The Rebirth of Satire in Revivals of European Operettas

This Element compares productions of Offenbach's Belle Hélène and Kálmán's Herzogin von Chicago, considering their choices regarding plot, text, performance style, music, and costumes and sets. In every case, there is some reinterpretation involved. Some versions tweak the original while others expand and alter it in a full Regietheater approach.

Since 1997, revivals have moved operetta away from the nostalgic performance style of the mid twentieth century, returning to its original satirical spirit grounded in ironic mockery of political and social norms and institutions. This Element compares productions of Offenbach's Belle Hélène and Kálmán's Herzogin von Chicago, considering their choices with regard to plot, text, performance style, music, and costumes and sets. In every case, there is some reinterpretation involved. Satire of times, places, and current politics can be found. Some versions tweak the original while others expand and alter it in a full Regietheater approach, often influenced by a postmodern aesthetic. Directors and performers perceive an opportunity to recreate the central experience of operetta – but is that defined as the original text, Dionysian pleasure, or absurdist theater? The genre lives on mostly through creative approaches to revival.