Before seeing the Met's new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, directed by Jeremy Sams, on Saturday night, I listened to the afternoon's live broadcast of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Both were written in German and performed in English to make them more palatable to their target audiences Broadway musical lovers and young opera-goers-in-training, respectively. But, while the Mozart had its guts cut away, to shave the running time to 90 minutes without an intermission, the Fledermaus went on--and on and on--for four hours. Both had the same result--and it was not good.
- 1/9/2014
- by Richard Sasanow
- BroadwayWorld.com
Before seeing the Met's new production of Johann Strauss Jr.'s Die Fledermaus, directed by Jeremy Sams, on Saturday night, I listened to the afternoon's live broadcast of Mozart's The Magic Flute. Both were written in German and performed in English to make them more palatable to their target audiences Broadway musical lovers and young opera-goers-in-training, respectively. But, while the Mozart had its guts cut away, to shave the running time to 90 minutes without an intermission, the Fledermaus went on--and on and on--for four hours. Both had the same result--and it was not good.
- 1/9/2014
- by Richard Sasanow
- BroadwayWorld.com
Viennese operetta and film star of the 30s who fled to America after the Anschluss
Between the two world wars, during the so-called "silver age" of Viennese operetta, the coloratura soprano Marta Eggerth, who has died aged 101, reigned supreme on stage and, above all, on screen. In the films of the 1930s, the blonde, wide-eyed beauty's bright bell-like tones and charming personality provided a welcome relief from ruinous inflation, world depression and the approaching sound of Nazi jackboots.
The leading operetta composers of the day, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Robert Stolz and Paul Abraham, all wrote songs for her films. However, by 1938, after the Anschluss, with the exception of Lehár, all of them, being Jewish, had fled Vienna for the Us. Eggerth and her husband, Jan Kiepura, the celebrated Polish tenor, who both had Jewish mothers, also left Austria for America, where they continued their singing careers.
Hitler loved Viennese operetta,...
Between the two world wars, during the so-called "silver age" of Viennese operetta, the coloratura soprano Marta Eggerth, who has died aged 101, reigned supreme on stage and, above all, on screen. In the films of the 1930s, the blonde, wide-eyed beauty's bright bell-like tones and charming personality provided a welcome relief from ruinous inflation, world depression and the approaching sound of Nazi jackboots.
The leading operetta composers of the day, Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Oscar Straus, Robert Stolz and Paul Abraham, all wrote songs for her films. However, by 1938, after the Anschluss, with the exception of Lehár, all of them, being Jewish, had fled Vienna for the Us. Eggerth and her husband, Jan Kiepura, the celebrated Polish tenor, who both had Jewish mothers, also left Austria for America, where they continued their singing careers.
Hitler loved Viennese operetta,...
- 12/31/2013
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Broadway actor Danny Burstein will make his Metropolitan Opera debut in the non-singing role of Frosch in this season's performances of Die Fledermaus. The new production of Johann Strauss II's operetta, conducted by Adam Fischer and directed by Jeremy Sams in his Met directorial debut, features new English-language lyrics by Sams and dialogue by acclaimed Broadway playwright Douglas Carter Beane.
- 7/24/2013
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
Elegant star of Us TV series from the 1950s onwards
For any regular television viewer in the 1960s and 70s, the elegant actor Gene Barry, who has died aged 90, was inescapable. Most prominent was his portrayal of the Los Angeles police captain Amos Burke in 81 episodes of Burke's Law (1963-66). No ordinary cop, Burke was an immaculately dressed, jet-setting millionaire bachelor who left his Beverly Hills mansion in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce to investigate a murder. Barry as Burke, a wisecracking, sophisticated ladies' man, was the nearest thing on TV to Cary Grant.
Each episode – bursting with Hollywood guest stars, one of whom was revealed as a murderer – allowed Burke to deliver an aphorism such as "never drink martinis with beautiful suspects: Burke's Law", or "never ask a question unless you already know the answer. Burke's Law".
Before playing Burke, Barry had triumphed in the western TV series Bat Masterson (1958-...
For any regular television viewer in the 1960s and 70s, the elegant actor Gene Barry, who has died aged 90, was inescapable. Most prominent was his portrayal of the Los Angeles police captain Amos Burke in 81 episodes of Burke's Law (1963-66). No ordinary cop, Burke was an immaculately dressed, jet-setting millionaire bachelor who left his Beverly Hills mansion in a chauffeur-driven Rolls-Royce to investigate a murder. Barry as Burke, a wisecracking, sophisticated ladies' man, was the nearest thing on TV to Cary Grant.
Each episode – bursting with Hollywood guest stars, one of whom was revealed as a murderer – allowed Burke to deliver an aphorism such as "never drink martinis with beautiful suspects: Burke's Law", or "never ask a question unless you already know the answer. Burke's Law".
Before playing Burke, Barry had triumphed in the western TV series Bat Masterson (1958-...
- 1/21/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Opera New Jersey has announced that Broadway star Lisa Vroman will be stepping into the lead role of Rosalinde in itsupcoming performances of Johann Strauss, Jr.'s delightful operetta Die Fledermaus. Regretfully, Ruth Ann Swenson has withdrawn due to illness. "The role of Rosalinde requires a singer with vivacious exuberance, commandingstage presence, and incredible panache along with vocal acrobatics," said Scott Altman, General and Artistic Director, "Lisa Vroman brings all those characteristicsand a completely fresh dimension to the role; Opera New Jersey is thrilled to bringan artist of her caliber to our audiences."...
- 2/3/2009
- BroadwayWorld.com
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