Offenbach: Barbe-Bleue

The Merry Widow

Lotfi Mansouri's spectacular last production as General Director of The San Francisco Opera with Yvonne Kenny making her debut in the title role, new dialogue specially commissioned from Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, Wendy Wasserstein and an original ballet to set the scene ‘Chez Maxime’ bringing fresh insight into Lehár's classic operetta. This production also features another world premiere, Njegus's song, ‘Quite Parisian’.

Наталка Полтавка

This film is the first adaptation of an operetta written by Ukrainian composer Mykola Lysenko. It follows the trials and tribulations of Natalka and Peter (Petro). The sweethearts planned to get married; however, Natalka's father does not approve of the marriage because Petro was not affluent enough to keep Natalka in the manner he thought that she should be kept. Petro goes off to earn the required fortune.

Děvče z předměstí

Die Fledermaus

Witty, fun, intoxicating film of Johann Strauss II's popular operetta, based on a stage production from Vienna State Opera; this is a showcase for the entire cast, but most especially Eberhard Wächter as the insufferably boorish Gabriel Eisenstein, and Gundula Janowitz as his long-suffering wife. Open the champagne, have yourself some torte, and enjoy this delectable comedy from Vienna.

Up in Central Park

A newspaper reporter and the daughter of an immigrant maintenance man help expose political corruption in New York City.

Barbe-bleue

When Barbe-bleue loses his fifth wife, the turbulent Boulotte is selected at random to be the next one. But Barbe-Bleue falls in love with Hermia – who loves the shepherd Saphir – and soon wearies of Boulotte. So, he asks his alchemist to concoct for him an “anti-wife” philtre. But, as on the previous occasions, it is merely a sleeping potion and Boulotte wakes up the other five “dead” wives. They reappear, dressed up as gypsies and bring the truth to light.

Bride of the Regiment

As they are leaving the church following their wedding, Count Adrian Beltrami and Countess Anna-Marie are told that the Austrians are marching on the town to quell an Italian uprising. The bride and relatives induce the count to flee to his castle, but Tangy, a silhouette cutter, brings word from the revolutionary committee asking him to return; the count goes, asking Tangy to pose as the count and protect Anna-Marie.

Song of the West

Captain Stanton, who because of a misunderstanding over a woman with Major Davolo, has been cited for a court martial. As a scout, he is sent to escort a wagon train which is under military escort. It turns out that this escort is his own former regiment. When he meet Davolo, there is another fight and between Stanton and Davolo in which Davolo is killed.

Modrá ruža

The Desert Song

French General Birabeau has been sent to Morocco to root out and destroy the Riffs, a band of Arab rebels, who threaten the safety of the French outpost in the Moroccan desert. Their dashing, daredevil leader is the mysterious "Red Shadow". Margot Bonvalet, a lovely, sassy French girl, is soon to be married at the fort to Birabeau's right-hand man, Captain Fontaine. Birabeau's son Pierre, in reality the Red Shadow, loves Margot, but pretends to be a milksop to preserve his secret identity. Margot tells Pierre that she secretly yearns to be swept into the arms of some bold, dashing sheik, perhaps even the Red Shadow himself. Pierre, as the Red Shadow, kidnaps Margot and declares his love for her.

Wo die Lerche singt

Country girl Margit sits for the artist Sándor, from Budapest. She is fascinated and charmed by him, and agrees to accompany him to the capital, so he can complete the painting there. Disillusionment sets in, however, when Sándor wins a prize with the finished portrait and loses interest in her. Margit recognizes that her true happiness lies at home, with Pista, her faithful lover.

Das Land des Lächelns

Lehar's The Land of Smiles touches the heart as it provides unforgetable melodies from start to finish. There are no weak links in the cast. Too often, we think of operetta as musical fluff, tired cliches, and obligatory dance scenes when things start slowing down. Not so in this classic operetta. We feel the pain of loss suffered by the two main characters, who make their roles natural and believable. There is more to this work than "Yours Is My Heart Alone." There is dramatic consistency and people you find yourself caring about as much as the music, the costumes, and the colorful sets.

The Mikado

In a small Japanese town, Ko-Ko is appointed to the unenviable position of executioner. Knowing he must successfully perform before the appearance of the Mikado in a month's time, Ko-Ko finds a suitable victim in Nanki-Poo, who is distraught over his unrequited love for the maiden Yum-Yum. Nanki-Poo agrees to sacrifice his life if he is allowed to spend his remaining days with Yum-Yum, who is betrothed to Ko-Ko.

Das Blaue vom Himmel

Out of unlikely circumstances an underground ticket vending girl and a mail pilot fall in love.

The Metropolitan Opera: The Merry Widow

Renée Fleming lights up the Met stage as Hanna Glawari, the fabulously wealthy widow of the title in Lehár’s beloved operetta, set in Paris and seen in a glittering production directed and choreographed by Broadway’s Susan Stroman. Nathan Gunn is Danilo, Hanna’s former flame, who is supposed to woo and marry her in order to keep her fortune in their home country of Pontevedro. Kelli O’Hara sings Valencienne, the flirtatious young wife of the Pontevedrian ambassador in Paris, Baron Zeta, played by Thomas Allen, and Alek Shrader is her suitor, Camille. Andrew Davis conducts the waltz-rich score, and the new English translation is by Jeremy Sams.

Wie einst im Mai

1838: Fritz Jüterbog and Ottilie von Henkeshofen love each other, but the difference in status is too great for Ottilie's parents to give their consent to a marriage. And so, Fritz sets off for America and returns from there 20 years later as a made man to ask for Ottilie's hand in marriage again. In the meantime, however, Ottilie - believing that Fritz had long since forgotten her - is married in a manner befitting her status, but very unhappily. Fritz, who is highly successful as an entrepreneur, is elevated to hereditary nobility because of his great services to the fatherland. It is too late for a union with Ottilie, but despite the years that pass, the two cannot forget their love. 75 years later, Fritz and Ottilie have died in the meantime, their grandchildren Fred and Tilla meet and fall in love.

Der Vogelhändler

This outdoor performance of Carl Zeller's celebrated operetta was staged at the Seefestspiele Mörbisch in 1998. Seefestspiele Mörbisch is an operetta festival held annually at Mörbisch am See in Austria. In the story, Adam, a handsome bird-seller from the County of Tyrol, finds himself in the Rhineland, where he and a village postmistress become entangled in various romantic intrigues and misunderstanding at the prince's court.

Die Zirkusprinzessin

In this three-act operetta by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán, a dashing and mysterious circus performer is hired by a disappointed suitor of Princess Fedora Palinska to pose as a nobleman and marry her. This 1969 performance was produced for West German television.

Ingen tid för kärlek

A film about Johnny Bode. Schlager diva, Operetta hero, filth musical innovator, enfant terrible, compulsive liar and amoral rogue. Johnny Bode (1912-1983) was very successful in Sweden and Europe. Yet he is today almost completely forgotten. Why? His life was so overwhelming, glamorous, fast and bizarre. So un-Swedish. He became fascinated by the nazism. Was arrested by the Gestapo and detained at Grini concentration camp in Norway. For five weeks. After the war he moved to East Berlin and proclaimed himself a dear friend of the GDR. Later he was deported and returned to Sweden. A time of fencing and small crimes followed. Escaped to Brussels at first and later Vienna. He was, as Juan Delgada, hired by the Vienna Opera to create new operettas. And was very successful. Johnny Bode died exhausted alone and abandoned in Malmö during the summer of 1983.