Rediscovering the original glory of operetta

English singer and actress Emily Soldene as Offenbach’s Helena

French soprano Hortense Schneider (Oil on canvas by Alexis-Joseph Pérignon, 1868)

C. D. Marius as Landry in Chilpéric in London in the 1870s

Three Helenas in Vienna, showing off their legs to the theatre director in the 1860s.

Marcel Beekman and Kathryn Lewek in Kosky's Orphée aux enfers at Salzburg Festival

By Kevin Clarke, 01 October 2019

Loading, please wait...

“All it takes is daring to break away from traditions... and trusting audiences to be curious”

Lawrence Dunn, 10th March

We profile one of the most advanced and best-sounding concert halls in the UK, and take a look further afield at arts and culture across Manchester.

The world over: Bachtrack’s Classical Music Statistics 2025

Bachtrack, 28th January

How is the classical music world changing? Looking back on a dizzying year, we pay particular attention to performers’ international connectedness. Documenting more than 30,000 events, Bachtrack’s statistics provide valuable insight into an unstable world.

The magical world of composers’ handwriting

Lawrence Dunn, 17th December

From Buxtehude, Bach and Handel, to contemporary composer Liza Lim, we take a tour of the myriad forms of composers’ handwriting and calligraphy – and how music makes itself on the page.

Force of passion: the origins of Ballet Rambert

Alexander Simpkins, 12th December

A century after its founding in 1926, former members of Ballet Rambert recall the joys and challenges of working directly with Dame Marie Rambert, one of the trailblazers of British ballet.

Christmas gifts for music, opera and dance lovers in 2025

Bachtrack, 5th December

What do you buy for the culture lover in your life who seems to have everything? Here are some music and dance-related gifts that Bachtrack staff are giving or hoping to receive for Christmas this year.

Inventing the diva: ballet stars of the 19th century

Elsa Giovanna Simonetti, 3rd December

The great ballerinas of the 19th century were perhaps the first modern celebrities. Rather than bare all, their images cultivated a mysterious, supernatural aura that made them seem unattainable.

Kevin Clarke

Dr Kevin Clarke studied musicology in Berlin and Milan. He runs the Operetta Research Center and has published many books and articles on the history, performance practice and sexual politics of operetta. He is also a curator and teaches at universities, e.g. “Gender and Operetta” in Vienna and “History of Musicals/Operetta” in Osnabrück.

Music filled with carnal lust, bordering on frenzy: rediscovering the original glory of operetta