Post by Nikki on Oct 27, 2009 15:58:20 GMT -5
I saw some performances earlier this month and wanted to share some thoughts on it. First off here are the cast lineups I saw
Janza Kata - Elisabeth
Földes Tamás - Luigi Lucheni
Szabó P. Szilveszter - Death
Bereczki Zoltán - Franz Joseph
Nádasi Veronika - Sophie
Dolhai Attila - Rudolf
Füredi Nikolett - Elisabeth
Mészáros Árpád Zsolt - Luigi Lucheni
Homonnay Zsolt - Death
Bálint Ádám - Franz Joseph
Nádasi Veronika - Sophie
Szabó Dávid - Rudolf
Vágó Bernadett - Elisabeth
Mészáros Árpád Zsolt - Luigi Lucheni
Homonnay Zsolt - Death
Bálint Ádám - Franz Joseph
Nádasi Veronika - Sophie
Szabó Dávid - Rudolf
I must start with some serious gushing about Zsolt as Death, the man pretty much blew me away and greatly exceeded my expectations!
It's funny to say this because I started out not much of a fan of his at all at all but now that's all changed. His 'Útvesztõ minden út' has to be the loveliest rendition I've seen, full stop! His singing was gorgeous and acting was beautifully emotional and made you really believe he loved her and was torn between giving in to his emotions of wanting to let her stay and making her go. Pushing her away looked like it was torture for him and when they touched hands it was more than he could bear it, was beautiful, and made me forget about Nikolett and believe me that takes a lot! I think he did it better than Szilveszter even, who dose a wonderful rendition. He was equally good In 'A végsõ tánc' especially in the beginning, Other performer's I've seen in the role always come on with the vibe of 'I've got a point to make and am gonna have some fun doing it' With Zsolt it was totally different, he was jealous hurt and angry, the way he looked and acted towards her actually was like a spurned lover, He made a point of not taking his eyes off of her when he bowed. He's definitely a more passionate and human Death than Sziszi is, almost like Máté but without the devilish power crazed side etc .His love for her is more obvious, and after the riding/dance scene when Elisabeth appears at the top/rear of the stage and he comes up next to her, instead of reaching for her he brushes his face up against her's longingly and looks as though he's going to kiss her before she walks away.
It seems like he dose need to get used to the role, there were a few insignificant things such as how uncomfortable to appeared on the makeshift human chair, he almost fell back when sitting up with Elisabeth in 'Útvesztõ minden út' etc but those are just small things and are quite understandable, they will certainly cease to be any issue as he goes on in the role anyway. In my opinion those who get to see him are in for a treat.
Szilveszter lacked some of the mesmerizing aura he had when I saw him in May but still was wonderful (although I think he's been bumped to 2nd favorite but that is still very good indeed!) His unearthly aloofness with bridled passion which he struggles with every time he is near her will always be evident
Földes Tamás is plain awesome as Lucheni. He plays the charismatic narrator well but also give him such a mad, vicious streak, and its more believable as the unstable assassin that Lucheni actually was. The funniest part though was when he decided to have a bit of fun with the skull when he comes onstage pre-Sophie's death. He walked out balancing it on his head, dropped it into his hands only to fumble with it a few moments later and ended up dropping it into the orchestra pit. He was on the floor by this time in his failed attempt to catch it and in true showman style he looked up at the crowd, grinned (half in character half out I think!) and carried on, he even did a few push up's for show before he got back up. It was hilarious and everyone was laughing and applauding him! Few people could live up to his standard but Arpi made a pretty good go of it. His Lucheni is very entertaining, energetic and yet appropriately has a screw loose there somewhere, he took me very much by surprise particularly as these were his first live performances (correct me if I'm wrong) and I think he will do very well in the role.
Zoltan is definitely my favorite Franz. One thing that stands out the most is his reaction after he deny's the pleading of the Hungarian mother. He's shaken up and uncomfortable with what he's just done and it takes him a good while to calm down, this wasn't so evident with Adam. Also his struggle between his own will and that of his mother and later on his love for Sisi and loyalty to Sophie is more evident. Both of them though surpass most or all FJ's from other productions.
I still favor Dávid out of the rudolf's, Attila was better than I remember though. Dávid makes him appear more weak and vulnerable which is closer to the truth but he looked lost and clueless during the scene with the Hungarian conspirators and being that Rudolf had such strong political idea's it was one scene where he could have been a little more self assured. It strikes me as so sad to see him fall apart so much during 'Bennem mint a tükörben' then try and pull himself together quickly when Elisabeth comes in
As for the Elisabeth's. Kata was the one I saw first and while I was charmed by her 'young goofy' Sisi back in May even though I'd gotten the vibe that she was just Kata being Kata instead of actually trying to be in character, this time it was even more obvious and it failed to find cute/funny in any way. I also found nothing in her 'older Sisi' to really move me. Still she was worth tolerating for the opportunity to see Szilvezster and Tamás. Berndett was even more delightful than I remember her, especially her 'Mint te' it was was adorable, she was so girlish and playful etc. She's good at being girlish anyway, she even out did Nikolett for for that scene who is my favorite Operettszínház performer and is a hard act to follow in my opinion, still she was wonderful throughout, I love how she expresses herself and acts though her voice in her own unique way especially in the angsty moments . Niki is not quite so girlish and dose better as Sisi from in her prime full of beauty and pride onwards. What makes her my favorite is that it feels like she's just letting the character completely take over and is bringing a historical authenticity to it. Everything her character goes through is so real, the fear and dread, the pain, determination and strengh. Every reaction/emotion is there and you feel for her throughout. Seeing her Elisabeth is like I'm being taken on a beautiful, emotional journey unlike any other.
Mint két gálya is one of my favorite song of the show and and the way an each of the actresses performs it gives weight as to why I like/dislike them as I do. Kata disappointingly projected nothing for me, it felt like she was just singing at a concert. Bernadett is compassionate and sympathetic giving the song a great deal of the emotion it deserves. Niki however is filled with a nostalgia,wistfulness and regret of all that never was or could be.
Janza Kata - Elisabeth
Földes Tamás - Luigi Lucheni
Szabó P. Szilveszter - Death
Bereczki Zoltán - Franz Joseph
Nádasi Veronika - Sophie
Dolhai Attila - Rudolf
Füredi Nikolett - Elisabeth
Mészáros Árpád Zsolt - Luigi Lucheni
Homonnay Zsolt - Death
Bálint Ádám - Franz Joseph
Nádasi Veronika - Sophie
Szabó Dávid - Rudolf
Vágó Bernadett - Elisabeth
Mészáros Árpád Zsolt - Luigi Lucheni
Homonnay Zsolt - Death
Bálint Ádám - Franz Joseph
Nádasi Veronika - Sophie
Szabó Dávid - Rudolf
I must start with some serious gushing about Zsolt as Death, the man pretty much blew me away and greatly exceeded my expectations!
It's funny to say this because I started out not much of a fan of his at all at all but now that's all changed. His 'Útvesztõ minden út' has to be the loveliest rendition I've seen, full stop! His singing was gorgeous and acting was beautifully emotional and made you really believe he loved her and was torn between giving in to his emotions of wanting to let her stay and making her go. Pushing her away looked like it was torture for him and when they touched hands it was more than he could bear it, was beautiful, and made me forget about Nikolett and believe me that takes a lot! I think he did it better than Szilveszter even, who dose a wonderful rendition. He was equally good In 'A végsõ tánc' especially in the beginning, Other performer's I've seen in the role always come on with the vibe of 'I've got a point to make and am gonna have some fun doing it' With Zsolt it was totally different, he was jealous hurt and angry, the way he looked and acted towards her actually was like a spurned lover, He made a point of not taking his eyes off of her when he bowed. He's definitely a more passionate and human Death than Sziszi is, almost like Máté but without the devilish power crazed side etc .His love for her is more obvious, and after the riding/dance scene when Elisabeth appears at the top/rear of the stage and he comes up next to her, instead of reaching for her he brushes his face up against her's longingly and looks as though he's going to kiss her before she walks away.
It seems like he dose need to get used to the role, there were a few insignificant things such as how uncomfortable to appeared on the makeshift human chair, he almost fell back when sitting up with Elisabeth in 'Útvesztõ minden út' etc but those are just small things and are quite understandable, they will certainly cease to be any issue as he goes on in the role anyway. In my opinion those who get to see him are in for a treat.
Szilveszter lacked some of the mesmerizing aura he had when I saw him in May but still was wonderful (although I think he's been bumped to 2nd favorite but that is still very good indeed!) His unearthly aloofness with bridled passion which he struggles with every time he is near her will always be evident
Földes Tamás is plain awesome as Lucheni. He plays the charismatic narrator well but also give him such a mad, vicious streak, and its more believable as the unstable assassin that Lucheni actually was. The funniest part though was when he decided to have a bit of fun with the skull when he comes onstage pre-Sophie's death. He walked out balancing it on his head, dropped it into his hands only to fumble with it a few moments later and ended up dropping it into the orchestra pit. He was on the floor by this time in his failed attempt to catch it and in true showman style he looked up at the crowd, grinned (half in character half out I think!) and carried on, he even did a few push up's for show before he got back up. It was hilarious and everyone was laughing and applauding him! Few people could live up to his standard but Arpi made a pretty good go of it. His Lucheni is very entertaining, energetic and yet appropriately has a screw loose there somewhere, he took me very much by surprise particularly as these were his first live performances (correct me if I'm wrong) and I think he will do very well in the role.
Zoltan is definitely my favorite Franz. One thing that stands out the most is his reaction after he deny's the pleading of the Hungarian mother. He's shaken up and uncomfortable with what he's just done and it takes him a good while to calm down, this wasn't so evident with Adam. Also his struggle between his own will and that of his mother and later on his love for Sisi and loyalty to Sophie is more evident. Both of them though surpass most or all FJ's from other productions.
I still favor Dávid out of the rudolf's, Attila was better than I remember though. Dávid makes him appear more weak and vulnerable which is closer to the truth but he looked lost and clueless during the scene with the Hungarian conspirators and being that Rudolf had such strong political idea's it was one scene where he could have been a little more self assured. It strikes me as so sad to see him fall apart so much during 'Bennem mint a tükörben' then try and pull himself together quickly when Elisabeth comes in
As for the Elisabeth's. Kata was the one I saw first and while I was charmed by her 'young goofy' Sisi back in May even though I'd gotten the vibe that she was just Kata being Kata instead of actually trying to be in character, this time it was even more obvious and it failed to find cute/funny in any way. I also found nothing in her 'older Sisi' to really move me. Still she was worth tolerating for the opportunity to see Szilvezster and Tamás. Berndett was even more delightful than I remember her, especially her 'Mint te' it was was adorable, she was so girlish and playful etc. She's good at being girlish anyway, she even out did Nikolett for for that scene who is my favorite Operettszínház performer and is a hard act to follow in my opinion, still she was wonderful throughout, I love how she expresses herself and acts though her voice in her own unique way especially in the angsty moments . Niki is not quite so girlish and dose better as Sisi from in her prime full of beauty and pride onwards. What makes her my favorite is that it feels like she's just letting the character completely take over and is bringing a historical authenticity to it. Everything her character goes through is so real, the fear and dread, the pain, determination and strengh. Every reaction/emotion is there and you feel for her throughout. Seeing her Elisabeth is like I'm being taken on a beautiful, emotional journey unlike any other.
Mint két gálya is one of my favorite song of the show and and the way an each of the actresses performs it gives weight as to why I like/dislike them as I do. Kata disappointingly projected nothing for me, it felt like she was just singing at a concert. Bernadett is compassionate and sympathetic giving the song a great deal of the emotion it deserves. Niki however is filled with a nostalgia,wistfulness and regret of all that never was or could be.
