Warning: A pretty long post. A lot of my review covers changes to the musical from Rotterdam that I'm not particularly pleased with, though all of them musical and as heard as on the CD.
It didn't take me long to fall in love with the Rotterdam production. At first, I thought the show was intentionally weird, and while I've come to understand and love the concept of it, I understand why the show failed to catch on with the casual crowd needed to sustain a big musical, even with the all-star cast. I still don't feel like "Alles" belongs in the show, however much I love the pop version of the song -- "Deze nacht" is the better fit. "Mannen" gives me the same type of problem, though to a lesser extent - I think Milady's feelings toward men could be better expressed, especially with a different staging. I don't speak Dutch to save my life, but I had some concerns about the lyrics - in any language, there's no excuse for the embarrassing clichés that passed for lyrics in place ("Will I ever be one of you?" "Yes, we speak the same language." *rolls eyes*) Yet, the musical on the whole is catchy and beautiful in the appropriate places, the dialogue witty and fast, and the concept both interesting and generally well-executed. The best success of the show, however, is the performances of the cast, which, I hope, will be looked back on with appreciation when the form of musical theatre evolves to a point where this type of show can be looked upon seriously.
When I heard that not only would Pia Douwes be repeating her performance as Milady de Winter but that Kristin Hölck would be joining her as Queen Anna, a role I grew to love thanks to Ellen Evers, and Mirjam Zipf would be the understudy Constance, I had a great feeling about this show. The recording of "Wer kann schon ohne Liebe sein" from the "Best of Musical Gala" CD was another good indicator for me, as the song sounded excellent in German (though I missed the depth of the lyric "ik ben een vrouw.") That I was excited for this production was an understatement. In retrospect, I don't know what I was hoping for in the reported changes to the show besides better lyrics and a few changes in staging.
I found out before I heard anything of the Berlin conception that the song "Liefde laat je nooit allen" had been cut from the show. The song and its theme played a large part in the Rotterdam production, especially in the relationship between d'Artagnan and Athos, and I knew from the start that it would be missed - there was just no way a 'better' song for the job could be had. Much as I did when I heard that "Quartet" had been cut from the London production of The Secret Garden, I steamed and let it go. After all, the London TSG gave us the incredible re-working of "I Heard Something Crying" - something good would come of the re-conception. As far as "Liefde..." is concerned, however, nothing good at all came. "Engel aus Kristall" is a horrible substitute. All of the wisdom and depth of Athos in Rotterdam is totally lost to a moment of rock-star aspiration that doesn't fit the character at all.
Making worse the situation, Athos' new-found rock sound seems to have come at the expense of d'Artagnan's youthful sound. "Heut is der Tag", which was the energized, pop-song "Nu", is lost to an aspiration to a 'legit' musical theatre sound that sounds like a bad rip off of "Greased Lightning." (Listen to the ensemble hold on to "taaaaaaaag" and try not to imagine them doing the "Greased Lightning" hand motion!) Patrick Stanke, who played the thoughtful Barrett in Hamburg's Titanic, sounds more like Harold Bride as d'Artagnan - awkward, shy, and... well, wimpy. While Bastiaan Ragas is an actor I would cast only in roles that fit his character, he was a great fit in this role - a perfectly thingyy young guy who doesn't know anything but thinks he knows everything, just the type to ride into Paris expecting to just become a musketeer and have a few adventures. I don't blame Patrick for what happened to his character at all - the re-orchestration of "Constance" into something that sounds like what a
bad figure skating routine would look like speaks for itself. In Rotterdam, it was punchy and had a rocky edge to it; on the Berlin recording, it's mellowed and dreamy. At the end of the recording, I don't think he's any more ready to be a musketeer than he was at the beginning. He's too childlike.
The orchestrations/musical changes are a huge problem for me overall in regards to this production/recording. I was beyond disappointed in "Wer kann schon ohne Liebe sein" as it ended up. Again, it sounds like the creative team was hoping to hit on the mainstream vein by giving a more traditional sound to the songs wherever they could. The subtle harmonies in the original arrangement have been expanded into a total mess that rids the song of depth below the surface. There's no bond between the women and their musings anymore, and it sounds to me like they've run into each other and decided to girl-gab about men for five loooooong minutes and then just leave. On a bit of a side rant, I don't know why they bother with Pia's high harmony at all, since it's lost under the heavy orchestrations backing up Sabrina on the melody. (To be honest, the entire CD seems to put a big emphasis on Sabrina's Constance, probably as a result of the pop-single and the hopes of driving up sales. The downside is that she's not so much Constance as she is Sabrina singing Constance's songs.) It sounds reduced and out of place as it is - they might as well just give her a break! I know many people prefer this song as it is now to the original, but I'm just not one of them.
The orchestrations are nowhere worse, though, than in Richelieu's songs. His role was probably the most over-the-top part of D3M to begin with; holding up the image of a hard-line cardinal against post-modern arrangements is a tall order. In hearing "Geloof me" for the first time, I completely expected upon watching the DVD to see Stanley Burleson hiking up his orange Post-It note outfit to show off some fancy footwork; instead, there were soldiers dancing with guns and cannons, while he was relatively dignified. In Berlin, I don't know what the staging is, and I have heard that Richelieu's songs come off much better on stage than on CD. As far as the CD is concerned, however, "Glaubt mir" sounds like someone got Richelieu and Judas from Jesus Christ Superstar confused. This isn't helped by Uwe Kröger, who rockets the role into the ridiculous caricature that Stanley Burleson resisted. The changes to Nicht aus Stein.... The 'haunting' chorus parts and church bells should have been left out as a total waste of time against the re-orchestration of the song that evokes the soundtrack to the Sega game Sonic the Hedgehog and the image of Carlton on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air doing his Tom Jones dance. (That's probably hard to imagine for someone who isn't familiar with those things... just think jerky, bad dancing and a cheesy video game song.) There's no internal torment, no conflict, no emotion, and, if there was, it's totally lost behind how ridiculous this song sounds. If I didn't know better, I'd think it was a parody. As I said before, Richelieu is the character most apt to become a caricature, and the creative team took the bait. I don't think anyone could keep the character in check given this part, but Uwe just goes above and beyond in making this character a total waste.
One place where the orchestrations are better is "Alles", which was more of a sore thumb in Rotterdam than it is here. Though I'm not a fan of the 'pop-improvisation' sound to the vocals, the song fits much better, with some of the synthesized sound heard elsewhere rather than just the piano. The preview of "Wo ist der Sommer" in the middle of "Milady ist zurück" is also brilliantly done - bravo to whoever thought of that.
A last picky thing I have to mention is the re-working of the score to raise the range for Milady and Anna. Though Ellen Evers has a beautiful and wide belt range, the charm of her performance was in the delivery of her songs, however simple they may have been. Kristin Hölck would easily have been capable of the same thing. Instead, she's given a song that leaves no interpretation but overwrought and desperate because of the higher vocal line. It didn't work when Marleen van der Loo tried something similar with the original in Rotterdam, either. In Milady's case, Pia's F# in "Männer" is thrilling for the note itself, but has no point. All it does for me is give reason why Kristin and Susanna have more or less shared the understudying responsibility, rather than Kristin always going on for Pia and Susanna being a true second cover. Anyone who knows the note is coming up in the audience must hold their breath hoping the actress will hit it - I would. The key of "Mannen" in Rotterdam gave the same effect, minus the need for crossed fingers at the end! With this *and* an added song that I wouldn't consider a walk in the park, and you've got a part that should have a dedicated alternate, rather than bumping up someone who has her own mountains to climb every performance.
In all, I think the heart of the show has been lost to glitz and hype in the re-conception. A show like Elisabeth has a lot of thrilling moments in the score that come from impressive vocals, innovative orchestrations, and an overall grandeur. However, that's never come at the price of ingenuity and the honesty of the piece, which is exactly what happened here. Rather than allowing the show to speak for itself, the creative team has stamped "this is a successful musical" all over it in the hopes that this will work better than using the cast to say the same thing worked in Rotterdam. Unfortunately, so far as press and popularity, it seems they've succeeded. I've no doubt that Hamburg, Stuttgart, and Essen will see this version of the show set up shop in turn and Rotterdam be forgotten as a nothing more than a well-preserved dress rehearsal for the time being. The recording... it's not something I think I'll listen to very often. If only for Pia (who I think is better represented on the Rotterdam recording, however) and Kristin, I'm very happy to have it, but it could have been much, much better. For now, I'm going to hug the Rotterdam recording tighter to my chest.
Performances (may be a little repetitive from what's above):
Patrick: That his performance isn't wooden says a lot about his acting skills, as the character he's given, as I can see it, isn't much to work with. A nice voice that was better put to use in Titanic, I think. I don't have a whole lot to say about him, which for a major part might not speak well, but in this instance, I think he's fine. I just don't like what's been imposed on him in the musical changes - but that's not his fault. I'd definitely like to see him in other roles.
Pia: As my best friend put it first, because Pia is so good, they don't spend enough time with her and her songs. In my book, Pia's worst performance is better than the performance of most people's lives, so I still think she's phenomenal. However, I know it could be so much more. She sounded better on the Rotterdam cast recording, I think, because the cast was so tight and so much work was obviously put into stellar performances necessary to sell the show.
Uwe: Every time I talk about Uwe, I end up saying things I shouldn't
. At points in his career, he's been good. However, he's gotten awfully full of himself and his tendency to overact just explodes on this recording. I'm frankly embarrassed to listen to his Richelieu in places because of how gaudy he sounds. It also seems to me that Uwe doesn't think he has to work for his roles anymore, as his voice has gone markedly downhill. I don't enjoy his performance in the slightest. If he has anything going for him, he sounds like a total menace...in a cartoon-ish, super villain way.
Marc: He's no Henk, and that just crashes him into the ground on the overall scale. However, the parts are so different that it's impossible to really compare them. His voice isn't my favorite, a little too rocky and unpolished for my taste. He does his best with "Engel aus Kristall", and his voice is a good fit for the song itself. I'd be really interested in hearing/seeing him as Richelieu, as I think it's a part he's better suited for. I wouldn't be surprised to see him promoted when Uwe leaves the show. To speculate, I think he'd make a good one.
Mathias & Christian: It's hard to get a sense of the two of them from the cast recording, as their singing parts aren't large to begin with. What you can hear of them is definitely fine. It'd have to be a full recording to really get a feel for them, since both roles are really for actors who can sing.
Sabrina: As I hinted above, I'm not too impressed with Sabrina. Her singing is far too pop and not nearly enough musical theatre. She sounds a lot older than Patrick's d'Artagnan, as well as out of place against the rest of the cast, who at least have the proper theatre inflection. What dialogue of hers that can be heard is far more appropriate than her singing alone would make me think. I do think she's a pushed a bit much on the recording and allowed to get away with a little too much pop-styling to appease the people buying it because of her/the single. When I hear her, I think "Sabrina", not "Constance", and that's the up or down test to me.
Kristin: I've loved everything Kristin's done, and this isn't an exception. She navigates "Kein geteiltes Leid" extremely well, which is a lot more complicated and sloppy than its Dutch cousin. It's a pity that her part isn't larger; the character isn't particularly splashy, but with an excellent performer, Anna can make a big impact. I've heard that Anna has been rewritten somewhat for the show and comes off a bit whiny and desperate, which I'd believe. On CD, however, Kristin's Anna is sympathetic and lovely. Whereas Marc strikes me as someone cast more to be an understudy than to actually play his part, Kristin assumes her part beautifully. On that note, I think she'd make an excellent Milady (and, if I've heard correctly, she'll be bumped up to principal when Pia leaves.)
*bangs table* You can all wake up now, class...