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Elisabeth Das Musical - Blog Posts
Please tell me i'm not as forgettable as your silence is making me feel.
Proof why "Elisabeth" and "Sweeney Todd" are the same musical.
They both have:
- Tod(d)
- Beauty treatments as an important element of the main character's life
- Prologue, where the ensemble sings about the main character repeating their name for a hundred times
- André Bauer at some point
- Unhealthy affection leading to death
- Lack of vital food product of animal origin
- Murder with a sharp weapon
- Scene in a mental institution
- Great promoter who doesn't care what to sell
- Child abandoned by their parents
- Prostitution
- Main character has traveled a lot
- Despotism of the authorities
- Convicted criminal
- Questionable hair care products
- One of the main characters hasn't seen his wive at least for 15 years
- Popular catering establishment
- Character, who found a job as a waiter
- Trial scene
- Fake Italian
- Somebody burned alive
- Murder of a cat
so this is my attempt at tracking all the melodies in Elisabeth.. i noticed that i missed a few but I’m too lazy to change it right now
sadly this doesn’t completely show what kind of parallels all of these create because it doesn’t show who sings them. maybe I’ll work on that some time?
You know what's really tragic about the character of Rudolf in Elisabeth das Musical? (Besides, y'know... Everything?)
That he's a LOT like Franz Joseph too, at least when he was his age.
They're both under the thumb of one parent, who doesn't allow them to express their own political view. They both feel like intrigue is ruining their lives, and wish they weren't in the restricting position they occupy. And most importantly: they both express a desire to be "soft", instead of the hard and emotionless leader they're drilled to be.
Why then, is there no song, not a single line, where either of them acknowledge that similarity? Elisabeth and Rudolf both sing about how similar they are, why can't Rudolf and FJ?
Because Rudolf doesn't know. How could he know that his own father went through the exact same pressure he is under.. when the pressure was successful in molding him? He never sees that softer side to him.
Franz Joseph might have chosen Elisabeth over his mother in the end, but he internalized her lessons and sees them as truth. He is hard, he is strict, and he doesn't know any other way to be. He doesn't see anything wrong with how he's treating his son. (And in his childhood, how Sophie raised him). He turned out fine, why should Rudolf be different?
So Rudolf had not one, but two parents who should have been able to relate to at least part of his despair. But both failed to be the parent they wished they had. And I don't know if it's better or worse that he never even knew how his father was similar to him, too.
Elisabeth das Musical Textposts pt. 3
Der Tod: Uwe Kröger, Kronprinz Rudolf: Andreas Bieber (1992)
Kronprinz Rudolf: Dolhai Attila, Der Tod: Szabó P. Szilveszter (2004)
Kronprinz Rudolf: Andreas Bieber (1992)
Kaiserin Elisabeth: Annemieke van Dam, Der Tod: Mark Seibert (2012)
Der Tod: Uwe Kröger, Kronprinz Rudolf: Andreas Bieber (1992)
Elisabeth das Musical Textposts pt. 2
Kaiser Franz Joseph: Viktor Gernot, Kaiserin Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger (1992)
Kronprinz Rudolf: Andreas Bieber, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger (1992)
Kaiserin Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger (2002)
Kaiser Franz Joseph: Viktor Gernot, Erzherzogin Sophie: Else Ludwig (1992)
Kaiserin Elisabeth: Pia Douwes (1992)
Kronprinz Rudolf: Jonathan Späth, Der Tod: Mark Seibert (2012)
Elisabeth das Musical Textposts pt. 1
Rudolf: Andreas Bieber, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger (1992)
Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, Maximilian: Wolfgang Pampel (1992)
Der Tod: Uwe Kröger, Elisabeth: Pia Douwes (2002)
Elisabeth: Pia Douwes, Der Tod: Uwe Kröger (1992)
Der Tod: Uwe Kröger (1992)
Rudolf: Lukas Perman, Der Tod: Mark Seibert, Elisabeth: Maya Hakvoort (2022)
Kinda personal question but what makes Elisabeth special to you? (Trigger warning) And in your opinion, does it romanticise things like mental illness and suicide? I think that ‘Die Schatten werden länger’ is a pretty apt metaphor for how it feels to have depression and suicidal thoughts (depending on one’s interpretation of what Death is) or to be emotionally abused. I ask about the productions with Furuka Yuta as Rudolf and the recent one with him as Death.
Dear Anon,
‘Elisabeth’ is my ultimate gateway down the rabbit hole of theatre and story-telling. Before ‘Elisabeth’ I was mostly a passive consumer of media, but after, I started to consider mechanisms of story-telling, and saw how different performers can tell different stories using the same script. This taught me how actions (dictated by the script) are just that - actions; and before we can understand a character, we must delve into what the context is of those actions.
Of course, the music is also just phenomenal, and it IS a musical, after all.
TL;DR: But importantly, I love ‘Elisabeth’ because it’s literally written to be a “F*ck you, Hollywood.”
In this post I discussed how ‘Elisabeth das Musical’ managed to save crumbling European cinematic culture. I am very tired of the Hollywood conventions, and ESPECIALLY tired of the glorification of romance. ‘Elisabeth’ subverted both of these stale conventions for me, and I was able to enjoy an alternative to the popular tropes of: “the superhuman lover, the caged bird, lonely at the top” in a new context.
This post will be divided into the following chapters:
1. Elisabeth
1.1. Deconstructing romance
1.2. Wife- and Motherhood
1.3. No pedagogical message in yer face!
2. Rudolf
2.1. Deconstructing romance
2.2. Depression in children
2.3. Crushing expectations and grandness
2.4. Deconstructing masculinity
3. Der Tod
3.1. Villain?
3.2. Predatory lover?
4. Conclusion
Trigger Warning: The text below contains mention of depression and suicide.
Romanticising mental illness?
‘Elisabeth’ is admittedly a bit of a problematic fave to me; it does indeed romanticise mental illness. However! Contrary to mainstream conventions, ‘Elisabeth’s does not show that mental illness can be cured because of THE POWER OF LOVE! It unapologetically showcases the destructiveness of mental illness, and how it is a long and painful struggle without promise of success. And that is exactly what a mental illness can be.
1. Elisabeth
1.1. Deconstructing romance
Elisabeth herself is the clearest example. She was a happy-go-lucky girl who was not destined to become Empress (her sister was), and yet she was chosen as bride by the handsome and young Emperor, Franz I, against his mother’s will. It is the dream many girls are taught to have.
And yet, it was exactly after becoming part of a fairy tale that her life sank into hell. Not just because of Sophie, but also because of her husband. Her husband did not turn out to be ‘a bad guy’ like Hollywood will make you believe is the only reason a relationship will fail. No, Franz was just entirely ignorant towards anything Elisabeth needed. Franz’ failure as lover was not what he ‘did’, but rather, what he ‘did not’. I think it is very important to show how real relationships require compatibility AND hard-work, but that without both, it just won’t work.
1.2. Wife- and motherhood
In conventional media, a woman like Elisabeth’s journey would be to find ‘the love she deserves’, she would still be ‘someone’s romantic interest’, just not Franz’. But in the musical, her arc is preserving and exercising her autonomy, and make the best out of a terrible situation. Women are trapped in patriarchy, and usually there is just no escape. And therefore seeing the strength of a woman who makes the best out of her pain is inspiring, and more relatable.
Usually in media, if the woman is not ‘the wife’, then the way she is strong is her focus on being ‘the mother’. Elisabeth however, was shown to be a terrible mother! She was not callous, she was very loving in fact. But because she had so much going on, she simply did not have extra mental energy to spend on her son. I find it very refreshing that love is simply not enough to make human-relations work, whether it’s romantic or familial relationships. Saying that somebody fails in a relationship ‘because you don’t love x enough’ is shortsighted and backwards.
It is breathtaking for me to see a narrative that solely focused on a woman’s struggles without the romance, and without the shackles of motherhood. No, she was struggling because she could not be a person.
1.3. No pedagogical message in yer face!
I also absolutely love how Elisabeth is not an idol that we are supposed to learn from. It’s not: “women! Look at this woman and [be/don’t be] this woman!!”. No, ‘Elisabeth’ leaves its viewer alone, and does not try to impose onto any ‘how to be a woman’.
We are simply supposed to see her life, and sympathise with her as human. The story never justifies her shortcomings, and never glorifies her as the fairy tale Empress ‘die Junge Kaiserin’ would have you believe.
‘Elisabeth das Musical’ does not treat its audience as people that must be educated; instead it assumes the audience has a mind of its own, and can participate in the story as Elisabeth’s peer.
2. Rudolf
2.1. Deconstructing romance
Rudolf’s arc is likewise one wherein his mental illness is not ‘magically cured by romance’. The historic Rudolf was married and he was VERY unhappy in his marriage. However, his unhappy marriage was not the cause of his depression, nor did it really matter that much in making it worse. Rudolf did have a lover (Mary Vetsera), and they loved each other deeply. However, that was not enough to make his mental illness bearable for him.
This forbidden-love part of Rudolf’s life was so insignificant to his depression, that the writers left it out entirely in ‘Elisabeth das Musical’, and his arc was still perfectly round without it.
2.2. Depression in children
‘Elisabeth’ is an excellent example of how depression is not limited to certain groups of people; anyone can be haunted by it. Rudolf is able bodied, white, wealthy, the crown prince of an Empire, intelligent, etc. etc. And yet he had crippling depression, and it is NOT because he was whiny within privilege.
Just like with his mother, Rudolf is also not an idol we’re supposed to imitate. However, we are supposed to learn from seeing him. We first meet Rudolf as a young child, and because he was not given any help, his depression escalated into suicidal depression later on. Many people either don’t believe that children can be depressed, or simply don’t take it seriously. Rudolf however, shows everyone how depression can in fact destroy the lives of children, not unlike adults. Even better; he is a historic character who actually existed. Good luck denying that!
2.3. Crushing expectations and grandness
As discussed above, Rudolf’s struggle has nothing to do with romance, but crushing expectations. As Furukawa explained in this interview: “When Rudolf finally figured out what he wanted to do, he was faced with his country sinking into crisis. He was stuck in the situation where he did not have the power to say anything, and yet had the status wherein everyone expected him to act for the benefit of the state. If he did not act he would be a neglectful man, unworthy of the title of ‘crown prince’, but if he did act for the benefit of the state, he would be a rebel.”
I think it is very refreshing too that despite all the good qualities Rudolf has (2.2.), he simply could not live up to the crushing expectations. It is very important to see how failure is often not the inability of the person, but that too much was expected of ONE human being to begin with.
2.4. Deconstructing toxic masculinity
Rudolf performs a very refreshing form of masculinity that is a departure from Hollywood’s ‘male hero’ model. His entire character is centered on his vulnerability, but he is NEVER portrayed as the loser. Instead, we see a man admitting his vulnerability and looking his depression in the eyes, and never being ashamed of it. He never blames himself for ‘not being man enough’ to live up to social expectations. Instead of “becoming a proper man!!” Rudolf knows that what he needs is compassion, a person he can talk to (his mother), and a fucking break.
Death is almost always without exception ‘punishment’ in stories. However, with Rudolf there were clearly external factors that have nothing to do with his supposed inaptness. The perpetrator was active in the sense that LITERAL Death manipulating him into committing suicide. Rudolf was a victim instead of someone punished for a “sin of not being man enough”.
3. Der Tod
3.1. Villain?
I am very tired of the good vs evil dichotomous story telling of Hollywood. Another thing I love about this musical is how it is entirely ambiguous who the villain is. It’s easy to point at Der Tod, but is he really the villain?
The script of this ingenious musical is written so freely that depending on the performers/director, the villain is either ambiguous, or non-existent, WITHOUT the story being vague. Depending on the actor of Der Tod, he is either an actual entity who governs over life and death, or the product of one’s imagination.
3.2. Predatory lover?
Der Tod’s existence and his pursuit of Elisabeth’s ‘love’ is the main factor that plays in saying “‘Elisabeth’ romanticises mental illness”. But depending on how the performers of Elisabeth and Der Tod interpret these roles, the story either becomes:
a toxic romance that is self-aware of its toxicity,
or like how Furukawa Yuta and Manaki Reika in 2019 managed, into a heroic tale of preserverence and a battle of wits.
Most importantly, in (most) non-Takarazuka versions, after Elisabeth dies, she is not there anymore to ‘reciprocate’ Der Tod’s feelings. She is just gone. Only in the Takarazuka version (I believe) does she enter the Underworld and actively becomes Der Tod’s lover.
So outside Takarazuka’s version, Der Tod is never rewarded with ‘a lover’; he simply gets his prey as a predator. Whether this ‘predator’ is a lover however, is again up to interpretation. But otherwise, death getting a mortal is just a very natural phenomenon, not victory as Furukawa puts it.
4. Conclusion
In conclusion, yes, ‘Elisabeth das Musical’ does have many elements that may qualify it as ‘a romanticisation of mental illness’, but ultimately I think it is not just that simple.
We must consider what the message is that the musical sends, and it is NOT: “because Elisabeth/Rudolf are mentally ill, they embark on an epic journey.” If anything, the musical makes very clear that the mental illnesses of Elisabeth and her son are the main culprit that MAKES them miserable, and that Der Tod is the personification thereof, hence his predatory nature. In ‘Elisabeth’, mental illness ‘preys’ on its victims.
The romanticisation mostly (though not solely) comes from the consumers, because we are conditioned to read stories like ‘Elisabeth’ as a romance.
We see a man (???) claiming to love a woman, and he chases her and won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. He goes through extreme means to impress her, and the story even comes with a ‘love rival’ (Franz).
We see a woman ‘yearning’ for something, and that something can only be given by Der Tod, and finally she does find peace when she is with him.
But, we must pay attention to what Elisabeth says when she is dead. It is not: “I’ve been looking for true love, and now I found it,” or “I wanted freedom, and you’ve been kindly offering it to me, but I was too foolish to accept earlier.” No, the very last thing she sings is:
“I have cried, laughed, been disheartened and I have prayed. There had been days where I tasted defeat in my senseless battle.Regardless, I have entrusted my life to myself alone!”
“Winning Elisabeth’s love” is the term Der Tod set without Elisabeth having any say in it. The term she set for herself is staying true to herself and not giving up; which she NEVER did. As such, THAT ⇈ was Elisabeth claiming victory of always having stayed true to herself, and it has NOTHING to do with Der Tod. She does not need Der Tod, she simply needed freedom.
i was reeeaally waiting to post this so i could bundle it with more elisabeth sketches, but i haven’t drawn for a few days sooo… OH WELLL
help, not the skull jacket in its full glory 😭
— The original Heinrich concept art (cr. Theatermuseum, Vienna)
i love you awful quality elisabeth 1992 backstage photos
Marjan Shaki, my beloved as Helene von Wittelsbach
Marjan only played in Elisabeth's Japan tour in Osaka (March to May 2007)
• 𝐋𝐄𝐄 𝐉𝐈 𝐇𝐘𝐄 (이지혜) 𝐚𝐬 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐄𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐡
• 𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐀𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐇 𝐃𝐀𝐒 𝐌𝐔𝐒𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐋 — 𝟏𝟎𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐧 𝐊𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐚 (𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟐)
wake up babe, 3 generations of der tod just dropped a selfie 💖
levay b'day con
Without context, what do you think is happening here 👀
Halb sieben Uhr abends, in der Augustinerkirche. Merkwürdige Zeit für eine Trauung, aber passend, An diesem 24. April 1854. Sehr passend, porca miseria!
April 24, 1854
On this day 171 years ago: 16 year old Elisabeth married Emperor Franz Joseph in the Augustinian Church in Vienna.
Elisabeth das Musical, 3rd Dutch Revival (Netherlands)
— Costumes by Arno Bremers
Okay the Wedding Dress, SERVED
Danique Dusée as Young Elisabeth (Elisabeth de Musical)
𝓜𝓲𝓳𝓷 𝓛𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓷 𝓘𝓼 𝓥𝓪𝓷 𝓜𝓲𝓳 ⋆⁺₊⋆ ✶ ⋆⁺₊⋆
— 𝑬𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒂𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒉 𝒅𝒆 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍, 𝑫𝒖𝒕𝒄𝒉 𝑹𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒗𝒂𝒍 (2025)
Elisabeth De Musical, Netherlands Premiere
📍Schouwburg Het Park (14.03.2025)
Pia Douwes as Empress Elisabeth
Danique Dusée as Young Elisabeth / Jonge Elisabeth
Milan van Waardenburg as Der Tod / De Dood
Ann Van den Broeck as Archduchess Sophie
William Spaaij as Lucheni
Ronald Jorritsma as Rudolf
Guido Gottenbos as Franz Joseph
Sjoerd Oomen as Maximilian of Bavaria
Idk how many people on Tumblr have heard the goddess Ock Joo-Hyun's cover of Der Letzte Tanz, so sharing the audio here 😌
She also performed the sapphic version of WITW in the same concert btw 💃🏻
Possible Russian Production of Elisabeth, I Mourn You 🪦
Ik the photos are giving 'graphic design is my passion', but it was merely for a concert promo 🫂
RIP Russian Production of Elisabeth, you would've been way too powerful if you existed 🙏🏻
The photos are from the Hits of Broadway concert where certain Elisabeth songs were performed, many of which can be found on YT. We're not getting an official Russian Production anytime soon.
Things that have a very bleak possibility of happening, but I would go feral if they did 🫂
Serkan Kaya decides it's high time and becomes a regular on German stage, also reprises his role as Lucheni 🥲
A Russian Production of Elisabeth with Kirill & Vera, and Rostislav & Elena Gazaeva 🥲
A proper Musical Movie Adaptation of Elisabeth (in German) with the budget of Netflix's Die Kaiserin 🥲
We go back to the roots, bring back Original or 1st Vienna Revival staging & costumes with current Elisabeth cast 🥲
Michael Kunze admits he regrets the current changes, in conclusion GAY is back, so is Schwarzer Prinz 🥲
Hana Ranno and Yoshio Inoue, Elisabeth Toho 2016 (私が踊る時)
Stage Adaptations about Empress Elisabeth that's not Elisabeth das Musical (Part 2)
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Sissi – Das Musical
Sissi Das Musical (Also called Sissi – Liebe, Macht und Leidenschaft) is a German musical composed by George Amadé (music) and Jean Müller (book/lyrics). It premiered in Nanjing, China in 2008 followed by the European premiere in April 2012.
Fun Fact: It was commissioned by the Chinese government, reflecting the country's enduring fascination with the empress.
According to reviews, much like the Romy Schneider films, it lacks depth and is weighed down by excessive kitsch.
Stage Adaptations about Empress Elisabeth that's not Elisabeth das Musical (Part 1)
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Sisi – The Soul of an Empress
© State Opera Stara Zagora (Bulgaria)
Watch Trailer
This is not Elisabeth das Musical, it's an opera-musical by Austrian composer Roland Baumgartner also based on Sissi's life.
The musical premiered in Mörbisch in 1991 and is one of the first modern musicals about Empress Elisabeth of Austria.
Pia Douwes for her book Augen.Blicke aus dem Barock (Eyes. Views from the Baroque)
Photographed by Simone Leonhartsberger (HD enhanced)