Jesus Christ Superstar 2023 © VBW

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR - THE ROCK-MUSICAL IN CONCERT

THE BIG VBW EASTER CONCERT HIGHLIGHT 2023


From 31 March to 10 April 2023, Vereinigte Bühnen Wien present the world-famous cult rock opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice as an impressive concert experience at the Raimund Theater!

 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has been thrilling people all over the world for over four decades. The highly emotional and electrifying score by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice has lost none of its relevance to this day.  The "Rock-Musical in Concert" returned to the Raimund Theater at Easter in the legendary VBW concert version sung in English. An absolute concert highlight with a large orchestra and musical star Drew Sarich in the role of "Jesus".

 

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR tells the last seven days of Jesus' life in a unique way from Judas' point of view. It is about the Last Supper, Herod's judgement and Judas' betrayal, which leads to the Way of the Cross and finally to his death.

Cast

  • Drew Sarich

    Jesus

  • Drew Sarich

    Jesus

    Drew Sarich was born in St. Louis, Missouri and came to Europe in 1999 for the role of Quasimodo in the world premiere of Disney's THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. Since his debut at the Raimund Theater as Berger in HAIR, he has also been seen at VBW as Captain Sun in BARBARELLA, Crown Prince Rudolf in RUDOLF - AFFAIRE MAYERLING, Curtis in SISTER ACT, The Phantom in LOVE NEVER DIES and Che in EVITA. He embodied both Jesus and Judas in numerous productions of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, the title roles in JEKYLL & HYDE in Cologne and DRACULA in St. Gallen and was seen in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH in Berlin and as Cousin Kevin in THE WHO'S TOMMY at the Musical Sommer Amstetten. On Broadway he created the role of Armand in Elton John's LESTAT and Off-Broadway he starred in JAQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS. As Jean Valjean, Drew Sarich was seen on both the West End and Broadway in LES MISÉRABLES. In Vienna and Berlin Drew Sarich played Count von Krolock in DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES and in Hamburg he created the title role in ROCKY - THE MUSICAL. At the Volksoper Wien he was seen as Antonio Vivaldi in the world premiere of VIVALDI - DIE FÜNFTE JAHRESZEIT, for which he was awarded the German Musical Prize in the category "Best Actor" and the Kronen Zeitung Readers' Prize in 2017. Drew Sarich was also seen as Molina in KUSS DER SPINNENFRAU at Bühne Baden. Most recently he played VIVALDI again and was seen in the role of Robert Baker in Leonard Bernstein's WONDERFUL TOWN at the Volksoper Wien. He was Daddy Brubeck in SWEET CHARITY and in the premiere series of INTO THE WOODS as Wolf and Cinderella's Prince at the Volksoper Wien. He recently embodied Guido Contini in the concert version of the musical production NEUN (NINE) at Bühne Baden. His three albums "Silent Symphony", "Let Him Go" and "Hunting For Heaven" are available on Spotify and Apple Music.

  • Alex Melcher

    Judas

  • Alex Melcher

    Judas
  • Nienke Latten © VBW/ Sandra Kosel

    Nienke Latten

    Maria Magdalena

  • Nienke Latten

    Maria Magdalena

    Nienke Latten comes from Voorburg in the Netherlands. Since early childhood, her great passion has been dance and acting. In 2012, at the age of 17, she was accepted for a preparatory year at the Tilburg Conservatory, where she began her regular studies just one year later, graduating with a Bachelor's degree in May 2017. In Tilburg she received - among many other subjects - intensive singing lessons from Edward Hoepelman and could already be seen as Maria in WEST SIDE STORY during her training. After her training, Nienke Latten took on the lead role of Tessa in the Dutch and Belgian touring production of DER GESTIEFELTE KATER. From 2018 to 2021, she appeared as Jasmine in Disney's ALADDIN in Hamburg and Stuttgart. Most recently, she was on stage as Mira in ONE - DE MUSICAL in Amsterdam.

  • Dennis Kozeluh

    Kaiphas

  • Dennis Kozeluh

    Kaiphas
  • Thomas Hohler

    Simon

  • Thomas Hohler

    Simon
  • Raphael Gross

    Peter

  • Raphael Gross

    Peter

    Raphael Groß was born in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany. His musical education started in early childhood and he had his first piano lesson at the age of five. In the following years, he sang in the children’s choir of the Gospel Project-Ruhr, where he gained his first stage experience as a soloist. He began his vocal training at the age of 9, and since 2011 has been taking lessons under the tutelage of Prof. Michael David Mills (Folkwang University of the Arts, Essen). Even before attending stage school, Raphael took acting and singing lessons, and attended the summer school at the Laine Theatre Arts College in London. As a teenager, Raphael appeared in various stage productions and galas, but also gained a variety of TV experience, including an appearance on “Dein Song” (2010/2011; KiKa/ZDF). The show’s compilation album took him to fourth place in the German charts. Although passionate about performing, Raphael has also always worked on his own musical projects. At the age of 17, he composed the entire score for the musical DIE SCHREIBMASCHINE – DAS ERBE DES RUPERT BLOOMFIELD, in which he also played the lead role at venues including the KatiElli Theater in Datteln. He has been a student of Musicals at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna since 2015. He has also won a song contest held in honour of the Austrian composer Walter Jurmann, and in Vienna he has appeared as Rex in GRIMM! at the Renaissance Theater, directed by Werner Sobotka.

  • James Park © VBW/ Sandra Kosel

    James Park

    Pontius Pilatus

  • James Park

    Pontius Pilatus

    James Park was born in Korea and studied classical singing at the Robert Schumann Musikhochschule Düsseldorf. After graduating, he became a member of the Opera Studio Niederrhein of the Theater Krefeld-Mönchengladbach and participated in various opera and musical productions. These include DER ROSENKAVALIER, PETER GRIMES, DER BARBIER VON SEVILLA, HOFFMANNS ERZÄHLUNGEN, the operetta premiere of WÄR NUR DIE SEHNSUCHT NICHT SO GROSS, the baroque opera pastiche THE GODS MUST BE CRAZY, the crime musical DAS GEHEIMNIS DES EDWIN DROOD, LEND ME A TENOR! (OTELLO DARF NICHT PLATZEN) and MY FAIR LADY. For the production DER GOLDENE DRACHE at Theater Krefeld, James was nominated as NRW's best young singer for his role of Junger Asiat by Opernwelt critic Regine Müller in "Welt am Sonntag," and last season he made his debut in the same role at the Semperoper Dresden. In addition to his operatic career, he can be heard as a soloist in concert, ensembles and choral formations. Most recently, he appeared at the Raimund Theater as Thuy in MISS SAIGON.

  • Timo Verse © Marco Sommer

    Timo Verse

    Annas

  • Timo Verse

    Annas
  • Christian Rey Marbella © Christian Rey Marbella

    Christian Rey Marbella

    Herodes

  • Christian Rey Marbella

    Herodes

    Christian Rey Marbella is a musical performer, singer and dancer. He has performed in numerous musical productions in Asia, the UK and the USA, including Engineer and Thuy in MISS SAIGON, Luntha in THE KING AND I and Apostle Peter in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. His other engagements include Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, CINDERELLA, SHOWBOAT and THE FULL MONTY. Christian Rey Marbella has also appeared in several original Filipino musicals, such as CALAMBA JOE as the national hero Dr. José Rizal, 1896 - THE MUSICAL as Emilio Jacinto and the demon Ravana in the revival of RAMAHARI, 2012, and the Ballet Philippines 50th Anniversary Season.

  • Kaj-Louis Lucke © VBW/ Marco Sommer

    Kaj-Louis Lucke

    Priester

  • Kaj-Louis Lucke

    Priester
  • Peter Kratochvil

    Priester

  • Peter Kratochvil

    Priester
  • Florian Resetarits

    Priester

  • Florian Resetarits

    Priester

    Florian Resetarits was born in Burgenland, Austria, and trained at the Music and Arts Private University of the City of Vienna, where he graduated with a Masters degree in 2017. He has been performing at festivals and in cabarets and concerts since he was a child. He has a permanent contract with the Festspiele Musical Güssing, where his roles have included the MC in CABARET, Jekyll and Hyde in JEKYLL UND HYDE, Ché in EVITA, Billy in CAROUSEL, Marius in LES MISÈRABLES and Fred Graham in KISS ME KATE. As part of his university course, he appeared in SMILES OF A SUMMER NIGHT, ANYTHING GOES and THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE. At the Schlossfestival Wilfersdorf he played Frank Rex in the operetta SEASON IN SALZBURG and Armand Brissard in THE COUNT OF LUXEMBOURG. In the summer of 2013, he made his debut at the Lehár Festival Bad Ischl playing Rudolph in HALLO, DOLLY! and Pista in WHERE THE LARK SINGS, followed by Gaston in GIGI in 2014, Freddy in MY FAIR LADY in 2015, and Dr Blind in DIE FLEDERMAUS in 2016. A very versatile artist, he has also been a soloist at the Schubert Festival, held in the house where Schubert was born, has sung in concerts with the Pannonian Philharmonic, conducted by Prof. Alois Hochstrasser, and played the blacksmith in the chamber opera DER KLEINE SCHMIED VON RUHLA in the 2014 and 2015 seasons in Thüringen. From the autumn of 2016 until January 2017, he played Fridolin Weber/Thorwart in the VBW production of MOZART! in Duisburg and China.

  • Katharina Gorgi

    Soul Girl

  • Katharina Gorgi

    Soul Girl
  • Veronica Appeddu

    Soul Girl

  • Veronica Appeddu

    Soul Girl
  • Sophia Gorgi

    Soul Girl

  • Sophia Gorgi

    Soul Girl
  • Anna Carina Buchegger © Jan Frankl

    Anna Carina Buchegger

    Ensemble

  • Anna Carina Buchegger

    Ensemble
  • Jev Davis © Marco Sommer

    Jev Davis

    Ensemble

  • Jev Davis

    Ensemble
  • Peter Knauder © Jan Frankl / Roland Zygmunt

    Peter Knauder

    Ensemble

  • Peter Knauder

    Ensemble
  • Shane Landers © VBW/ Sandra Kosel

    Shane Landers

    Ensemble

  • Shane Landers

    Ensemble

    Shane Landers received his training at Laine Theatre Arts in London. His engagements have taken him to German-speaking countries, where he has appeared on stage as GI and Swing/Cross Swing in MISS SAIGON, as Big Deal in WEST SIDE STORY at the Staatstheater Nuremberg and as Swing in GHOST - DAS MUSICAL at the Stage Palladium Theater and in the ensemble at the Theater des Westens. Furthermore he was engaged as Cross Swing in DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES at the Theater des Westens, in the ensemble in ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK on the Stage Entertainment Tour as well as at the Theater an der Elbe, as Spirit of Fosse in CHICAGO at the Theater des Westens and at the Deutsches Theater Munich. He was also Dance Captain of the production ALL MALE HMS PINAFORE and PIPE DREAM in London.

  • Maria Pambori

    Ensemble

  • Maria Pambori

    Ensemble
  • Lilly Rottensteiner

    Ensemble

  • Lilly Rottensteiner

    Ensemble

    Lilly Rottensteiner was born and raised in Styria and graduated with distinction from the Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. Lilly made her professional debut at the Staatstheater am Gärtnerplatz in the role of Baroness Bomburst in CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG. Since then, she has appeared on the stage of the Gärtnerplatztheater as Mrs. Segstrom in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, as Herta and Luise in DREI MÄNNER IM SCHNEE and as Flower Girl and Maid in MY FAIR LADY. At the VBW she was part of the ensemble of the semi-concertante productions of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Raimund Theater and of ELISABETH in the courtyard of Schönbrunn Palace. Most recently she played Sara in the world premiere of LIZZY CARBON UND DER KLUB DER VERLIERER at the Theater der Jugend. 

  • Steven Seale

    Ensemble

  • Steven Seale

    Ensemble
  • Rebecca Soumagné © Christian Ariel Heredia

    Rebecca Soumagné

    Ensemble

  • Rebecca Soumagné

    Ensemble
  • Ariane Swoboda 2016 © VBW/ Sandra Kosel

    Ariane Swoboda

    Ensemble

  • Ariane Swoboda

    Ensemble

    Ariane Swoboda graduated from the Musik und Kunst Privatuniversität der Stadt Wien and the Studio Theater an der Wien. For 30 years she has appeared in VBW productions, including GREASE, DIE SCHÖNE UND DAS BIEST, ELISABETH, TANZ DER VAMPIRE, JEKYLL & HYDE, THE PRODUCERS, EVITA, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR and I AM FROM AUSTRIA. She has also participated in numerous municipal theater productions - especially in St. Gallen, Bregenz, Klagenfurt, Baden and at the Graz Opera - including ARTUS - EXCALIBUR, DER MANN VON LA MANCHA, ANATEVKA, HELLO, DOLLY!, HAIRSPRAY, SWEET CHARITY, XANADU, WEST SIDE STORY and ANYTHING GOES. She has appeared in various revues at the Kabarett Simpl. For several years she has been teaching song interpretation and has written the book "Mein Audition-Journal" as a guide for students.

  • Yuri Yoshimura © Jan Frankl

    Yuri Yoshimura

    Ensemble

  • Yuri Yoshimura

    Ensemble
  • Anna Zagler © VBW/ Marco Sommer

    Anna Zagler

    Ensemble

  • Anna Zagler

    Ensemble

Leading Team

  • Herbert Pichler © VBW/Maria Frodl

    Herbert Pichler

  • Herbert Pichler

    Herbert Pichler graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz. He has been working as an artist in Vienna since 1989 and also teaches at the Institute for Popular Music at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna. He was musical director of, among others, MISS SAIGON, BARBARELLA, HAIR, MAMMA MIA! and BODYGUARD (all VBW), the new version of CABARET with Maria Bill (Volkstheater Wien) and the TV show "Ein Saitensprung" with Rainhard Fendrich. He has worked as a conductor for productions such as DER BAUER ALS MILLIONÄR (Landestheater Linz), "Musical!- Die Show" (ORF 2007) and I AM FROM AUSTRIA (VBW). Since the first season of the ORF show "Dancing Stars" he has also been the conductor of the Star Orchestra. Other examples of his varied musical activities include orchestral projects with Thomas Quasthoff, the mdw project CUBE, musical direction of the Nestroy Theater Prize, collaboration with the Mozarteum Chamber Orchestra and several projects with Herbert Pixner and the Tonkünstler Orchestra. As an arranger and musician, Herbert Pichler has worked on CD productions and TV shows with artists* such as Nina Hagen, Marianne Faithful and Chaka Khan, with whom he worked on the opening of the Vienna Festival in 2005, as well as with The Supremes, Harry Belafonte, Patricia Kaas, Placido Domingo, the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra, Jos. Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Dave Stewart, Jim Steinman, Simply Red, Gloria Gaynor and many musical stars.

  • Alex Balga

  • Alex Balga

  • Pascale-Sabine Chevroton

  • Pascale-Sabine Chevroton

  • Elisabeth Blutsch

  • Elisabeth Blutsch

    Biography follows

  • Andrew Voller

  • Andrew Voller

    Andrew Voller began his career programming Vari-Lite’s moving lights and in this capacity worked on productions of DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES (Vienna, Stuttgart, Hamburg), THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (Berlin), SING TO THE DAWN (Singapore) and BOMBAY DREAMS (London), as well as the opening ceremony for the Millennium Dome in London and the Eurovision Song Contest in 2001, 2009 and 2010. His design work includes INTO THE WOODS (Guildford School of Acting), SHREK - THE MUSICAL (tour of Germany), MOEDER, IK WIL BIJ DE REVUE (Utrecht), RENT (Guildford School of Acting), LIFT (Soho Theatre, London), SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER (tour of Holland, Milan), KEIN PARDON – DAS MUSICAL (Düsseldorf), HINTERM HORIZONT (Berlin), ALL SHOOK UP – LOVE ME TENDER (tour of Holland) and GREASE (St. Gallen). For the VBW, he was lighting designer for the gala WE ARE MUSICAL, as well as  LOVE NEVER DIES, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and the new versions of ELISABETH, REBECCA, ROMEO & JULIET and HAIR. In Amstetten, he has created the lighting design for numerous productions, including THE WHO’S TOMMY, THE WILD PARTY, FOOTLOOSE, JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR, CARMEN CUBANA, ROCKVILLE, HAIR and AIDA. He was also lighting designer for Hans Klok’s magic shows FASTER THAN MAGIC (European tour) and THE BEAUTY OF MAGIC (Las Vegas). Andrew Voller also designed the lighting for ICH WILL SPASS! and BUDDY – THE BUDDY HOLLY STORY in Essen, as well as for the German tours of SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER, MIAMI NIGHTS and ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK (previously seen in Hamburg, Vienna, Stuttgart, Zurich and Oberhausen) and most recently for EVITA at the Ronacher.

  • Patrick Polly

  • Patrick Polly

    Patrick Polly gained his first experience at ORF and then worked as a freelance sound engineer. He has been working at the Ronacher since 2008 and took over as head of sound engineering there in 2011. As FOH operator he supervised various productions at Vereinigte Bühnen Wien, including THE PRODUCERS, TANZ DER VAMPIRE, NATÜRLICH BLOND and MARY POPPINS. In the same capacity he toured internationally with WIEN MUSICAL CONCERT II and in Japan with ELISABETH IN CONCERT. He has also served as Assistant Sound Designer on SISTER ACT and ICH WAR NOCH NIEMALS IN NEW YORK, and as Associate Sound Designer on LOVE NEVER DIES and DER BESUCH DER ALTEN DAME. Since 2002 he has been supporting the association "Tonvoll" in all sound-related matters on a voluntary basis.

  • Nicole Panagl

  • Nicole Panagl

  • Sam Madwar

  • Sam Madwar