High praise to the hardy company’s married cofounders Gerald Frantzen and Alison Kelly, the first-class conducting of Anthony Barrese and all involved for bringing off this important revival with such strong vocalism and theatrical panache.
News & Reviews
Korngold offers us music of reconciliation and forgiveness, transformative music that turns two simple characters into potent symbols of the value of perseverance.
True love is indestructible, and perhaps the more it is tested the stronger it becomes…
2022 TOP TEN CLASSICAL PICK!
Ball at the Savoy: the last major cultural event of the Weimar Republic.
By Hersh Glagov
Here at Folks Operetta we want to express our solidarity with Black Lives Matter.
On July 24, 1931, a highly anticipated new operetta made its debut at the annual operetta festival in Leipzig, Germany.
A zany, often farcical romantic comedy injected with strong political overtones about American imperialism, “The Flower of Hawaii” runs the musical gamut, from the quasi-operatic to waltzes, Charlestons, jazzy vaudeville-style song-and-dance numbers, and hulas set to the sound of the ukelele all part of the mix. And, as usual, producer/translator Gerald Frantzen, conductor/musical director Anthony Barrese (leading an impressive 20-piece onstage orchestra), and their creative team have spared no expense in reviving this vintage novelty.
An article from the Chicago Jewish News.
Another Czech Jewish composer, Gideon Klein would suffer a similar fate. Klein, who was born in 1919, was a naturally gifted pianist and by 1939 was studying composition with the noted Czech composer Alois Haba. It was a difficult time to be a student, and eventually his studies were cut short as the Nazis closed the Universities. An attempt to study abroad in London was aborted and Klein went into hiding, performing under a pseudonym and even hosting a salon for musicians and writers.
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