Everyone has danced with Death

... but no one like Elisabeth.

source: musical-in.de

This time I want to tell you about a huge passion of mine: musicals. I just love the singing and the gorgeous dresses and costumes. Until now I have only seen three different musicals, which were Elisabeth, Wicked and Dance of the Vampires. Not that many, but I think next year Tarzan and The Lion King will follow, if my pouch allows it. Just to make things clear: I prefer the German versions. It's just a matter of personal taste. In my opinion the lyrics and intonation sound way better than in English - so I will link German versions and talk about the German actors/singers. But -just as I said - it's a matter of personal taste ;)

I have seen at the beginning of this year, so my memory is a bit blurry but I'll try to give you a nice overview on the Elisabeth musical, which is about Elisabeth (also known as Sissi), the wife of Franz Josef II. The musical focuses mainly on an imagined lifelong flirtation with Death himself (in disguise of a handsome young man called "Der Tod"- German for "death") and Elisabeth's constant need for independence, often at the cost of her loving husband and her hypersensitive son Rudolf, who commits suicide later on. It is narrated from beyond the grave by Luigi Lucheni, the Italian anarchist who assassinated her in 1898.

The thing I like the most in this musical are the costumes. Every time you can see Sissi she is wearing another dress. At the beginning they are rather plain, but become more and more luxurious and detailed when Elisabeth too becomes more powerful. Another small detail that caught my audience was that Elisabeth ages visibly (due to make-up) during the musical. At the beginning she looks pretty and young and in the end there are acutally wrinkles in her face and she looks worn out.

Elisabeth dancing with her husband Franz Joesf.
source:dermuenchenblog.de

If became curious and you want to check out the musical, you should pay YouTube a visit. You can watch the entire musical there - even in different languages. But I recommend to watch it live. Musicals develope some kind of magic and strength when you experience them in person. You just can't compare it to a video. Anyways, here is the prologue for a first peep:

Fun fact: There is even a Japanese version of the musical, did you know that?
Have anyone of you seen Elisabeth? How do you like it? What do you think about musicals in general? Don't hesitate to tell me! :)

Love,
J.