- Kurt Gänzl
Kurt Gänzl is a writer, musicologist, casting director and singer best known for his books about
musical theatre .Gänzl was born in
New Zealand and is of Austrian extraction. He joined the New Zealand Opera Company as a bass soloist, after which he moved to London. For the next 20 years, he worked as a performer, then as a talent agent and as a casting director both for musicals and plays in London'sWest End theatre s and for musical and operatic productions in Europe and America.Beginning in 1986, Gänzl focused on writing. In that year, he published his two-volume history, "The British Musical Theatre" (Macmillan Press, 1986), followed by his "Book of the Musical Theater" (Bodley Head/Schirmer) and "The Musical: A Concise History" (1997). His seminal reference work, "The Encyclopedia of the Musical Theatre" (Blackwell/Schirmer), was published in 1994 and greatly expanded in a second edition in 2001. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0028649702] Gänzl has published over a dozen important books on musical theatre. [http://www.amazon.co.uk/s?search-type=ss&index=books-uk&field-author=Kurt%20Ganzl&page=1] [http://www.amazon.com/s?search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Kurt%20Ganzl]
He has retired to New Zealand, where he owns several racehorses.
References
* [http://www.bokus.com/b/1842222406.html Profile of Gänzl]
* [http://www.geocities.com/blackwhiteminstrels/kurt_ganzl.html Description of Gänzl's activities after 1970]
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