933 einen radikalen Einschnitt: Die bis dahin
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With the discovery of the opera Leonce and Lena by Erich Zeisl and, now, the first production of Ralph Benatzky’s
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Using the famous line “Die ganze Welt ist himmelblau,” the artistic director of Staatsoperette Dresden, Kathrin Kondaurow, has presented her
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Die in der Schweiz glücklicherweise immer noch zahlreichen Amateur-Theatertrupen leisten gerade bei der Operettenpflege Beachtliches. Die „Bühne Burgäschi“ hatte zuletzt
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There’s a lot happening in the world of theater right now, not just because of Corona and the ongoing lockdown
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At the beginning of August 2020 Helga Benatzky died at the blessed age of 96: she had been in charge
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Has the long waiting finally come to an end, is post-Corona operetta back? After the somewhat problematic “Jewish and Gay”
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In 1924 Betty Fischer created one of the greatest operetta roles of the 20th century: Gräfin Mariza in Emmerich Kálmán’s
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“Blindekuh”, literally “blind cow”, is the German term for the “blind man’s buff” game – and it is the title
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The staging of musical-dramatic works in the late nineteenth century was dominated by operetta, which effectively dictated the programmes of
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Benatzky’s 1930 hit Meine Schwester und ich in a new Wien Volksoper production is totally delightful and enchantingly charming. More
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It’s with great sadness that we heard about the death of Alfred Wagner this morning. He was the man behind
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Over the past twenty years, German-speaking operetta has been enjoying a revival, especially Berlin operettas of the Weimar Republic by
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It will come as no surprise when I say that Im weißen Rössl holds an extra-special place in my heart,
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The overwhelming and instant success of Erik Charell’s operetta spectacle Im weißen Rössl at Berlin’s Großes Schauspielhaus (the so-called “Theater
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The Hollywood spoof Axel an der Himmelstür, with music by Ralph Benatzky, premiered at the Theater an der Wien in
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Yes, it’s that time of year again when New Year’s concerts are unavoidable. It’s also the time when those in
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The so called Kammeroperette Münster specialises in staging “minimalist” productions of neglected operettas: this year one of Benatzky’s first full-length
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Considering the continuing number of revivals of Im weißen Rössl one could be forgiven for thinking that Benatzky composed nothing
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Here is a splashy new biography of “Broadway’s Greatest Producer,” Florenz Ziegfeld, written by the team of the Brideson sisters,
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The Volksoper Vienna has revived the 1936 hit Axel an der Himmeltür, originally written for Zarah Leander and Max Hansen.
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The White Horse Inn at the Central Park – an Austrian operetta staged in New York in the 1940s? Yes,
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To tell the truth: Im weißen Rössl at the Neustrelitz open air operetta festival was fascinating! For a start, I
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As everyone knows, by now, there are many White Horse Inn incarnations out there, and it seems more and more
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Young stage director Simon Burkhalter is busy putting Im weißen Rössl on in Bern, Switzerland, where the “slowest people in
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Das Weiße Rössl am Central Park – eine österreichische Kultoperette im New York der 40er Jahre? 1941 und 1947 war
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Ralph Benatzky’s “Musikalisches Lustspiel” Bezauberndes Fräulein (1933) is a true delight. As anyone knows who has ever heard the wonderful
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It is one man’s enthusiasm that made this possible: the hotel owner Jürgen Haase from Neustrelitz – a picturesque town
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The art of the suggestive song is not restricted to any particular historic era; it is, however, limited to a
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Many great operetta things come from Hungary; and you might add, many great musical comedy things too. Emmerich Kalman wanted
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Yes, there’s a new book on Oscar Straus, that often over-looked composer of Ein Walzertraum but also of Die lustigen
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Die singende Entertainerin und TV-Phänomen Desirée Nick ist derzeit in der Sat1-Show Promi Big Brother zu bestaunen (und so ziemlich
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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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Yes, there is more: more White Horse Inn. (Hooray!) The Paris-Lodron Univeristy Salzburg, together with the Leopold-Franzens University Innsbruck, is
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When a production of White Horse Inn starts with a new overture and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – segueing into
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The Austrian newspaper Der Standard was founded in 1988 and is known, if you believe Wikipedia, as a “left-liberal” and
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