Elisabeth - CD?

[luke-h***]

Posted: 8/17/08 at 10:14am

I'm looking to buy a CD for the musical Elisabeth, I was just wonderign if anybody had any reccomendations of which version to buy as there are so many different recordings of this show. I'd like a complete one, and if possible the most up to date one. I am a Pia Douwes fan but wouldn't mind a CD without her if another recording on the whole is better, but does not include Pia. Would like to hear somebody other than Uwe Kroeger as Der Tod, something about his voice gives me shivers, and not in the good sort of way. Any Suggestions? Also was wondering, why the hell hasn't this show ever been on Broadway or West End? It was such a huge hit everywhere else, and has such a beautiful score lol! Anyways, CD?

[Elphaba]

Posted: 8/18/08 at 9:55am

IF you had posted on the correct board (Broadway board) and IF you had done a simple search with the word 'Elisabeth' you would have found a three page thread talking about the musical, and on page 2, you would have found this post from exedore:

"The 1996 Live, 2004 Highlights and 2005 Live CDs are with Maya Hakvoort who is definitely an acquired taste (and one I can't stand despite being the only one I've seen live). Personally I don't think she pulls off young!Elisabeth well and her style of emoting is painful to listen to at times.

"Pia is on the 1992 Vienna, 1999 Netherlands and 2003 Essen CDs. The Essen CD is my favourite, and is really the OMGBIG numbers from the show. The 1992 CD fills in most of the gaps and has a lusher orchestration, but I really don't feel like the show came together until the 1996 revisions (and I prefer the German libretto overall vs. the Austrian one). The Netherlands CD is nice, but not my fave. If you do go for the 2003 CD, it was reissued in 2006 with a few new tracks from the Stuttgart cast featuring Maike Borderam as Elisabeth. A lot of people hate her, but I don't mind her when she's on such as her numbers on the Tenth Anniversary Concert CD (though she can sound like a strangled cat when she's having a bad night).

In terms of Japanese cast recordings (since you didn't ask), everybody has a favourite, everybody has ones they can't stand."