Post by safira on Oct 17, 2010 16:00:19 GMT -5
Dans der Vampieren - Stadshouwburg Antwerpen
Friday 15.10.2010, 8pm
The Stadshouwburg is a huge building with a large square, partly under a white roof, in front of it. The size is quite shocking at first, the look of the house is less beautiful. It´s a former modern architecture in light brown with straight lines - a bit like made by children´s building bricks.
Inside it was more beautiful. A lot of red decoration and red clothes of the stuff. Some stuff members were even dressed up like beautiful vampires. Everybody was very friendly and helpful (and spoke in English with me whenever neceessary). The lady at the souveniers stand also told me there´d be an autograph hour after the show with the actresses of Rebecca and Sarah. Later I found the small board nearby announcing it, too. About 20 minutes after the show both ladies appeared and signed program books and CDs. The whole atmosphere in the Foyer was always very friendly and relaxed.
Unfortunately there´s nothing showing the cast of the evening. A speaker announced two names before the show began, which of course I mostly didn´t understand - also thanks to some squeaking fans. In the break I asked the souveniers seller about the cast and she said 2nd cast Alfred was on and maybe also 2nd cast Koukol. Well, I´ve heard two names in the announcement, so it should have been these two then. Anyway, there are enough monitors in the Foyer showing advertisements. It shouldn´t be too difficult to add the cast of the evening!?
The program´s a bit expensive with 10€. It has some nice pictures, the usual stories about vampires, all the stuff members, but still it´s a bit thin. The layout and size looks like the German version was more than an example.
15 minutes before the performance should have begun Graf von Krolock said the doors are openend and we should take our seats. He also said when the break (of 25 minutes) was nearly over. It would have been good that way, but the theatre doesn´t seem to trust him. After von Krolock has finished a female voice explained just what the count has said. Oh well...
Von Krolock also speaks the usual text about taking no photos and so on. And at the end he says something like: And remember: You came here by your free choice! ;D
The view was very good, even from row 24 with a head direct in front of me, because the auditorium is very steep. I could see everything. Just the distance might be a problem. I could not recognize much of the actors´ mimikry. So I can recommend the good view in this house but if you ever go there don´t sit far behind (ther are several rows left until the end and there you can´t see details anymore). And if you want to go there don´t be taller than 1,70m or sit next to the stairs! The distance between the rows are very small. I had several problems where to put my knees. It didn´t work without touching the seat in front of me. The person behind me had the same problem, which sometimes made me feel like sitting on a rocking chair.
But until the show began it was already 15 minutes past 8, so the show began a quarter of an hour too late. And what happened in the next 45 minutes in the auditorium was terribly annoying! Of course some people were still too late, arrived while "Knoblauch" and were brought to their seats. The stuff even had torches with them to find the right row. While "Gott ist tot" a whole group came in, and..., and... I didn´t count how often people came too late. The last ones I recognized entered the auditorium while "Tot zu sein ist komisch"! I guess there´ve been about 20 people coming too late! And again you saw the torches and again people in front of you had to stand up!
Annoying!
The set and costumes look like the ones in Budapest. What a surprise as they´re from the same designer. The first and last to see was a dark blue screen with the famous white teeth in the middle. Also the order of the scenes is the same, including the classical ending without the count appearing again like in Vienna. "Für Sarah" is also placed after the nightmare.
In this version I´d like to know what happens to the count and Koukol, as the castle doesn´t break together and you don´t see Koukol running behing the three humans. Positive compared to the German version are the projections of the castle when Abronsius and Alfred reach it. It´s still in the back when they finally see it and decide to go there. In the German version the castle was already so tall that both men seemed to stand in the walls. And while the ouverture we seem to fly above snowy mountains - with no castle to see. It appeares at the end of this act for the first time. I like this because it makes it more realistic that Abronsius needs to ask for it.
I just wonder whether the creatures of the night at "Carpe noctem" wore masks. The faces looked pretty much the same and I couldn´t see any mimikry in them. But because of the distance I´m not sure. At least the vampires in front of the castle had the normal make up in the faces. And when the creatures left the stage the curtain on the right behind the bed was left down too late. Koukol was already entering the scene when it suddenly fell down.
Besides the "roof count" they also must have doubles for Alfred and Herbert. When they follow Chagal to the castle you can see them running across the stage and a few moments later both came the way down through the audtitorium followed by the vampires. That was too fast for the same actors.
The ways through the auditorium are used in the typical scenes. The count comes down on the right side, the vamppires of both sides, Alfred and Abronsius at the left side, after "Ewigkeit" the vampires go up both ways, Sara runs away at the right side, Koukol first goes the left way down to get the candles, later he brings the shoes over the right side, Chagal just uses the first steps and leaves through another door after the first rows. He just stands there for a moment shouting "Sarah" and he´s gone. A bit short this scene. Just Alfred runs through the middle Parquett when fleeing from Herbert.
In contrast to the German version Magda´s bed is on the left side and Rebecca´s and Chagal´s bed on the right side. Chagal sleeps on the left side, next to the stairs. That´s why Rebecca has to walk around the bed when Chagal finally lays down there.
And the house has no way off at the second floor. That means Alfred and Abronsius have to hide behind a column throughout "Tot zu sein ist komisch" until they can come down again. Sometimes you could see the shadow of a jacket at the wall of the house. And Magda waits in a corner in "her" room until she sings her solo. I guess the German colleagies have it more comfortable being able to leave the scene.
What I´ve never seen before is that there are figures of the count and his son in the coffins! And poor Alfred has to climb up just at the face of the sleeping count! Anyway: good idea!
I still wonder whether one piece of wood was on the floor throughout "Wahrheit". Chagal took it into his hands and let it fall onto the floor when the professor sang so high. I don´t know whether they always to so as I don´t remember any moment when it could have fallen off the piece Chagal was cutting. I just missed the wood breaking through as it´s somehow funnier than Chagal just disturbing Abronsius.
The Cast:
Graf von Krolock: Hans Peter Janssens
He has got a great voice for this character but somehow I´m not that happy with him. He´s a bit stiff in his acting. While "Gott ist tot" I didn´t recognize much acting besides the moves with the cape. His attempts to bite Sarah while "Totale Finsternis" were quite cautious. Therefore I could clearly see when he put the teeth into his mouth. I wish I could see him again when he´d have acted von Krolock some weeks longer. He seemed to work with the basics of the character and there´s much potential left. I liked his "Unstillbare Gier"! It was sung well and the acting was more intense. I wish the other scenes were like this, too. Especially at the "Einladung zum Ball" he was too distanced and cautious to me. For the little time he´s been acting this role it was fine but there´s potential for more!
Sarah: Anne van Opstal
She was a Sarah I really liked! Beautiful voice, good acting and moving. Great! While "Draußen ist Freiheit" she acted more impressing than poor Alfred who really looked helpless in that situation. I could believe every side of her, the one playing with Alfred just lioke the one being interested in him and also the longing for the count´s promises. A great talent, especially as she just finished musical school! I didn´t see anything that made me think of a newcomer!
Alfred: Leendert de Vis
A nicely shy Alfred. I don´t know how often Leendert had the chance to act Alfred as an understudy but he did his job good. Ok, with Sarah he sometimes really looked helpless but his acting with Abronsius and Herbert was fine. So was his singing. His solo could have been a bit more emotional but it was good. I guess he can do a lot more if he has the time to go on developing his Alfred.
Professor Abronsius: Sébastien de Smet
He´s the one I had to get used to and it took me the whole first act to do so! he´s a very tall and thin professor - and a very agile one. He moves too fast for my opinion, especially at "Wahrheit" he nearly ran across the stage. He always walked with deep bended knees and the feet turned away from him. It reminded me a bit of Charlie Chaplin. But with his speed and size it looked quite stupid especially when he began to dance and turn around while "Wahrheit". In the second act I liked him better. Especially when leaving the tomb he was good. He shouted so much and so fast at Alfred that it sounded like a bleating goat. By the way: he´s the first professor I saw sleeping while sitting upright. His heart attack was two long and high "Ouuhhhh"s, making the whole character look like a comic figure. In fact his whole performance was very comic like and made me miss some seriousness in it.
Chagal: Frank Hoelen
His Chagal was nice. He was one of the actors knowing what to do on stage inclusive some little jokes. When Abronsius opened the window at the back of Chagal´s house to asl for the "Aaaahhh". Chagal openend the window next to him, turning to Abronsius but so close that both noses nearly touched. His face when moving back into the window was just beautiful. ;D When he stopped Abronsius´ singing while "Wahrheit" he looked and laughed nasty! His whole acting was full of these little aspects - just great!
Magda: Goele de Raedt
What a powerful voice. Her acting was strong, too. Her condescending way to say "Gesichtskontrolle" was fantastic. ;D I don´t know what to say about her, I just liked her in this role.
And a hint to everyone planning to buy the CD: It was recorded live (but without the applause except once), so the songs end unusual for a Highlight CD. "Tot zu sein ist komisch" ends with Magda screaming! A good way to shock the neighbours!
Herbert: Michaël Zanders
I didn´t imagine to say so one day, but I really missed some gay behaviour! You could notice his Herbert is gay when he hovered to Alfred in front of the castle. But altogether he was quite well-behaved. The best moment was his double "Phty" when he failed biting Alfred! At the ball he stood around quite bored. It took him a while until he clapped his hands for the dance to begin as if he had to wake up first. While "Wenn Liebe in dir ist“ he nearly squeaked "Poesie!" when looking at Alfred´s book.
Rebecca: Lulu Aertgeerts
The order of the beds and sleeping positions gives her many chances to play with Chagal and the salami. She really fights Chagal into his bed. ;D Then she goes around the bed to her side always watching Chagal with the salami threatening in her hand. So she uses this scene very well! That´s what she does whith all her scenes. Her acting is just great. When taking the stick off Abronsius before it lands in Chagal´s heart her voice could sound more angry. But that´s the only aspect I didn´t like that much.
Koukol: Eddy Klein
The next one I had to get used to. Well, just to the way he walked. It was more an agile hopping down the stairs than moving like a hunchback. Quite fast this guy. He hardly spoke, the only, well, word was the attempt to say candles. Besides he just said "argh" and similar sounds. I loved the way he pushed the wooden coffin onto the stage: first his arms pushed it forwards, then he went the few steps to the coffin, then his arms pushed again and he walked on... Always accompanied with "ough"s while pushing and finally falling exhausted onto the coffin. So besides the way he walked he did his job very well, especially for an understudy who won´t have much chances to act Koukol I guess.
Dance Solo: Gwen Hamerlijnck, Zoltán Fekete, Adam Solya, Tibor Nagy
Yes, there are several Hungarian dancers in the cast and they do their job very well. So did the Belgian dancers, too. I liked watching the black vampire (Adam). At least a vampire again with naked upper body. ;D A good looking one, I must say. Besides it was interesting to see a white and a black vampire with about the same height. Unusual but ok.
Song Solo: Gerben Grimmius (and the program doesn´t say who´s the second one)
Dance Ensemble/ Song Ensemble: no idea, who was on stage that evening
The sound was mostly good, but sometimes the orchestra was too loud. While "Gebet" the ensemble was so loud that Sarah was hardly to hear. When the orchestra was too loud it was often the percussion being too good to hear! Anyway, it seems the Belgians love percussion. Nearly every action was underlayed with percussion, no matter if someone closed a door, hit someone else or if Koukol hit the coffin.... A bit less percussion and a bit more real acting would have done, too. At least the timing worked in nearly every situation, just two times the percussion was too early.
Dans der Vampieren - The CD
As I´ve already mentioned the CD was recorded while a performance but without the applause. Except after "Die roten Stiefel" you can hear some applause before the "Gebet" begins. The sound´s very clear, a studio version couldn´t be better.
And I´ve already mentioned that the songs sometimes end - or begin -unusual for a Highlights CD. "Wenn Liebe in dir ist" begins with Abronsius saying "Man beginnt bei Aristoteles...". "Tot zu sein ist komisch" ends with a screaming Magda. "Knoblauch" and "Nie gesehn" were shortened and are now about as long as on the old Vienna Highlighs CD, but it´s difficult to hear where they made the cut. It´s a technically well produced CD.
The back of the CD cover says there are 16 songs. In fact there are 16 tracks but more songs. Amazingly they wrote the German titles in brackets behind the Flemish ones, with the manes of the singing actors added under it.
So here´s the tracklist with my comments which songs aren´t mentioned:
1. Ouverture (Ouvertüre)
2. Knoflook (Knoblauch)
3. Een mooie dochter is een zegen (Eine schöne Tochter ist ein Segen)
4. Een meisje dat zo stralend lacht (Nie geseh´n)
5. Wees voorbereid (Gott ist tot)
6. Alles (Alles ist hell / Wahrheit) -> yes, both songs!
7. Buiten heerst vrijheid (Draußen ist Freiheit) -> actually it´s the whole scene with „Draußen ist Freiheit“, „Die roten Stiefel“ and „Gebet“, so 3 songs to hear
8. Dood zijn is ironisch (Tot zu sein ist komisch)
9. Finale 1 (Vor dem Schloss - Finale erster Akt) -> just the count singing the last lines from „Sink mit mir ins Meer der Zeit
10. Totale Duisternis (Totale Finsternis)
11. Voor Sarah (Für Sarah)
12. Als liefde je hart heeft (Wenn Liebe in dir ist)
13. Eeuwigheit (Ewigkeit)
14. Ontembare Begeerte (Die unstillbare Gier)
15. Danszaal (Tanzsaal) -> until the dance would begin
16. Finale Dans der Vampieren (Finale zweiter Akt - Der Tanz der Vampire)
I like it!
Friday 15.10.2010, 8pm
The Stadshouwburg is a huge building with a large square, partly under a white roof, in front of it. The size is quite shocking at first, the look of the house is less beautiful. It´s a former modern architecture in light brown with straight lines - a bit like made by children´s building bricks.
Inside it was more beautiful. A lot of red decoration and red clothes of the stuff. Some stuff members were even dressed up like beautiful vampires. Everybody was very friendly and helpful (and spoke in English with me whenever neceessary). The lady at the souveniers stand also told me there´d be an autograph hour after the show with the actresses of Rebecca and Sarah. Later I found the small board nearby announcing it, too. About 20 minutes after the show both ladies appeared and signed program books and CDs. The whole atmosphere in the Foyer was always very friendly and relaxed.
Unfortunately there´s nothing showing the cast of the evening. A speaker announced two names before the show began, which of course I mostly didn´t understand - also thanks to some squeaking fans. In the break I asked the souveniers seller about the cast and she said 2nd cast Alfred was on and maybe also 2nd cast Koukol. Well, I´ve heard two names in the announcement, so it should have been these two then. Anyway, there are enough monitors in the Foyer showing advertisements. It shouldn´t be too difficult to add the cast of the evening!?
The program´s a bit expensive with 10€. It has some nice pictures, the usual stories about vampires, all the stuff members, but still it´s a bit thin. The layout and size looks like the German version was more than an example.
15 minutes before the performance should have begun Graf von Krolock said the doors are openend and we should take our seats. He also said when the break (of 25 minutes) was nearly over. It would have been good that way, but the theatre doesn´t seem to trust him. After von Krolock has finished a female voice explained just what the count has said. Oh well...
Von Krolock also speaks the usual text about taking no photos and so on. And at the end he says something like: And remember: You came here by your free choice! ;D
The view was very good, even from row 24 with a head direct in front of me, because the auditorium is very steep. I could see everything. Just the distance might be a problem. I could not recognize much of the actors´ mimikry. So I can recommend the good view in this house but if you ever go there don´t sit far behind (ther are several rows left until the end and there you can´t see details anymore). And if you want to go there don´t be taller than 1,70m or sit next to the stairs! The distance between the rows are very small. I had several problems where to put my knees. It didn´t work without touching the seat in front of me. The person behind me had the same problem, which sometimes made me feel like sitting on a rocking chair.
But until the show began it was already 15 minutes past 8, so the show began a quarter of an hour too late. And what happened in the next 45 minutes in the auditorium was terribly annoying! Of course some people were still too late, arrived while "Knoblauch" and were brought to their seats. The stuff even had torches with them to find the right row. While "Gott ist tot" a whole group came in, and..., and... I didn´t count how often people came too late. The last ones I recognized entered the auditorium while "Tot zu sein ist komisch"! I guess there´ve been about 20 people coming too late! And again you saw the torches and again people in front of you had to stand up!
Annoying! The set and costumes look like the ones in Budapest. What a surprise as they´re from the same designer.
The first and last to see was a dark blue screen with the famous white teeth in the middle. Also the order of the scenes is the same, including the classical ending without the count appearing again like in Vienna. "Für Sarah" is also placed after the nightmare. In this version I´d like to know what happens to the count and Koukol, as the castle doesn´t break together and you don´t see Koukol running behing the three humans. Positive compared to the German version are the projections of the castle when Abronsius and Alfred reach it. It´s still in the back when they finally see it and decide to go there. In the German version the castle was already so tall that both men seemed to stand in the walls. And while the ouverture we seem to fly above snowy mountains - with no castle to see. It appeares at the end of this act for the first time. I like this because it makes it more realistic that Abronsius needs to ask for it.
I just wonder whether the creatures of the night at "Carpe noctem" wore masks. The faces looked pretty much the same and I couldn´t see any mimikry in them. But because of the distance I´m not sure. At least the vampires in front of the castle had the normal make up in the faces. And when the creatures left the stage the curtain on the right behind the bed was left down too late. Koukol was already entering the scene when it suddenly fell down.
Besides the "roof count" they also must have doubles for Alfred and Herbert. When they follow Chagal to the castle you can see them running across the stage and a few moments later both came the way down through the audtitorium followed by the vampires. That was too fast for the same actors.
The ways through the auditorium are used in the typical scenes. The count comes down on the right side, the vamppires of both sides, Alfred and Abronsius at the left side, after "Ewigkeit" the vampires go up both ways, Sara runs away at the right side, Koukol first goes the left way down to get the candles, later he brings the shoes over the right side, Chagal just uses the first steps and leaves through another door after the first rows. He just stands there for a moment shouting "Sarah" and he´s gone. A bit short this scene. Just Alfred runs through the middle Parquett when fleeing from Herbert.
In contrast to the German version Magda´s bed is on the left side and Rebecca´s and Chagal´s bed on the right side. Chagal sleeps on the left side, next to the stairs. That´s why Rebecca has to walk around the bed when Chagal finally lays down there.
And the house has no way off at the second floor. That means Alfred and Abronsius have to hide behind a column throughout "Tot zu sein ist komisch" until they can come down again. Sometimes you could see the shadow of a jacket at the wall of the house.
And Magda waits in a corner in "her" room until she sings her solo. I guess the German colleagies have it more comfortable being able to leave the scene. What I´ve never seen before is that there are figures of the count and his son in the coffins! And poor Alfred has to climb up just at the face of the sleeping count! Anyway: good idea!
I still wonder whether one piece of wood was on the floor throughout "Wahrheit". Chagal took it into his hands and let it fall onto the floor when the professor sang so high. I don´t know whether they always to so as I don´t remember any moment when it could have fallen off the piece Chagal was cutting. I just missed the wood breaking through as it´s somehow funnier than Chagal just disturbing Abronsius.
The Cast:
Graf von Krolock: Hans Peter Janssens
He has got a great voice for this character but somehow I´m not that happy with him. He´s a bit stiff in his acting. While "Gott ist tot" I didn´t recognize much acting besides the moves with the cape. His attempts to bite Sarah while "Totale Finsternis" were quite cautious. Therefore I could clearly see when he put the teeth into his mouth. I wish I could see him again when he´d have acted von Krolock some weeks longer. He seemed to work with the basics of the character and there´s much potential left. I liked his "Unstillbare Gier"! It was sung well and the acting was more intense. I wish the other scenes were like this, too. Especially at the "Einladung zum Ball" he was too distanced and cautious to me. For the little time he´s been acting this role it was fine but there´s potential for more!
Sarah: Anne van Opstal
She was a Sarah I really liked! Beautiful voice, good acting and moving. Great! While "Draußen ist Freiheit" she acted more impressing than poor Alfred who really looked helpless in that situation. I could believe every side of her, the one playing with Alfred just lioke the one being interested in him and also the longing for the count´s promises. A great talent, especially as she just finished musical school! I didn´t see anything that made me think of a newcomer!
Alfred: Leendert de Vis
A nicely shy Alfred. I don´t know how often Leendert had the chance to act Alfred as an understudy but he did his job good. Ok, with Sarah he sometimes really looked helpless but his acting with Abronsius and Herbert was fine. So was his singing. His solo could have been a bit more emotional but it was good. I guess he can do a lot more if he has the time to go on developing his Alfred.
Professor Abronsius: Sébastien de Smet
He´s the one I had to get used to and it took me the whole first act to do so! he´s a very tall and thin professor - and a very agile one. He moves too fast for my opinion, especially at "Wahrheit" he nearly ran across the stage. He always walked with deep bended knees and the feet turned away from him. It reminded me a bit of Charlie Chaplin. But with his speed and size it looked quite stupid especially when he began to dance and turn around while "Wahrheit". In the second act I liked him better. Especially when leaving the tomb he was good. He shouted so much and so fast at Alfred that it sounded like a bleating goat. By the way: he´s the first professor I saw sleeping while sitting upright. His heart attack was two long and high "Ouuhhhh"s, making the whole character look like a comic figure. In fact his whole performance was very comic like and made me miss some seriousness in it.
Chagal: Frank Hoelen
His Chagal was nice. He was one of the actors knowing what to do on stage inclusive some little jokes. When Abronsius opened the window at the back of Chagal´s house to asl for the "Aaaahhh". Chagal openend the window next to him, turning to Abronsius but so close that both noses nearly touched. His face when moving back into the window was just beautiful. ;D When he stopped Abronsius´ singing while "Wahrheit" he looked and laughed nasty! His whole acting was full of these little aspects - just great!
Magda: Goele de Raedt
What a powerful voice. Her acting was strong, too. Her condescending way to say "Gesichtskontrolle" was fantastic. ;D I don´t know what to say about her, I just liked her in this role.
And a hint to everyone planning to buy the CD: It was recorded live (but without the applause except once), so the songs end unusual for a Highlight CD. "Tot zu sein ist komisch" ends with Magda screaming! A good way to shock the neighbours!
Herbert: Michaël Zanders
I didn´t imagine to say so one day, but I really missed some gay behaviour! You could notice his Herbert is gay when he hovered to Alfred in front of the castle. But altogether he was quite well-behaved. The best moment was his double "Phty" when he failed biting Alfred! At the ball he stood around quite bored. It took him a while until he clapped his hands for the dance to begin as if he had to wake up first. While "Wenn Liebe in dir ist“ he nearly squeaked "Poesie!" when looking at Alfred´s book.
Rebecca: Lulu Aertgeerts
The order of the beds and sleeping positions gives her many chances to play with Chagal and the salami. She really fights Chagal into his bed. ;D Then she goes around the bed to her side always watching Chagal with the salami threatening in her hand. So she uses this scene very well! That´s what she does whith all her scenes. Her acting is just great. When taking the stick off Abronsius before it lands in Chagal´s heart her voice could sound more angry. But that´s the only aspect I didn´t like that much.
Koukol: Eddy Klein
The next one I had to get used to. Well, just to the way he walked. It was more an agile hopping down the stairs than moving like a hunchback. Quite fast this guy. He hardly spoke, the only, well, word was the attempt to say candles. Besides he just said "argh" and similar sounds. I loved the way he pushed the wooden coffin onto the stage: first his arms pushed it forwards, then he went the few steps to the coffin, then his arms pushed again and he walked on... Always accompanied with "ough"s while pushing and finally falling exhausted onto the coffin. So besides the way he walked he did his job very well, especially for an understudy who won´t have much chances to act Koukol I guess.
Dance Solo: Gwen Hamerlijnck, Zoltán Fekete, Adam Solya, Tibor Nagy
Yes, there are several Hungarian dancers in the cast and they do their job very well. So did the Belgian dancers, too. I liked watching the black vampire (Adam). At least a vampire again with naked upper body. ;D A good looking one, I must say.
Besides it was interesting to see a white and a black vampire with about the same height. Unusual but ok. Song Solo: Gerben Grimmius (and the program doesn´t say who´s the second one)
Dance Ensemble/ Song Ensemble: no idea, who was on stage that evening
The sound was mostly good, but sometimes the orchestra was too loud. While "Gebet" the ensemble was so loud that Sarah was hardly to hear. When the orchestra was too loud it was often the percussion being too good to hear! Anyway, it seems the Belgians love percussion. Nearly every action was underlayed with percussion, no matter if someone closed a door, hit someone else or if Koukol hit the coffin.... A bit less percussion and a bit more real acting would have done, too. At least the timing worked in nearly every situation, just two times the percussion was too early.
Dans der Vampieren - The CD
As I´ve already mentioned the CD was recorded while a performance but without the applause. Except after "Die roten Stiefel" you can hear some applause before the "Gebet" begins. The sound´s very clear, a studio version couldn´t be better.
And I´ve already mentioned that the songs sometimes end - or begin -unusual for a Highlights CD. "Wenn Liebe in dir ist" begins with Abronsius saying "Man beginnt bei Aristoteles...". "Tot zu sein ist komisch" ends with a screaming Magda. "Knoblauch" and "Nie gesehn" were shortened and are now about as long as on the old Vienna Highlighs CD, but it´s difficult to hear where they made the cut. It´s a technically well produced CD.
The back of the CD cover says there are 16 songs. In fact there are 16 tracks but more songs. Amazingly they wrote the German titles in brackets behind the Flemish ones, with the manes of the singing actors added under it.
So here´s the tracklist with my comments which songs aren´t mentioned:
1. Ouverture (Ouvertüre)
2. Knoflook (Knoblauch)
3. Een mooie dochter is een zegen (Eine schöne Tochter ist ein Segen)
4. Een meisje dat zo stralend lacht (Nie geseh´n)
5. Wees voorbereid (Gott ist tot)
6. Alles (Alles ist hell / Wahrheit) -> yes, both songs!
7. Buiten heerst vrijheid (Draußen ist Freiheit) -> actually it´s the whole scene with „Draußen ist Freiheit“, „Die roten Stiefel“ and „Gebet“, so 3 songs to hear
8. Dood zijn is ironisch (Tot zu sein ist komisch)
9. Finale 1 (Vor dem Schloss - Finale erster Akt) -> just the count singing the last lines from „Sink mit mir ins Meer der Zeit
10. Totale Duisternis (Totale Finsternis)
11. Voor Sarah (Für Sarah)
12. Als liefde je hart heeft (Wenn Liebe in dir ist)
13. Eeuwigheit (Ewigkeit)
14. Ontembare Begeerte (Die unstillbare Gier)
15. Danszaal (Tanzsaal) -> until the dance would begin
16. Finale Dans der Vampieren (Finale zweiter Akt - Der Tanz der Vampire)
I like it!
