ELISABETH
ELISABETH, the VBW musical written by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay, is still regarded as the most successful German-language musical of all time.
It tells the dramatic and touching story of the life, work and suffering of Empress Elisabeth and has been thrilling audiences all over the world for over 30 years. Together, Kunze and Levay have created a musical that not only tells the story of an empress, but also deals with timeless themes and is considered a milestone in musical theatre. The world premiere took place on 3 September 1992 at the Theater an der Wien under the direction of Harry Kupfer.
Synopsis
ELISABETH tells the story of the life of the Austrian monarch and her struggle against the strict conventions of the imperial court. She marries Franz Joseph I at a young age and becomes empress, but her marriage is characterised by conflicts, especially with her domineering mother-in-law. While Elisabeth feels trapped in a gilded cage, she begins to see death as her only escape. In the course of her life, she is haunted by personal tragedies, including the suicide of her son Rudolf. The musical sheds light on her inner conflict between duty and freedom and ends with her violent death at the hands of an assassin, tragically sealing her search for independence and redemption.
A masterpiece goes around the world
ELISABETH has been seen by over 12 million people in 14 countries and 12 languages in various theatre series at home and abroad. In 1996, ELISABETH celebrated its Japanese premiere in Takarazuka, the very first premiere of an in-house production by Vereinigte Bühnen Wien outside Austria. Since then, the play has thrilled audiences all over the world. Numerous theatre series have been staged in Belgium, China, the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland.
