Elisabeth (musical)

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Elisabeth is a Viennese, German-language musical commissioned by the Vereinigte Bühnen Wien (VBW), with book/lyrics by Michael Kunze and music by Sylvester Levay. It portrays the life and death of the Empress consort of Austria, Elisabeth of Bavaria, wife of Emperor Franz Joseph I. It has been translated into seven languages and seen by over nine million spectators worldwide, making it the most successful German-language musical of all time.

Contents

[edit] Production history

The history of Elisabeth productions is both fascinating and extensive.


The world premiere of Elisabeth, directed by Harry Kupfer, took place on September 3, 1992 at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Austria, where it ran until January 1997. After a brief hiatus, it reopened on September 4, 1997. The final closing date was on April 25, 1998. In October 2002, a 10th Anniversary miniseries of concerts took place at the Wiener Konzerthaus in Vienna. The Vienna production was revived on October 3, 2003 and ran until December 4, 2005.a
Other productions have been mounted in the following countries. Current or upcoming productions are in bold:

  • Japan: The Takarazuka Grand Theatre, The Takarazuka Revue- Hyōgo, Japand
    • February 16, 1996 - current
  • Japan: The Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre, The Takarazuka Revue- Tokyo, Japand
    • June 3, 1996 - current
  • Japan: The Imperial Garden Theater, The Toho Company- Tokyo, Japan
    • June 6, 2000 - ?; 2001; 2004; 2005; 2008
  • Hungary: The Open-Air Theatre of Szeged- Szeged, Hungary
    • August 17, 1996 - September/October 1996
  • Hungary: The Operetta Theatre (Budapesti Operett Színház) Budapest, Hungaryc
    • October 6, 1996 - January 2005; July & October 2007; January 3 - 6, 2008
  • Hungary: The Hungarian National Theatre- Miskolc, Hungary
    • Autumn 1999 - April 2001
  • Sweden: Musiktheatern i Värmland- Karlstad, Sweden
    • September 30, 1999 - January 9, 2000
  • The Netherlands: Amateur Dutch Production (1998)
  • The Netherlands: The Fortis Circus Theatre- Stage Entertainment- Scheveningen, The Hague, North Holland
    • November 21, 1999 - July 22, 2001
  • Germany: The Colosseum Theater, Stage Entertainment- Essen, Germany
    • March 22, 2001 - June 29, 2003
  • Germany: The Apollo Theater, Stage Holding/Stage Entertainment- Stuttgart, Germany
    • March 6, 2005 - September 17, 2006
  • Germany: Theater des Westens, Stage Holding/Stage Entertainment- Berlin, Germany
    • April 20 - August 9, 2008 (To be followed by a tour of Germany and Switzerland.)
  • Italy: Miramare Castle, Open-air Concert Version- Trieste, Italyb
    • July 21- 27, 2004; July 31 - August 6, 2005
  • Finland: Turun Kaupunginteatteri, The Municipal Theatre of Turku- Turku, Finland
    • September 23, 2005 - December 30, 2006
  • Switzerland: Thunersee Open-Air Theatre- Thun, Switzerland
    • July 19 - August 30, 2006
  • Japan: Umeda Arts Theatre- Osaka, Japan. Original Vienna Production.
    • March 28 - April 30, 2007

[edit] Scenes and song list

Elisabeth is unusual among musicals in that additional songs have been added for some productions that are not featured in other, later productions. Also the order of songs is often switched, which is mostly visible between the German and the Viennese versions. This song list and order, with titles in English, is based upon the original Vienna production except where noted.


Act One:

  • Prologue (Prolog) - Judge, Lucheni, Death, the Dead
  • Like You (Wie du) - Elisabeth, Max
  • Lovely to Have You All Here - (Schön, euch alle zu seh'n) Ludovika, Hélène, Family
  • Every Path Is a Maze (Kein Kommen ohne Gehen) - Death (Hungarian & Japanese productions only)
  • Black Prince (Schwarzer Prinz) - Elisabeth (originally a direct reprise of Like You, rewritten for the Dutch premiere and subsequent productions)
  • Each Gets What He Deserves (Jedem gibt er das Seine) - Sophie, Franz-Joseph, the Court
  • Things Never Happen Exactly as You Plan (So wie man plant und denkt...) - Lucheni, Sophie, Hélène, Elisabeth, Franz-Joseph
  • It's Not Hard (Nichts ist schwer) - Franz-Joseph, Elisabeth
  • All the Questions Have Been Asked (Alle Fragen sind gestellt) - Wedding Chorus
  • She's Not Right (Sie passt nicht) - Sophie, Max, Wedding Guests
  • The Last Dance (Der letzte Tanz) - Death
  • An Empress Must Sparkle (Eine Kaiserin muss glänzen) - Sophie, Countess Esterházy, Ladies-in-Waiting
  • I Belong to Me (Ich gehör nur mir) - Elisabeth
  • The First Four Years (Die ersten vier Jahre) - Lucheni, Elisabeth, Sophie, Ladies-in-Waiting, Franz-Joseph, The Court, Hungarians
  • Shades of Night (Die Schatten werden länger) (Preview) - Death
  • Waiting for the World to End (Die fröhliche Apokalypse) - Lucheni, coffeehouse patrons
  • Child or Not (Kind oder nicht) - Sophie, Countess Esterházy, Young Rudolf (appears from the German premiere and subsequent productions)
  • Elisabeth, Open Up My Angel (Elisabeth, mach auf mein Engel) - Franz-Joseph, Elisabeth, Death
  • Milk (Milch) - Lucheni, the Poor
  • Beauty Care (Schönheitspflege) - Countess Esterházy, Ladies-in-Waiting
  • I Just Want to Tell You (Ich will dir nur sagen) (I Belong to Me Reprise) - Franz-Joseph, Elisabeth, Death


Act Two:

  • Kitsch (Kitsch) - Lucheni
  • Éljen (Éljen) - Hungarian Crowds, Lucheni (not present in Stage Entertainment productions)
  • When I Want to Dance (Wenn ich tanzen will) - Death, Elisabeth (written for the German premiere and appears in subsequent productions)
  • Mother, Where Are You? (Mama, wo bist du?) - Young Rudolf, Death
  • She Is Insane (Sie ist verrückt) - Elisabeth, Miss Windisch
  • Nothing at All (Nichts, nichts, gar nichts) - Elisabeth (originally a dance-sequence with Elisabeth as Titania from A Midsummer Night's Dream)
  • It's Us or Her (Wir oder sie) - Sophie, The Court
  • Don't Be Embarrassed (Nur kein Genieren) - Madame Wolf, Lucheni, Whores
  • The Last Chance (Or 'The Maladie') (Die letzte Chance) - Death, Elisabeth
  • Between Dream and Reality (Zwischen Traum und Wirklichkeit) - Elisabeth (Toho Japanese productions only)
  • Bellaria (Bellaria) - Sophie (Primarily appeared in Hungarian and Japanese productions starting in 1996; Has been present in all productions since that date.)
  • The Restless Years (Die rastlosen Jahre) - Franz-Joseph, The Court, Ladies-in-Waiting
  • Hunt (Jagd) - A sequence referencing Elisabeth's hunting trips in Europe in the original Vienna production (scene remains in Hungarian production only)
  • The Shades of Night Are Growing (Die Schatten werden länger) - Death, Rudolf
  • Like You (Wie du) (reprise) - Elisabeth, Max's Ghost
  • Hate (Hass) - Anti-Semites (cut from the Takarazuka productions due to controversial content)
  • If I Were Your Mirror (Wenn ich dein Spiegel wär) - Rudolf, Elisabeth
  • The Mayerling Waltz (Mayerling-Walzer) - Rudolf, Death, Mary Vetsera
  • Rudolf, Where Are You? (Rudolf, wo bist du?) - Elisabeth (a duet with Sophie's Ghost in the Dutch production)
  • My New Assortment (Mein neues Sortiment) (Kitsch reprise) - Lucheni
  • Two Boats in the Night (Boote in der Nacht) - Elisabeth, Franz-Joseph
  • On the Deck of the Sinking World (Am Deck der sinkenden Welt) - Lucheni, Death, Franz-Joseph, the Habsburgs
  • The Veil Descends (Der Schleier fällt) - Elisabeth, Death
  • Closing Music (Schlussapplaus) - Instrumental (Length and assortment of themes vary from production to production)

[edit] CD and DVD releases

Elisabeth has been known to inspire a collector's mania that does not limit itself solely to audio and visual memorabilia. However, as of November 2007, there have been a total of at least twenty-five cast albums, complete works, demos, and promotional albums/singles, as well as eight commercial DVDs of the show, released to the public. These releases do not include countless other artists' solo albums and special compilations that also feature songs from the musical. Their rarity increases with age. Listed here are a few from the more mainstream, or better-known, productions.
VIENNA 1992 Elisabeth - original cast recording (Originalaufnahmen aus dem Musical Elisabeth)
Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger, Luigi Lucheni: Ethan Freeman
Polydor GMBH - 513 792-2


VIENNA 1996 Elisabeth - complete live recording (Live aus dem Theater an der Wien Gesamtaufnahme des Musicals Elisabeth)
Elisabeth: Maya Hakvoort, Der Tod: Addo Kruizinga, Luigi Lucheni: Bruno Grassini
Polydor GMBH - 531 418-2

  • On the 19th and 20th of January 1996, a complete live recording was made of the original Vienna run.


SCHEVENINGEN 1999 Elisabeth - original Dutch cast album
Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, De Dood: Stanley Burleson, Luigi Luicheni: Wim van der Driessen
Polydor - 543 335-2


ESSEN 2001 Elisabeth - original German cast album (Highlights der deutschen Urauffürung im Colosseum Theater Essen)
Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger, Luigi Lucheni: Carsten Lepper
Polydor GMBH - 549 800-2


VIENNA 2004 Elisabeth - Revival cast recording (Aktuelles Cast Album, Wien)
Elisabeth: Maya Hakvoort, Der Tod: Máté Kamarás, Luigi Luicheni: Serkan Kaya
HitSquad Records 6680530


VIENNA 2005 Elisabeth - complete live recording (Gesamtaufnahme live aus dem Theater an der Wien)
Elisabeth: Maya Hakvoort, Der Tod: Máté Kamarás, Luigi Luicheni: Serkan Kaya, Kaiser Franz Joseph: André Bauer, Erzherzogin Sophie: Else Ludwig, Erzherzog Rudolf: Fritz Schmid
HitSquad Records 668262

  • On the 30th and 31th of October 2005, a complete live recording of the Vienna Revival was made. A more popular item among fans is a DVD of the show recorded on these same two nights. A November 2007 release of the same live recording in widescreen spread over 2 DVDs also boasts a 1-disc companion with a short history of backstage interviews, pictures, and production videos from the last thirteen years of the musical, subtitled in Engligh and Japanese.
  • CDs and DVDs have also been released for each of the six Japanese productions of the Takarazuka Revue, and additionally for the Japanese 10th anniversary concert in February 2006. A CD has been released for the Vienna 10th anniversary concert which was staged in 2002.

[edit] Notes

  • ^a  The Vienna Revival also went on to tour Japan in 2007. It opened in Osaka at the Umeda Arts Theatre on March 28, 2007 and showed 40 performances through April 30, 2007. On May 7, 2007, the production opened (in concert version) at the Koma Stadium Theatre in Tokyo. The Japan Tour of the Vienna Revival run ended on May 20, 2007.


  • ^b  For two consecutive summers, these special, week-long invitational concerts were held by the historic Miramare Castle to promote the Vienna Revival. These performances were held during the show's annual summer pause, and several cast members from the Vienna Revival participated. The concerts were performed in German and Italian.


  • ^c  Elisabeth premiered in the Hungarian language at The Open-Air Theatre of Szeged in August of 1996. The Budapest production that premiered at The Operetta Theatre in October of 1996, took over the repertoire for the previous Open-Air production. Between the years of 1996 and 2005, with allowance for casting changes and the use of the theatre's space for other various events, subsequent productions were held (including the Miskolc run). The Hungarian production has a running history of eight years, the longest running, un-interrupted Elisabeth production in the world.
    • A revised production of the musical opened at the Operetta Theatre in Budapest in July 2007. Originally, only six performances were planned, but due to high anticipation, four additional dates were added. Another six dates were eventually added at the end of October 2007. Yet another short run is planned for January of the 2008 season.


  • ^d  Since 1996, the musical has been performed at least once by each of the five troupes of the all-female Japanese Takarazuka Revue.
    • Yukigumi/Snow Troupe- The Takarazuka Grand Theatre (February 16 - March 25, 1996); The Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre (June 3 - 30, 1996)
      • Reprise: The Takarazuka Grand Theatre (May 4 - June 18, 2007); The Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre (July 6 - August 12, 2007)
    • Hoshigumi/Star Troupe- The Takarazuka Grand Theater (November 8 - December 16, 1996); The Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (March 4 - 31, 1997)
    • Soragumi/Cosmos Troupe- The Takarazuka Grand Theater (October 30 - December 20, 1998); The 1000 Days Theater (February 19 - March 29, 1999)
    • Hanagumi/Flower Troupe- The Takarazuka Grand Theater (October 4 - November 18, 2002); The Tokyo Takarazuka Theater (January 2 - February 9, 2003)
    • Tsukigumi/Moon Troupe- The Takarazuka Grand Theater (February 4 - March 21, 2005); The Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre (April 28 - May 22, 2005)
    • Yukigumi/Snow Troupe- The Takarazuka Grand Theater (May 4 - June 18, 2007); The Tokyo Takarazuka Theatre (July 6 - August 12, 2007)

[edit] External links