| DVD: Romeo et Juliette, Gerard Presgurvic version |
[May. 17th, 2008|07:12 pm] |
And in the continuing adventures of Beth versus actual commercially available DVDs of musicals, I've finally watched something I've had for a while - Romeo et Juliette, the Gerard Presgurvic version, as recorded in 2001 in Paris. I have to say that even with all the pop music, this is one of the most artistic musicals. The French seem to have a gift for them.
( Amazingly fun musical. Why did no-one tell me it had Death in it? )
Unfortunately, this DVD is out of print at the moment. But the good news is, enterprising people have uploaded all of it to Youtube :) Between them, "selenityrose" and "faelivrinen" have all the tracks. Some samples:
Verone (first song of the musical
)
J'ai peur (originally a Mercutio song, given to Romeo because he's the only one not noticeably shorter than Death)
C'est pas ma faute (Tybalt angst) |
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| *sporfle* |
[May. 7th, 2008|09:19 pm] |
Apparently on a talent show on ZDF this spring, they had a musicals theme and Uwe Kröger as a judge. This makes for entertaining clips of him making faces as people torture German and English musicals.
But this is something else. They had Villazon as a guest star, because apart from being Caruso Jr, he's also done Man of La Mancha. Which he did admirably - guy's got a siege weapon of a voice on him.
And then he and the host went and did Always look on the bright side of life. Yes, from Spamalot. Monty Python. My brain!
(Video under cut, because I refuse to be the only one traumatised.)
( Bad and wrong and yay ) |
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| Elisabeth in Berlin |
[May. 5th, 2008|12:20 pm] |
I saw two shows in Berlin, May 1 and May 2. The cast was almost the same - the only exception was Sophie, with the understudy the first time and Christa Wettstein (first cast) on Friday. The shows, however, were dramatically different, mostly because on Thursday, Bruno Grassini (Lucheni) was phoning in his role, while by Friday he had recovered.
( Detailed review )
End verdict: I'm glad I've gone, for reasons of Uwe (and to a lesser extent, Annemieke and Oliver), but this production is craft rather than art. And I'm very happy I have tickets booked to Elisabeth in Budapest next month, with the full second cast (Máté, Bernádett and Nikolett, Ádám Bálint and Tamás Szaraz) confirmed for both shows I'm attending. |
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| Sometimes, a voice makes you flail |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|09:17 pm] |
I'm watching the Les Miserables 10th Anniversary Concert (more on which, and the book, later), and after Act 1 I made the mistake of looking up Michael Maguire on Youtube.
His voice in Music of the Night has left me spellbound
There's something about his emotion... oh gods, why doesn't this man act more? |
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| Meta: Live performance fandom versus media fandom |
[Apr. 21st, 2008|02:33 pm] |
I started out in media fandom, where by media I define books, series, films, comics – any creative work that is performed once and communicated via media, a one-to-many single-time-point form of creation. For the past two years, my primary fandoms, the defaults I scribble about in my free moments, have been live performance fandoms. Involvement in the two is a very different experience.
( Media fandom versus live performance fandom: an analysis )
And now, I should probably write another analysis for the fascinating in-between creature that is Takarazuka fandom ;) But at 1,700+ words, this will be enough for now. |
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| Phantom of the Opera, Roma theatre, take two |
[Apr. 11th, 2008|08:33 am] |
On Wednesday, I found myself in the possession of someone else's media passes to Phantom. It would have been somewhat foolish not to go, even though it was Damian on again as Erik. Mind you, the rest of the cast was entirely different - I think only Madame Giry was the same one I saw the first time.
( Huh. They got better. )
I have my next set of tickets for the 23rd. Don't know if I'll go yet, waiting for the cast to come up. Wanna 'nother Phantom. |
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| Dracula: Entre l'amour et la mort |
[Apr. 6th, 2008|09:57 am] |
I first noticed Bruno Pelletier in Notre Dame de Paris, as recommended by ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) fyrie, about two years ago. On Youtube, there were clips of him doing various things, including appearing in something that looked... strange. The music was great, the French lyrics had vivid imagery, but the costumes? The flames? I googled it and came up with Dracula: Entre l'amour et la mort.
The CD has been out for a long time, and it gets regular airtime in my house. The DVD of the musical was recorded in November 2006 and came out last month. I now have it in my hands and all I can say is: Whoa. This is what a Dracula musical should be.
( Rambling review, hampered by my half-fluent French )
And some Youtube clips to whet your appetite:
Dracula and Lucy's meeting (promotional video)
Concert version of the philosophical discussion between Dracula, Jonathan and Renfield
Digest of DVD scenes |
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| Phantom of the Opera - Warsaw Roma theatre |
[Mar. 29th, 2008|10:58 am] |
Obligatory pre-review disclosure: I like Phantom of the Opera, a lot. I adored the small stage version put up by the Palladium Stage theatre (clips available here), and after the first two rounds of auditions for the full Roma theatre non-replica production, I was overjoyed to hear that my favourites were also the judges' favourites for Erik and Raoul. Then they were abruptly cut, due to in one case "not enough acting ability" and in the other, current engagements keeping him from attending the audition. On top of that, I heard a lot of rumours that the musical's main sponsor fancies himself a director and meddled immensely in both casting and directing.
I saw the show yesterday. Verdict: Very good show. Can someone put the first Phantom out of his misery?
( Detailed review ) |
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| Elisabeth in Berlin |
[Feb. 17th, 2008|10:22 am] |
So, cast for Elisabeth in Berlin is all but set. It's less dreadful than what I was fearing, but again they went for people who know the musical by heart.
Death: Uwe (who's looking and sounding very good on the promo clip) will be later replaced by Felix Martin, with Oliver Arno as understudy to both. Tried and true, but I like them both enough.
Elisabeth: Pia in the beginning, later to be replaced by Annemieke van Dam. I have to admit I'm in two minds about Annemieke - I've seen her in clips of 3 Musketiere, and while she's got great acting skills and a sweet voice, voice control could use work, and I'm not sure she's up to being first cast for such a demanding role.
Franz-Joseph: Markus Pol - he was FJ in last year's Japanese tour. Decent, though not one of my favourites. Cover's Peter Stassen, Louis and Richelieu in Stuttgart.
Rudolf: Oliver Arno - looks like a high point of the cast, judging by previous performances. I wouldn't mind seeing him as Death, either! Cover Rudolf is Martin Markert, cover on the Japan tour - looks decent, can't find any clips.
Still no news of Sophie or Max. Guess I should get around to reserving tickets... |
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| Tanz der Vampire / Vampirok Balja: 50th show |
[Jan. 7th, 2008|08:45 am] |
You have to be special to randomly stumble on a 50th show of a musical, and one with a signing to boot. Fortunately, we are special.
( Show )
Before the show, I wandered over to buy the new shiny programme and live CD (even though I accidentally recorded the same show that's on the CD while I was over the last time). I managed to keep my feet when the teller told me that after the show, there would be a signing upstairs.
( Signing ) |
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| Tanz der Vampire #28 |
[Jan. 7th, 2008|12:07 am] |
I think I managed to break Von Krolock's brain.
SCORE. |
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| Elisabeth-related incoherence |
[Jan. 5th, 2008|07:38 pm] |
I think fyrie called dibs on the post title of "Warning: Low-Flying Lucheni", so this one is going to be much less coherent ;)
I didn't get to see Máté Kamarás, because the git went and got a cold. Hopefully he'll be on tomorrow, so if the stagedoor people are as friendly as they were today, we can get them to haul him in by the ear. But still, not all was lost.
I am more convinced than ever that Máté's bounciness is due to a special drug, because it looked like Szilveszter Szabó drank it by mistake. I mean, I've seen this guy on video at least three times, and he's always been nice, but very muted and aloof. This time... not so much. Crackling energy, emotional spill-over and an actual dynamic with Rudolf. Either he was on crack or someone took him over telepathically ;)
And then there was the Amazing Bouncing Lucheni. Honestly, the guy should have a circus act. And it didn't hurt that he's handsome, has a great voice and a charisma that means you look at him exclusively. (Unless Death is onstage, in which case their interaction is - let's just say I have bunnies with very sharp teeth.) But hey, don't take my word for it:
( Youtube: Tamás Száraz in Milch )
Bernadett Vago was a lovely Elisabeth (and her voice is gorgeous!), Ádám Balint was the best-acting Franz-Joseph I have ever seen, and Dávid Szabó presented a Rudolf with believable power, which is a first.
More impressions later, I think. Once I have a comparison ;) Not like I'm seeing the show tomorrow again... oops. |
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| Recommended reading |
[Dec. 30th, 2007|02:17 pm] |
At the seaside, I was purposefully out of my usual reading material, and thus raiding the grandparents' collection of Important Works of Literature. Isaac Singer's The Estate is a very nice insight into Belle Epoque Jews if only one can look past the characters, which are the whiniest bunch I've seen since Neon Genesis Evangelion. The Godfather would be a perfect read if at least three characters in my head weren't ogling Michael Corleone with illicit purposes. Mann's Buddenbrooks faltered a bit in the middle, but the teenage slash at the end redeemed them (okay, the other bits were interesting, too). Doctor Zhivago caused me to facepalm over my Russian ancestry.
All in all, it was a relief to come back to an open ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) yuletide archive.
This year I've been damnably lucky with my gifts - I received two full-length stories and a vignette. No idea yet who they're from, but all are gorgeous:
Ourobos - Tanz der Vampire behind the scenes; a different interpretation than my own, but I can imagine Thomas Borchert and Jakub Wocial in these roles far too easily.
Conversations with the Dead - Elisabeth, the deaths of Sophie, Rudolf and Franz-Joseph: the amount of historical detail is delightful.
And Black And Black And Blacker Still - Elisabeth, a heartbreaking Rudolf moment that reaches to the core of his character.
And from other stories that I've skimmed, four so far had me glued to the screen and exclaiming with delight:
The Invisible City - a sequel to Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere that should damn well be official. It's like turning a page and finding a lost epilogue to the story. This could be Neil writing.
By No Miracle or Majestic Means - for all that I avoid Vorkosigan fanfiction like the plague, this story of a young Miles's caper is perfectly in tune. It suffers a little from rush - I know well the lack of time to balance the plot at the end - but the language is Ivan's, the characters are vividly themselves.
The Sixth Heaven - the Beauty and the Beast TV series has always remained with me, and this AU with Catherine and Vincent meeting as children captures the magic perfectly.
The Merry-Go-Round Broke Down - You've probably seen this Who Framed Roger Rabbit story recced by others. All I'm saying is, hold on to your hats. |
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| Plans of the musical variety |
[Nov. 23rd, 2007|09:02 am] |
Ohdear. They'll be playing Elisabeth in Berlin from April onwards, so I kind of think I'll be there with bells on sometime in May :> Depending on the cast, I guess - my favourite would be Jan Ammann for Death and Jakub Wocial for Rudolf and second Death, but generally, I like most of the possibles. Except Haldor Laegreid.
So that'll be thrice I'll be seeing Elisabeth next year - got two sets of tickets for Budapest already. (And possible plans for... more far-off regions in the autumn, but those are nowhere near being finalised.) And Tanz der Vampire at least once, Budapest again.
Phantom of the Opera in Warsaw, I'm sorry to say, fizzled out completely. My firm favourites were cut down - one for being unable to attend an audition, fair enough, but the other for "lack of acting ability". Which he does have, on top of an operatic baritone that leaves everyone in the dust.
On the other hand, that does leave him free for Beauty and the Beast in Gdynia (also in the spring), which has the potential for being gorgeous if they finally get their act together - they're a decent theatre, but no magic to it so far. I hope it'll end up being something interesting.
And on top of it all I should probably finally drag my carcass to London for Phantom, Les Mis and anything else that happens to be on. And I still haven't seen some of my must-see people live - currently Stanley Burleson tops that list, followed closely by Pia Douwes and Ethan Freeman.
Say what you want about this hobby, you're never out of places to travel to. |
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| Dear Yuletide Santa |
[Oct. 19th, 2007|06:48 am] |
*looks at Yuletide assignment and kind of falls over* At least I didn't get fyrie. And I do have a challenge like I wanted.
EDIT: Huh. Looks like everyone will get a rematch, which is a pity - I liked that request :/
( Dear Yuletide Santa, as to my own requests.... )
In conclusion: Dear Yuletide Santa. I wish you luck. You may need it ;) |
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| Yuletide and squee |
[Oct. 9th, 2007|01:50 pm] |
I signed up for Yuletide, which means a week and a bit of waiting with bated breath until I get my assignment. And then there's the fact Takarazuka Moon Troupe will be in London in January and I may end up glomping vampires, Deaths and Japanese crossdressers all in one week, but that also requires waiting for dates and details to go up.
To help me wait, I stole an idea from alighiera and ariss_tenoh, to take advantage of my good Yuletide karma and the urge to WRITE something. It's been a while:
1. Make at least three requests from different fandoms, for original stories, or a mixture of both. Optionally, in addition give me characters and/or a setting, a plot, a situation or some other kind of prompt. If you make a request for something original, give me a prompt of some kind in any case. A setting, plot, even a word.
2. If there's something you absolutely want (or don't want) to see in your story, tell me.
3. Fandoms I can write:
( All I've ever written and most I've read )
I'll take all requests posted here before Yuletide assignments go out (a few days after October 18). I'll post all fic before December 6, St Nick's. Each story will be 500 words, minimum.
Comments are screened so you take your chances :)
(Also: yes, original includes That RPG. And if you know anyone looking for fic in any of those fandoms, feel free to pimp. I want to write!) |
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| Last travel notice |
[Sep. 3rd, 2007|08:28 am] |
Just got home :) Budapest yay. Vampires SQUEE. Especially since one Von Krolock is a total fan of the Warsaw production to the point of copying the faces Lukasz made, and the other... the other is a bouncy fluffy baby Von Krolock who looks and sounds like Máté Kamarás's younger cousin.
And yes, I have boots. Only second act of the second Von Krolock for some reason, but nice clear boots :> Reviews upcoming. |
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| Vámpírok Bálja |
[Aug. 30th, 2007|11:08 pm] |
Longer review later, once I've seen it again (and maybe a third time) and can type it when not on a rickety kitchen chair wedged onto the patio because it's the only place the net's working. Suffice it to say, I have a very wide grin on my face.
Tanz der Vampire is still magic. Even in Hungarian. |
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| Musicals meme |
[Aug. 12th, 2007|06:49 pm] |
*looks at last entry* Meep. All those... serious things. To counteract it, musicals meme swiped from musicallover6.
( All about musicals ) |
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| On the musicals front |
[Jul. 26th, 2007|02:08 pm] |
The guy in my icon is the newest - first cast - Abronsius in Berlin. At age 21, without being a German or Austrian, and that's for a role that demands tongue-twisters at breakneck speed O.o
Also, I've spent quite a bit of time happily staring at photos from the new Budapest production of Elisabeth. I am quite frightened by the lengths some people are willing to go to to make this guy look like this guy.
Combined, I would say it means I can look forward to repeat trips to both Berlin and Budapest. Curses :P |
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| It's opera in primetime, of course I'm aware |
[Jun. 15th, 2007|07:02 am] |
Just in case anyone's managed to miss it so far: Britain's Got Talent (Brits might recognise Simon Cowell in the jury), mobile phone salesman, opera.
See Simon Cowell jawdrop to Nessun Dorma:
And the git got better in the semi-finals:
I mean, honestly. The guy's got vibrato, he's got a lovely scale, and that depth there - so many tenors have voices that have been squashed flat. He's good, and since he hit even Polish papers, he's going places :) |
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| Berlin part 1: The Music |
[Jun. 10th, 2007|11:26 pm] |
My main aim in going to Berlin was to see a "proper" version of Tanz der Vampire. Original costumes and more elaborate sets than the Warsaw symbolism and Vienna anniversary lack of any sets whatsoever had an appeal, and so did fyrie's squee on said sets. I had tickets for 10th row on Thursday and ended up switching to 9th row because there were free places in front of us.
( Very tired vampires )
In the Theater des Westens, everyone I talked to told me to go to Theater am Potsdamer Platz and see Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. I was indifferent to the idea, though I’d wanted to see Yngve Gasoy-Rohmdal in something, and Mother was having doubts, but I shelled out the money for 2 last-row tickets on Friday even though Yngve wasn’t playing. How was it? I was in first row centre the next day, too. I think that tells you a bit.
( Die Schöne und das Biest: sometimes Disney gets it right )
Part two will probably be squee on the various museums I went to, but that’ll wait until I get the photos sorted out ;) I can safely say I’ve hit on a winning mixture for a short vacation with maximum relaxation: run around sightseeing all day and catch a show every night. Next time, I just have to remember to book a hotel with working internet (argh!) and let my guts know they’re not allowed to rebel while I’m away. |
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| Shiny things |
[May. 19th, 2007|02:48 pm] |
In case you were wondering, the first two episodes of Heroes made me laugh lots. Since they're showing 2 per week, I should be caught up with the rest of you soon.
rkold is an absolute angel. I am looking forward to boggling my workmates with Original Takarazuka Goodies. "Who is that?" "A Heian-era prince who's sleeping with the mother of his reincarnated father. As played by a girl :D"
But the point of this post: Miss Snark has announced her retirement from her blog.
I must say hers is the best blog I've read for authors looking to be published. She gives a great insight on the industry, the agents, everything. After reading her for the past year I now know much more about how to go about being published. If anyone else is serious about seeing their names on covers of Actual Paper Books, I have to recommend this blog. And now, since there's no telling how long it'll stay up... |
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| Elisabeth: Maki Ichiro, as found on random Youtube trolling |
[May. 11th, 2007|07:44 am] |
*blinks* I was thinking of ripping a certain clip from a DVD I just got, and look, it's already on Youtube. Maki Ichiro playing Death - as a girl. She's even singing in a more female voice, which is a sight.
( DIVA 2001, Death as a girl and Rudolf as a boy )
This is something else I need to save, Maki's last TCA performance, also an Elisabeth song...
( It's hard to make pale green sequins look good )
And since I'm on a Maki kick, look: Uwe can sing well providing he has the right Elisabeth:
( Bilingual Wenn Ich Tanzen Will, DIVA 2004 )
And now, off to work, so downloading those will have to wait *eyedart* |
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| 2007 international Moniuszko vocal competition (VI edition) |
[Apr. 28th, 2007|07:55 am] |
I was waiting for Polish TV to get off their collective behinds and put up the final concert online before I would post about this, but it looks like they decided the competition's over and so are their obligations. Still.
I spent most of the week before last listening to opera. The VI International Moniuszko Vocal Competition was ongoing, and Polish TV was kind enough to transmit all auditions online. By the time the third and final stage rolled around, I had firm favourites and ended up attending the last day of auditions - I have to say I am very impressed with young operatic talent these days.
People to keep an eye on:
Mika Nisula (Finnish tenor): lovely dramatic and sweet voice who would have gotten Third Male if not for nerves. He managed to bollix up an easy Faust aria completely, being off-key on the one long high note and everything. He then closed his eyes, decided to hell with it and launched into a much, much more difficult aria from Moniuszko's Haunted Manor in a way that made me cry, in a good way. I hate that song - emo-est piece of emo "wah, my mummy's dead!" crap ever - and he was perfect in it, emotional and dignified and everything. Finnish people should take note, he does a lot of work in Helsinki :)
Anna Markarova (Russian mezzo): great voice of the bring-the-house-down kind, but most of all stage charisma and dignity. She doesn't look it, but I could see her doing Empress Catherine or someone - when she's on stage, she's blinding.
Azamat Zheltyrguzov (Kazakh baritone): The guy's 20 and and if he ever switches to musicals, he'll be another Yamaguchi. That kind of velvet voice and stage presence. He didn't make it past 2nd stage, but he knocked enough people flat that the Cracow opera club funded a special, unplanned prize and gave it to him :D
Kristina Kapustynska (Ukrainian mezzo): I was very much reminded of a female version of my favourite Polish guy ;) Same looks, gestures, stage presence and girl version of his voice, from the deepest caverns to a very credible upper range. A year or two and I think Kristina'll be able to sing everything from tenor to soprano. Her voice reminded me very much of the best Takarazuka otokoyaku, and judging by her final concert dress, she'd be a Zuka fangirl in a flash ;) Second Female, and very deservedly so.
Malgorzata Olejniczak (Polish soprano): Third Female and very lovely lady, with a haunting stage presence and energy. For the longest time I didn't know who could be a Polish Elisabeth, but now my dream cast is complete :)
Alexey Markov (Russian baritone): First Male, and missed the Grand Prix by a hair. Knocks you flat, especially at the final concert - the TV studio people criticised his projection the day before, and he did his best to blow out the sound equipment. Musicals-wise, I was reminded of Borchert's stage presence, but the voice... oh, so dreamy :)
And just so I'm not talking about random abstracts, here's Polish TV mutilating the looks of the contestants (trust me, it's the lighting - they're all 100% prettier live :P)
April 20th - click on the picture and go to 5:30 for Olejniczak, 24:00 for Kapustynska
April 21st - click on the picture and go to 21:19 for Markov |
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| FIC: Fear is enough (Three Musketeers, PG-13) |
[Apr. 6th, 2007|09:03 am] |
*eyedart* Been a while since I've written something, and this may count as most obscure fandom ever - of the entire friendslist, only lamath and fyrie probably know it.
But hey, everybody else has probably read The Three Musketeers. So just imagine that, with a Richelieu and Milady who look like this, plus a very compressed plot that ends with Milady poisoning Constance Bonacieux in the Carmelite-Luxembourg convent and throwing herself off the cloister's wall once the Musketeers sentence her rather than having her head cut off, plus Richelieu falling into disgrace and being ordered to remain in his quarters when the necklace affair fails. Supplemented by details from the Richelieu biographies I've been reading lately.
EDIT: This was written earlier and posted before I realised that ooops, posting priest-sex on Good Friday - not going to put me in any Christian's good books. Sorry?
Fandom: The Musketeers (Dutch Musical)
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Richelieu/Milady
Warnings: He's a priest, bishop and cardinal. She's a lady of ill repute. Do the math.
( Fear is enough ) |
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| Vienna part 1 - Tanz der Vampire anniversary concert |
[Feb. 20th, 2007|03:17 pm] |
It turned out that by a stroke of luck, our hotel was only 4 U-Bahn (underground) stops from the Raimund Theater, no line changing necessary. The theater itself is smaller than I thought - perhaps half the size of our Roma, without the aisles that allowed our vampires to run around the audience, and with a much smaller stage, though they do have a superior revolving/descending platform.
( It has a pretty curtain screen, though )
I was a little surprised by the audience - very few people were in black and I only saw one cosplayer. I'm wondering if the cheaper tickets didn't draw people who just wanted to see any musical at all.
( The show itself )
I can't say I wouldn't have liked an Elisabeth-style anniversary performance, with multiple actors singing each role and a lineup of Von Krolocks, but then they'd probably have to do CPR on at least one after Lukasz and Yamaguchi got into a sing-off. The show was gorgeous, and well worth the trip - and that was just my first day in Vienna. |
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| This entry sponsored by drugs |
[Feb. 2nd, 2007|10:28 pm] |
I've been missing in action not so much due to fyrie, as to a lurgy that was too close to what ailed me in Ireland for comfort. Still, antibiotics took care of it and I even managed to spend a full day at work today before hitting the theatre.
As fyrie said, Akademia Pana Kleksa, the new musical at Roma theatre has:
a singing robot, Frankenstein, Mortal Kombat, Cirque du Soleil, roller skating, digeridoos, ninjas, mad hairdresser villains, and 8-9 foot dirigible flying around the audience, slingshots, Albus Dumbledore's younger, insaner brother, a Harry Potter clone, an egg-head Elvis, origami puppets and a giant frog conducting the orchestra
The bits she missed are the samba dancing (ON rollerskates), scooters, high-wire acts, invisible dogs, House of Flying Daggers dancing, love potions, a mermaid in love with a crab, conveyor belt almost killing someone, ironing a beard, and a song about a weird duck who turns out to be a roast rabbit. With a side dish of beetroot.
And on top of it all, the music is quite nice. I need to go again, I think. Luckily my nephew wants to visit :> |
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happy
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