Operetta and The Great War

A Multi-Media Concert

Operetta and The Great War

June 28 and June 29

Directed by Gerald Frantzen

Music accompanied by Anatolyi Torchinskyi

Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave.

Performance schedule: Wednesday, June 28 and Thursday, June 29 at 7:30 p.m.

Tickets: $30

The second offering in the 2017 season is Operetta and The Great War, a multi-media concert looking at how the operetta industry survived The Great War. Featuring performances of many of the forgotten World War I operettas, as well as examining the role of operetta in wartime propaganda efforts, Operetta and The Great War includes the music of Emmerich Kálmán, Leo Fall, Edmund Eysler, Harold Fraser-Stimson, Reynaldo Hahn, Leo Ascher, Henri Christine, Jerome Kern and others. At the height of its popularity when the First World War broke out, operetta found itself in the unusual position of being a vehicle for the propaganda of nations. Whether Axis or Allied, the operetta stars

and composers of the time joined their nation’s war effort delivering patriotic messages and raising

money. During the late years of the war, the thin line that once separated operetta and cabaret was breeched, as the political song writing so common to the cabaret stage now found voice in operetta. Operetta would not only survive, but also thrive during one of the most destructive wars in history.

This original multi-media presentation was written by CFO Artistic Director Gerald Frantzen and includes a host, four singers and a small chamber group accompanied by images of artists and photographs from The Great War.