Stimmen zur Unterhaltung. Operette und Revue in der publizistischen Debatte (1906–1933). (Quodlibet 9) by Marion Linhardt

Abstract

204 Reviews century, and cultural and scholarly networks inMunich ? in particular, the George circle, with whom Hellingrath was associated. The volume also provides a wealth of detail concerning Rilke's biography and connections. Bohnenkamp's painstaking research using primary sources results in new evidence and, quite frequently, in the revision of assumptions made in the critical literature hitherto. The sheerdetail of thedocumentation makes thisvolume a gift for scholars: every reference, every name, every event is explained in full and set in relation to other relevant sources; full details of the physical appearance and location of each of the letters reproduced are provided. In short, this is a volume thathas been designed to facilitate further scholarlywork on this chapter in literaryhistory. It has also been beautifully produced, incorporating photographs of Rilke, Hellingrath and selected manuscripts, and using different fonts for the letters, footnotes and commentary text tomake what could have seemed like an overwhelming amount of information entirely reader-friendly.With this volume Bohnenkamp has set new standards for the scholarly editing ofRilke's correspondence. University of Exeter Helen Bridge Stimmenzur Unterhaltung.Operette undRevue inderpublizistischen Debatte (1906?1933). Ed. byMarion Linhardt. (Quodlibet 9). Vienna: Lehner. 2009. 336 pp. 24,90. isbn 978-3-901749-76-6. Marion Linhardt's Habilitationsschrift, published in 2006 under the titleResidenzstadt und Metropole. Zu einerkulturellen TopographiedesWiener Unterhaltungstheaters (1838 1918),is a landmark inViennese theatrehistory, exploring inmeticulous detail the seemingly irresistible rise of operetta, which by the turn of the twentieth century had become the dominant form of popular, commercial entertainment in the Austrian capital. The textsassembled in the current volume take up the story in the first thirdof the twentieth century, presenting thejournalistic debates engendered by what was increasingly perceived as the decline of operetta, superseded in the inter-war period by visually spectacular American-style revues that combined music, dance and variety acts. That these could be infused with both eroticism and striking local colour is highlighted by the cover illustration, taken from the Viennese revue Alles aus Liebe (1927), which features a bare-armed female performer in costume as St Stephen's Cathedral. Stimmenzur Unterhaltungcomprises some fifty-one texts,authored by journalists, musicologists, composers, librettists, directors and other theatrical practitioners, togetherwith twenty-six pages of introduction and an index of names and works. Despite the choice of cover illustration, the focus isnot exclusively Viennese, but the city features strongly,having continued throughout the inter-war period to exert decisive influence on the production and reception of operettas, even if theworks themselves had broader Central European and transatlantic appeal. All originally published in German-language journals, newspapers and magazines, the texts vary considerably in their nature, scope and intended audience. Brief responses to questionnaires and articles from newspapers such as the Neues Wiener Journal and BerlinerLokal-Anzeiger sit alongside more substantial reflections that Reviews 205 originally appeared in specialist publications such as Die Scene or the Musikbl?tter desAnbruch.The listof authors includes some familiar names? Karl Kraus, Felix Salten, David JosefBach, Ernst Kfenek, Emmerich K?lm?n, Oscar Straus, Gustav Charl?, Louis Treumann and Arthur Kahane ? but alsomany who will be known only to specialists and a few forwhom Linhardt can provide only incomplete biographical data. The volume's point ofdeparture isLeh?r's Die lustige Witwe (1905), reviewed under the title 'Die neue Operette' (pp. 39-45) by Salten, who immediately recognized itsoriginality and international appeal. The first few articles sample responses to the 'SilverEra' ofViennese operetta, registering parallels with American musical theatre and highlighting the impact of Vertrustung, whereby impresarios would secure exclusive rights to publish and produce thework of particular composers, thus exerting enormous influence on the repertoire. Although this system had many drawbacks, interviews with K?lm?n, Straus and Victor Hollaender show that, especially pre-1914, successful composers enjoyed glamorous, globetrotting lifestyles. Articles bemoaning the eroticization of operetta, the artisticdecline of thegenre and its corrupting influence on public morality are most strongly represented during and in the immediate aftermath of the FirstWorld War. Under the title 'Die Operettenseuche' the later cultural editor of the V?lkischerBeobachter,Josef Stolzing, attributes its continued popularity to 'eine krankhafteMassenpsychose' (p. 125),while several commentators question whether operetta has any place in programmes of...