This is an amalgamation of my impressions of the show from this show and the previous evening, when I was up in the standing room area. I'll start out with a qualifier, that overall I did prefer the show in Essen. Jesper Tydén said that the show in Vienna was more intellectual, while the Essen production was more emotional. I think that's a pretty fair assessment, so I'm going to steal it. :-) I found the production in Vienna much more abstract, which, while not necessarily a bad thing, did detract from my emotional connection with the characters.

However, that's not to say at all that I didn't enjoy it! I certainly did, and there were some things that I liked better than their counterparts in Essen as well. Let's get into more detail...

An Elisabeth Lippizaner stallion in Vienna

Actually, first I will make a few general comments about the cast. We had the understudy for Lucheni both nights, Fernand Delosch. I was disappointed not to see Serkan Kaya since I had heard really good things about his performance, but Fernand was very good! He had a good voice, and he played the role closer to what I imagine Ethan was like, rather than the way Carsten played it. He was a little less funny, but more critical, and more sarcastic.

The first night we had an understudy for der Tod as well, whom I talked about in my review of that show, but the second night Máté Kamarás was on. I liked him better than Steven Seale - he had quite a low, rock-edged voice, and adhered very much to the "death as a rock star" image. I think this is as much the director's decision as it is his, since his costumes lend themselves to that as well. He's certainly got a fan base in Vienna, if the screaming in the standing room was any indication, but I think overall I prefer the interpretation of the role that I saw in Essen.

Maya Hakvoort is a wonderful Elisabeth - there's not a lot more to say about that! She's very different from Pia, but great in her own way. And I had seen André Bauer and Jesper Tydén (although in a different role) in Essen, so I knew they would be great already. Else Ludwig is also fantastic - I definitely would not like her for a mother-in-law!

The Prologue is essentially the same as it was in Essen. Rather than being in the noose himself, there is a dummy of Lucheni hanging up that he cuts down. "Wie Du" is sung on an empty stage, in front of the curtain. Maya was great as the young Sisi. Rather than falling off a swing, Elisabeth is climbing some kind of giant buoy (?) when she falls. When der Tod brings her to her bed, he didn't almost kiss her, but just laid her down and started to walk away.

"Jedem gibt er das Seine" is again basically the same idea as it was in Essen - here there are two revolving areas, one with Franz Joseph and Sophie, the other with his advisors. Der Tod's minions escort the mother in and out. I especially liked the actor playing Graf Grünne in this scene, I thought he did a good job.

I was confused by all the antlers in the Bad Ischl scene until Roger showed me some pictures of the actual estate. :-) Lucheni's reaction when Franz Joseph shot the stag on the cake made me laugh. The part of the scene where Franz Joseph chooses Elisabeth is cute, but I liked it better in Essen.

"Nichts ist schwer" was very sweet - they sang it on a bridge that was raised into the air. I liked the way they both laid down on the stage at the end. Then their wedding clothes are dropped on them from above. :-) Did the image of der Tod swinging on the bell after Elisabeth's "Ja" remind anyone else of Notre Dame de Paris?

Me and Máté Kamarás

I liked the kind of "shadow dancing" between Elisabeth and der Tod at the wedding. "Der Letzte Tanz" was much rougher than I remembered it, when he threw her down and was touching her. The laugh in the middle of the song seems strange to me - I guess it just doesn't fit into my idea of the character. Máté sang it well, but again, the whole thing just wasn't really my style.

I was very confused by the cartoon pictures in the next scene - were they there to get a laugh? (Note: I've been told that these are done by a well-known Austrian caricaturist, Deix, and are there to represent the curiousity around the marriage. I still think it was a rather odd way to show it! :-). "Eine Kaiserin muss glänzen" was well-done, and then into "Ich gehör nur mir", which Maya sang beautifully. I didn't like when people applauded in the middle of the song though (a little pet peeve of mine ;-). I was also a little confused by the video footage in the next scene - since there is obviously no video from that time, what was it supposed to represent?

"Die fröhliche Apokalypse" was interesting, with everyone in these bumper cars driving around the stage. I found that it was a bit distracting though, since I spent most of my time wondering how they were being controlled, and if they were going to run into each other. :-)

"Elisabeth, mach auf" was much more confrontational here I felt...Elisabeth never does let him in the room, only opening the door quickly to hand him the ultimatum, and locking the door again immediately. I also felt that she was less tempted by Death than in the Essen show, which makes sense to me, since this is perhaps a point where she feels the strongest.

"Milch" was great - it's definitely one of my favourite songs in the show, and such a strong scene. The "Ich gehör nur mir" reprise was very nice as well, with big applause when she appeared in the star dress. :-)

"Kitsch" was good - nothing really different there. I was happy about the inclusion of the "Eljen" scene, which led directly into "Wenn ich tanzen will". The staging of this scene reminded me in some ways of "Point of no Return" in Phantom of the Opera, and though I love the song, I felt it was perhaps more superfluous here than I did in Essen.

"Mama, wo bist du?" was very nice - I liked the way Rudolf reached out and shook der Tod when singing, "Gestern schlug ich eine Katze tot" - it was cute. :-) I missed the way that der Tod stayed with him at the end of the song in Essen though. Maya did a beautiful job with "Nichts, nichts, gar nichts" as well. "Wir oder sie" was probably the scene that was most similar to the Essen production - it was almost identical.

Me and Maya Hakvoort

"Nur kein Genieren" was pretty interesting - the girls were displayed on a large rotating table, while Frau Wolf punched up the bills on a giant cash register. Roger and I were talking about this scene, and he thinks it made more sense to have the more "dirty" brothel here, because it was more likely that one of these girls would have a disease, but I thought it made more sense that the emperor's men would find a "high-class" call girl, like in Essen. I guess it depends on your interpretation. :-)

"Die letzte Chance" was not much different than in Essen. I really liked the confrontation between Franz Joseph and Sophie, and her rendition of "Bellaria". "Nie kommt sie zur Ruhe" was pretty similar to Essen as well, with Franz Joseph at his desk, and Elisabeth and her ladies-in-waiting on the revolving stage around it.

Then Rudolf appears, out of nowhere, it seems. :-) Lucheni literally just throws him on stage! "Die Schatten werden länger" is sung mostly on der Tod's carriage. After that is the confrontation between Rudolf and Franz Joseph (André missed a line the second night!), which leads into "Hass". I found that scene particularly well done in this production. It got applause both nights though, which felt a little odd. The "Wie Du" reprise takes place with Elisabeth at a desk, and then "Wenn ich dein Spiegel wär" is in a different setting, with Elisabeth having her hair done while Rudolf speaks to her through a door. Again, Roger said that he liked the physical distance between them, symbolizing the emotional distance, but I didn't feel the same tug at my heart as when she actually pulled away from him in Essen. And he says "Mama, ich brauch dich" instead of "Mutter", which threw me off both times.

Der Tod is wearing a dress in the Mayerling scene, which I've been told is meant to symbolize Mary Vetsera. It took me by surprise though. :-) I did like how Elisabeth refuses Franz Joseph's attempts to comfort her after Rudolf's death. "Boote in der Nacht" is quite effective, with each of them on a different "boat" that is rising and falling.

My favourite part of the whole evening would have to be the "sinking ship"! It was *really* cool. The stage kind of splits in two, and either side rises up, so it's in a "V" shape, and then the whole thing goes down - that's not really a good description, but I thought it was very well done. The ending was nice as well, though I missed the way that Elisabeth came up behind der Tod in Essen and put her arms around him.

The curtain call was pretty funny - Jesper ran out for his bow and slipped and nearly fell over! At which he burst out laughing . :-) And then when André Bauer came out next, he ran out to the same point Jesper had slipped and slowed down dramatically to show that he wouldn't fall. And then when Jesper came out for his second bow, he just walked instead of running. :-)

Hmmmm...now that I've written it all, it seems like I was more critical of the show than I intended to be. I think the fact that I saw the production in Essen first has a lot to do with my feelings about this version - if I had seen it in Vienna, and then seen it in Essen, I might feel completely the opposite! Still, I am very happy that I got to see this production, and I would love to see more versions of the show as well!

Some of the cast at the curtain call

The cast:

Elisabeth, Empress of Austria	MAYA HAKVOORT
Death, Elisabeth's Lover	MÁTÉ KAMARÁS
Luigi Lucheni, Elisabeth's Assassin	FERNAND DELOSCH
Franz Joseph, Emperor of Austria, Elisabeth's Husband	ANDRÉ BAUER
Princess Sophie, Elisabeth's mother-in-law	ELSE LUDWIG
Prince Rudolf, Elisabeth's son	JESPER TYDÉN
Ludovika, Elisabeth's mother/Frau Wolf	JACQUELINE BRAUN
Max in Bayern, Elisabeth's father	DENNIS KOZELUH
Gräfin Esterházy/Ensemble	KERSTIN IBALD
Helene von Wittelsbach, Elisabeth's sister/Ensemble	SIGRID BRANDSTETTER
Kardinalerzbischof Rauscher/Ensemble	HENRIK SEHNERT
Graf Grünne/Ensemble	KARSTEN KAMMEIER
Fürst zu Schwarzenberg/Ensemble	ROBERT MARX
Maximilian von Mexiko/Ensemble	STEVEN SEALE
Baron Hübner/Ensemble	BJÖRN BRECKHEIMER
Baron Kempen/Ensemble	NOUD HELL
Fräulein Windisch, eine Irre/Ensemble	NADINE HAMMER
Ungarischer Adliger/Ensemble	LUKAS PERMANSCHLAGER
Ein Professor/Ensemble	JOCHEM FESTE ROOZEMOND
Governess/Ensemble	SUSAN ZEICHNER
Mary Vetsera/Ensemble	LISETTE GROOT
Hofdame/Ensemble	RUTH KRAUS
Fanny Feifalik/Ensemble	TINA SCHÖLTZKE
Todesengel	MELANIE GEMEINER KEVIN HUDSON CLAUDIA KRAXNER GIULIANO MERCOLI ÁKOS TIHANYI RITA SEREINIG
Child Rudolf	FLORIAN KOLLER
Dirigent	WALTER LOCHMANN

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