Any Elisabeth fans on here?

Yup! Me. And many others.

Chances are slim of it ever coming here after what happened with Tanz der Vampire I reckon...I read that the English libretto is locked up in the Netherlands somewhere. Such a bummer.

According to castalbums.org, there's 45 recordings of Elisabeth, counting cast recordings, videos, and demos.

And there's 20 Japanese cast recordings alone.

I listened to the Vienna cd over and over when I first got it.....some really impressive music and orchestrations....Pia is incredible and her top note on I belong To Me just gets higher and higher on subsequent performances...lots of Pia on Youtube- her Defying Gravity will make the hair on your neck stand up- too bad she is too old for Elphaba- a truly talented woman!

Pia can't be older than Ana Gasteyer...but I'm sure that's been argued about already on some Wicked thread somewhere.

But yeah...I saw Pia in 3 Musketiere in Stuttgart last year, and she's truly incredible. One of the best musical actresses I've ever seen. And she speaks English beautifully!

I have the recording (blue cover, titles and logo in white) and just can not get into it. I have really tried.

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Yay for Elisabeth! I am absolutely head over heels in love with this show, it's not funny. No matter what anyone else says, Pia will always be the one and only true Sissi up there on stage, despite an entourage of capable performers that have followed after her. I REALLY want to go to Berlin to see the new production; everything I've heard of it so far makes for an interesting show... and Uwe as der Tod again - count me in.

I've never really been much into the Japanese productions much, maybe because the orchestrations seem a bit more sparse to me sometimes, and there's a certain lack of tension within the show - I find those problems are more evident with the Takarazuka productions though. Hmmm, maybe I'm just not accustomed much to them yet.

I recently acquired the Toho 2004 Orange Troupe cast recording, and kudos to them for keeping the original Prologue intact. I love the original, and in Japanese it is nothing short of haunting. I play that track with all sorts of LOVE, haha.

Updated On: 2/6/08 at 05:43 PM

Personally, I could do without Uwe Kroeger (whose name must be German slang for "ham and cheese"). I'm going to miss the new Berlin production by only a few weeks. GRRR!

Updated On: 2/6/08 at 06:06 PM

if this show ever gets translated in english...Stephanie J. Block. Hands down. OR an even better option would be to get Pia to play the role in english (since she obviously can).

You know, for some reason... as much as I would want to hear it in English, I feel as if the show would lose something. In the European languages, it has a certain air and tension about it that lends itself so openly to the story. 'Die Schatten Werden Langer' sounds absolutely lethal in German (and somewhat in Dutch too), and yet in the Japanese productions it seems to play second best to it's German counterpart. I can't help but feel that that song alone wouldn't be anywhere near as effective on stage in English, for the words alone.

Updated On: 2/6/08 at 06:47 PM

Wow -- Drew would be a perfect Lucheni. He and Adam in the same show? With Pia? I think I'd explode.

You might be right, as far as their voices being too similar. I'm just not a fan of Uwe at all, and since he and Mate are the only actors I've seen/heard play that role, I don't have another frame of reference. I just know that Mate reminded me a bit of Adam at times, so I made the connection.

This might get me whacked over the head, but how about Josh Strickland as der Tod? He's certainly pretty, and has perhaps a little more of der Tod's asexual seductiveness (without being as hammy and overpowering as Uwe).

YES I love Elisabeth, maybe they will try to open it if Rebecca succeeds on Broadway. In November VBW announced that they closed the deal on a B'way production. Micheal Kunze is now working on the new translation.