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Post by viserys on Oct 1, 2016 8:33:32 GMT
Since the newest big musical in Vienna has music by Stephen Schwartz and is directed by Trevor Nunn, I figure that others may be interested in this. "Schikaneder" opened yesterday and here are a few bits on television (works from Germany, so should work from the UK as well) tvthek.orf.at/program/ZIB-2/1211/ZIB-2/13819976/Premiere-von-Musical-Schikaneder/13820216While I can't be bothered to fly to Vienna for a single show, I do think it sounds very promising. It's certainly a departure from the typical "Eurotrash" pop sounds of the older Vienna musicals like Elisabeth, Tanz der Vampire and Rebecca. They are going for a light operatic/operetta sound here to bring the era of Mozart alive. For those who do not know (I certainly didn't) - Emanuel Schikaneder was a famous singer/producer who went on to produce the very first Zauberflöte (Magic Flute) in which he starred as Papageno. Since it's apparently not possible to do a musical in Vienna without a sappy love story taking centre stage, it's mostly the story of him and his wife Eleonore who forgive him his extra-marital affairs time and again. I'm not sure if there's a chance in hell for this to transfer abroad or if it was just an easy paycheck for Schwartz and Nunn, but I'm glad that Vienna is at least moving on from their usual Eurotrash sound and the pseudo "drama musicals". |
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Post by Michael on Oct 1, 2016 9:03:57 GMT
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Post by Dawnstar on Oct 1, 2016 15:55:55 GMT
If I remember correctly Caroline Sheen sang a song from this at a cabaret last year. I think she was involved in the workshops. I can't remember how the song went but I remember liking it & feeling disappointed that because the show was going to be staged in Vienna I'd have no opportunity to hear the rest of it.
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Post by Michael on Oct 1, 2016 16:05:18 GMT
I'd be very surprised if there was no cast recording.
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Post by ali973 on Oct 1, 2016 16:38:18 GMT
I'm sure they'll be a cast recording. The audiences in Vienna fan about pretty much every show, and every show seems to have a highlights studio recording and a full A-Z live cast recording (always beautifully recorded if we were to go by the numerous Elisabeth cast recordings, Rebecca and recent Mozart! live cast recording).
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Post by Flim Flam on Oct 1, 2016 19:56:42 GMT
If I remember correctly Caroline Sheen sang a song from this at a cabaret last year. I think she was involved in the workshops. Yes, I seem to remember a whole bunch of West End musical theatre types tweeting pictures of themselves in Vienna when it was being workshopped. |
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Post by indis on Nov 23, 2016 20:45:27 GMT
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Post by Michael on Nov 24, 2016 2:12:48 GMT
Not yet on amazon, but I'll definitely be buying it. In the meantime, I've also booked a ticket for mid March. |
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Post by djp on Nov 24, 2016 3:36:13 GMT
Miss Hall sings She did German at school - she's learning more now...there's an interview According to one review , the English version has even better lyrics, and according to another report Broadway is an option, as might be London. |
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Post by viserys on Nov 24, 2016 7:10:05 GMT
German lyrics are usually dire and clunky.
I can't see this doing well either in NY or London except as some sort of curiosity operetta piece. Hopefully they'll choose a small theatre. Can't be bothered to go all the way to Vienna for just one show, so I do hope it will appear in London some time.
In the meantime it's not doing very well in Vienna, apparently it's too "classical" for the Viennese fans who adore their Eurotrash shows but very little else.
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Post by Someone in a tree on Dec 2, 2016 11:31:19 GMT
If it comes to Blighty it will need a new name . A name that everyone prounounce
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Post by djp on Dec 3, 2016 0:58:36 GMT
If it comes to Blighty it will need a new name . A name that everyone prounounce A name that anyone here will recognise.. Judging by excerpts its got a lot going for it though - comedy , adultery, a love story, period costumes, a great orchestral sound, set piece dances, and a rather successful composer to set its style. At least worth an outing for ENO musical of the year - though hopefully not with the Carousel leads. Half a sixpence has a story and moral message that was dated in 1910. music from the musical hall era, and a twit in a 3 way relationship which ends with a nothing, stick with your own, theme. People gave it 5 star reviews. |
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Post by mrsdanvers on Dec 7, 2016 15:33:15 GMT
The recording is out and I see it's also already gone on to to Spotify in the UK if anyone wants a listen.
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Post by Michael on Mar 13, 2017 7:18:21 GMT
Saw this last Saturday and didn't really enjoy it. It was way too long - almost 3h including a 15min interval - and the plot was very thin. Dialogues were very flat, and the set was mostly the same rotating stage part. The orchestra, however, was 32 persons strong and sounded fantastic, but - sorry Mr. S - apart from a few exceptions, I didn't like the score and don't remember any of the songs.
All in all, it seemed to be more opera/operette than musical, and I'm not exactly a friend of operas.
Interesting to see that Vienna is prepared for international tourists, as there were two displays at the side of the stage showing the lyrics and spoken parts in English.
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