Timelessly Topical: La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein

A brand new critical edition of Jacques Offenbach's sixtieth theatre work, La Grande Duchesse de Gérolstein, was launched at the Styriarte in Graz, Austria (June 21, 2003) and is due at the Zurich Opera House (February 21, 2004), both under the direction of Nikolaus Harnoncourt.

This version of Gérolstein, widely regarded among Offenbach's greatest achievements, is based on the most reliable known sources and includes entirely new performance materials. It is the work of Michael Rot, managing editor of the New Strauss Edition, Vienna, and is being distributed worldwide by Alkor-Edition/Bärenreiter.

An illuminating article by Rot appears in the Alkor/Bärenreiter journal Takte, and describes the operetta's genesis and subsequent history as well as the principal differences between the old, now superseded edition and its new, more authoritative version.