Austrian musical 'Elisabeth' puts reality to Sissi
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, November 17, 2014
The Austrian musical "Elisabeth," featuring the legendary empress, will be staged in Shanghai at the end of the year, with an actress from Bavaria playing the lead role of Sissi.
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The Austrian musical "Elisabeth," portraying the legendary empress, is heading to Shanghai in December. [Photo/Shanghai Daily] |
The musical, sponsored by Chlitina Group, will be presented at Shanghai Culture Square from December 9 to January 11. Touring through 11 countries and with seven language versions in the last 22 years, "Elisabeth" is one of the most popular musicals in Europe and is credited as the most successful German-language musical.
Though based on the true story of the famous Austrian empress, the musical portrays a very different Sissi from the well-known sweet and beautiful girl from the 1955 Austrian movie, "Sissi."
Enlightened by the biography "Elisabeth — Kaiser in Wider Willen," Michael Kunze tried to picture the real Elisabeth with strong self-awareness suffering in her troublesome life.
She had a meddling mother-in-law, suffered ill health and her only son died. She wished for death as the easy way out, but she lived until 1898 and reigned for 44 years.
"You will know more about the real Elisabeth, living with the pains of being true to herself and the love for her husband and children," says 33-year-old Roberta Valentini, who plays Elisabeth for the musical in Shanghai.
Valentini will be the fifth Elisabeth for the musical since its birth, but she is the first from Bavaria, the home state of Elisabeth.
"Everybody in my hometown knows about Sissi from childhood," says Valentini. "We saw the movie and learned about her at school. She was like a heroine to us as she fought to be true to herself when everybody else wanted her to fit in the roles she was not."
Being selected for the B cast for Elisabeth in 2006 was like a dream for Valentini, and she wished to do the part again when she became more mature, both in life and on stage. Her dream came true this year in Shanghai, and she is now more confident about creating a better Sissi on stage.
"I can understand the pain of Sissi better now when I look back to my life," says Valentini. "Everybody is going through a phase when they don't know what to do or lose their power. Maybe she just suffered more because she was the empress and needed to fit into something that we don't have to."
However, it will still be quite challenging for Valentini to cast Sissi from 16 to 60 years old.
"I can feel like a 16-year girl, but I have to ask my grandma to tell me about her story to feel like 60. I will try my best," says Valentini.
Regardless of the rich experience singing in German, French and English, Valentini believes that she can best express the character in her mother tongue. She has been training to sing and dance with a corset, heavy dress and wigs.
Date: December 9-January 11, 7:30pm
Venue: Shanghai Culture Square, 597 Fuxing Rd M.
Tickets: 80-1,180 yuan
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