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Post by playnerd94 on Jun 30, 2011 1:00:59 GMT -5
Hello, all!  I'm looking to broaden my musical theater collection beyond American and British shows (no offense  ). Especially when it comes to German musicals, I feel like I'm missing out on some excellent shows. Obviously, though, I'm limited in the fact that I only will understand an English language recording. So what I'm looking for are foreign, especially German, musicals that have good English recordings. Any suggestions? Thanks!! |
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Post by Cia on Jun 30, 2011 6:35:55 GMT -5
So what I'm looking for are foreign, especially German, musicals that have good English recordings. I actually can't think of any, except the unofficial English demo of Rebecca that circulates around in Internet. There simply are no English recordings of German musicals, but I'd recommend the German cast recordings because I think you can still enjoy the music and find out more about the story from elsewhere even if you don't understand the lyrics. I know that many people aren't used to it, but there are so many good musicals outside the English-speaking area that it'd be a pity if they're not found because of language barriers. Stacy has a good synopsis of many European musicals. My European favourites are Tanz der Vampire (the 1998 recording, the newer's sound quality sucks), Elisabeth, Mozart! and Marie Antoinette. There's also a good Hungarian musical called Drakula, and a Dutch one about The 3 Musketeers (De 3 Musketiers / Die 3 Musketiere in German) by Rob and Ferdi Bolland. If you want to know more about French musicals, I'm not the expert here, but I like the Hungarian production of Gerard Presgurvic's Romeo&Juliette. You can find clips of the official DVD on YouTube if you search for Rómeó és Júlia. |
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Post by Fantasma da Opera on Jun 30, 2011 7:52:23 GMT -5
Yes. Though I think the best German-language musical CD you can get is Rebecca.
Not because I think it's the best German-language show (I do) but because the plot is very similar to the Hitchthingy film and a simple looking at the tracks list can easily guide you through it. (you can use the English demo you can find on YouTube as a guide though if I were you I wouldn't do it).
My second choice would be Tanz der Vampire. The plot isn't as similar to the movie but still enough for you to follow it. And since there was a Broadway production (even though it had little to do with the german version) you can find more information in english about it.
If you choose this one, yes, get the 1998 CD. The new one is pretty bad and only worth for collection purposes.
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Post by playnerd94 on Jun 30, 2011 10:36:28 GMT -5
Thanks for the feedback. I'm listening to Tanz der Vampire (1998 Vienna recording) right now!! I like the music a lot, though I can't understand a word (the Wikipedia synopsis does help a lot though ) and part of "Gott ist Tot" sounded a whole lot like Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." I also have Rebecca (2006 Vienna cast, would that be a good recording to listen to?) and Elisabeth (1992 Vienna cast) to listen to when I'm done with Tanz der Vampire. Once I'm done with those three I can start looking into your other fantastic recommendations. Thanks again! |
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Post by Fantasma da Opera on Jun 30, 2011 16:52:44 GMT -5
LOL it sounds like Total Eclipse of the Heart and "Totale Finsternis" IS Total Eclipse of the Heart. Jim Steinman used the song in the show. Yes the Vienna Recording of Rebecca is THE best. Specially the Complete one (Edit: Forgot about Elisabeth. It's a nice show but if you don't know what's going on it will be a pretty weird one to just listen to. If you want to try Elisabeth I suggest you to check out the DVD instead (the main Cast is far from great but it's what's available. And I'm sure you can find a subtitled version on YouTube ) |
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Post by IchBinRory on Jun 30, 2011 17:25:17 GMT -5
I also have Rebecca (2006 Vienna cast, would that be a good recording to listen to?) and Elisabeth (1992 Vienna cast) to listen to when I'm done with Tanz der Vampire. Once I'm done with those three I can start looking into your other fantastic recommendations. Thanks again! My advice would be to start with the Essen Cast recording of Elisabeth or the 2005 Vienna Cast. The 1992 version is somewhat outdated, it's missing alot of songs or has been rewritten in some parts. If you want start with one of the aforementioned and then go back and listen to Elisabeth it would probably make you see the difference. Cause it's changed dramatically over the years. |
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Post by Nene on Jun 30, 2011 19:32:48 GMT -5
A recording that I love is the Szboda's(?) Dracula. Its a Czech musical. There's also a Russian musical called Nord Ost, that I enjoy.
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Post by playnerd94 on Jul 1, 2011 11:00:40 GMT -5
LOL it sounds like Total Eclipse of the Heart and "Totale Finsternis" IS Total Eclipse of the Heart. Jim Steinman used the song in the show. Haha yes, I found that out once the melody came up again and I decided to find out just why it was in there I've listened to Tanz der Vampire a couple times through now, and I like it a lot! With the help of the English synopsis, it wasn't that difficult to follow at all. I'm glad you guys talked me into just listening to the original language recordings. I can see why that musical's as popular as it is, the music is very very good! And I also think the German language is very pleasant to listen to, more so that English sometimes haha. Thanks for the further suggestions on Elisabeth! I'll try to get my hands on those newer recordings in addition to the original one I got earlier. And a little YouTube couldn't hurt. I never thought educating oneself in foreign musicals could be such a large undertaking, but it's certainly paying off, so I don't mind the time it takes at all. Thanks again for the suggestions! I'll do my best to listen to all the musicals mentioned (Edit: And I just started listening to Rebecca now  |
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Post by playnerd94 on Jul 8, 2011 21:58:34 GMT -5
Update on my progress: I have listened to Elisabeth (2001 Essen), Rebecca (2006 Vienna), and Tanz der Vampire (1998 Vienna). I've been listening to Elisabeth pretty much non-stop. I love it! I like Rebecca a lot as well. I haven't listened to Tanz der Vampire a lot, but I like well enough based on the few times I've listened to it.
I think next I'll try to get my hands on a recording of De 3 Musketiers. Then I'll do my best to get to as many others as I can.
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). Especially when it comes to German musicals, I feel like I'm missing out on some excellent shows. Obviously, though, I'm limited in the fact that I only will understand an English language recording. So what I'm looking for are foreign, especially German, musicals that have good English recordings. Any suggestions? Thanks!!
