Tonight or Never at Komische Oper Berlin

He was one of the greats of the Weimar Republic – and yet he never achieved the same acclaim as his rival, Friedrich Hollaender, alongside whom Mischa Spoliansky performed and composed each evening in Max Reinhardt’s famous cabaret »Schall und Rauch« in the cellar of the Großes Schauspielhaus. Songs such as »Morphium«, written for the bisexual erotic dancer Anita Berber, or »The Purple Song«, which became the anthem of sexual minorities, were the hits during those years between the two world wars. With revues and revue operettas such as Es liegt in der Luft(It's in the Air) (in which Marlene Dietrich had a minor role, performing »When your best friend«), Zwei Krawatten (Two Cravattes) (once again with Marlene Dietrich, this time as the lead), Alles Schwindel (Nothing but Lies),Rufen Sie Herrn Plim! (Call Mr Plim!) or 100 Meter Glück (100 Metres of Luck), the ever-reserved Spoliansky was one of the stars of the entertainment industry.

Like Friedrich Hollaender and so many others, Spoliansky, a Russian-born Jew who had lampooned the threat of the »brown might«, had to flee Germany after the National Socialists came to power. Due to his international fame, he was able to continue his career in exile in England, working predominantly as a film composer. He died in 1985 in London at the age of 86. His melodies have long since been immortalised.