March of the Black Hussars: Viennese Operetta in America

Overview

Why would Gilded Age audiences flock to theaters in American cites to see a Viennese operetta that celebrated German nationalism and militarism? A team of University of Tampa faculty and students from the disciplines of history, music, and musical theater set out to answer this question. Local filmmaker Steven Nye followed the project, which culminated in a live performance of songs from Carl Millöcker’s The Black Hussar. Filmed at the historic Tampa Theatre, the reenactment uses the libretto, stage manager’s notes, and the conductor’s score from the original American production to bring this forgotten work back to life, and commentary from the UTampa research team explains why the musical comedy spent over a decade at the center of U.S. popular culture.