As someone who's been depressed, I think adding 'When I Want to Dance' isn't so odd. Depression doesn't go away just because you've done something good/had something good happen, no matter how happy you tell yourself that you are -- or how pleased you feel in the moment. Elizabeth saying "I've begun to love life" sounded, at least to me, like she's trying to convince herself, even though part of her knows that Death/depression is right and her happiness will be fleeting. The whole song reminded me how desperately a depressed person can grasp for any possible straws of positivity, telling themselves it will last even though there's a voice in their head that knows better. Elisabeth's is just more literal than most.

you nailed it when you said we don't need another version of the phantom of the opera

With the idea that Der Tod is a projection of Elisabeth's own mental health struggles, I would interpret Death's rejection of her to be a reflection of how she treats her son; when Rudolf was taken away from her, she cried and begged to have him back. Yet once she achieved this, she rejected him, much like how Der Tod rejects Elisabeth after she finally gives in to her advances. This is why he changes his mind at the end when she is killed - she is now with Rudolf, and so now Death can be with her. But that's just my interpretation

Well, now I'm sad. You really well summed up everything wrong with newer productions of Elisabeth (the only thing missing is the replacing of the carriage with an Ikea table, but that's a whole different issue). I am still hoping that one day someone will come along and return more or less everything back to the original. And if that doesn't happen, I'll just do it myself.

Thank you very much for the accurate insight, I wasn't aware of these changes as I only had been watching the older versions. Yes, I agree with your opinion, the scenes from 2022 (2019?) appear very plain and emotionless, especially the Rudolph/Death interaction. The Mayerling Waltz has been one of the scenes that most impressed me with the absolute perfection of the choreography (esp. in Kroeger's and Kamaras' renditions) - I find its meaning pretty clear and consistent with the story, so I just can't get why they ended up cutting it out. Also, the very idea of removing that kiss "because it can make someone uncomfortable" is utterly ridiculous: you have (in no particular order) a gunshot, a hanging, suicidal ideation, a zombie royal family, infant death, homicide, an old asylum, STDs, and a whole friggin brothel, but no let's remove the kiss between the prince and the personification of an incorporeal entity because the actors are both male and this can be disturbing???

I need a time machine so I can go back to 2005 and watch the production with Mate live 😢 Thank you so much for this vid

Thank you very much for this essay! I often wondered why Rondo seems so weird to me but with all reimaginations of Der Tod you analyzed it finally came to my mind. The Black Prince shows Der Tod through Elisabeth's eyes, she could've died after the trick and at that moment her fantasy creates Der Tod who'd haunt her for the rest of her life. Der Tod should never be characterized too much, he's both a macabre metaphore and a projection of Elisabeth (and Rudolf)'s mind. After all, she's established as a dreaming girl, fond of her father with his stories and will to live, she could've actually came up with this idea. Also imagine later, being thrown into an empress life, she's alone and cornered, she has no control over family or politics. Elisabeth's left with nothing but Der Tod, the last remaining part of her childhood whispering to her about what she always wanted: freedom. (as I'm writing it I start to feel so depressed 😅) Just how better it sounds than a simple "she's a princess, he's an angsty otherwordly entity with fEeLiNgS" It's disappointing that themes shifted from character study and dark 19th century romanticism to a simple Phantom of the Opera romance. (Maybe that's why I mostly like Essen 2001 with prime Pia and Uwe which still balanced between initial themes) Classic EDM has phenomenal idea and can stand in line of timeless art pieces.

I swear, i had to pause when "my face when they removed the mayerling kiss" popped on screen, because my face was Exactly the same!! XD Excellent video btw, great analysis and history. I too love this show!

This is such a good and insightful video essay! I was ✨OBSESSED✨ with the 1992 production as a teenager, I've watched it on KZfaq countless times. I bought the 2003 proshot and was so excited to finally watch Elisabeth in good quality, and let me tell you, I was SHOOKETH when Death was suddenly this very intense guy manhandling everyone across the stage 😂 I couldn't even finish watching the DVD because I was so put off by it. Nowadays, I do appreciate that production, but the original one will always be the one closest to my heart. There is just something about the portrayals of the key relationships that is more emotional and less sexual that you don't see quite often in modern media that I really appreciate. For me it feels like they tie in better into the message of the musical when the direction isn't so focused on the physicality. (Or maybe it's just because I'm lesbian & ace and the cold and androgynous Death has ingrained itself as peak queerness into my little impressionable teenage brain in 2012 xD) Anyways, this video has completely cured me of the temptation to go see the show live in current state it is in, so at least my bank account will be happy. It's kind of ironic how a show making a point about not romanticising historical figures is steadily moving into the direction of becoming just another cheap dark romance.

What a great strikingly accurate essay! I have been annoyed by the casting development ever since Mark Seibert was considered THE modern death, because I felt, that his portrayal (which is of course not entirely his choice) was so onesided. For me his death was primarily staged to be "attractive" and lost both his animalic aggression (as Máté's interpretation is my favorite) and his mystic androgynic character. You just found the perfect words for what has been bothering me with the development in this fantastic show for quite some time. The original (brilliant) idea of picturing the depression of a commercialized princess as a romantic relationship with death while showing all of the conflicts and and complex relationships of all the characters ist more and more neglected. You are right, the show has become "Kitsch". And: them removing the kiss is literally RIDICULOUS!💯 Well done, I hope to see more of your amazing content! 👏

I have to add something about the Black and White costume: Death wearing two colours was introduced with the advent of Yan Tax as a costume designer, as wished for by Uwe Kröger. The Essen Death switches between blue and black. These changes were kept for the Berlin version, but amplified by the contrast of black and white vs black and blue.

While I absolutely adore the Takarazuka version of Elisabeth, I also think that the portrayal should not be mixed with the Vienna production. First of all, Takarazuka changes the character and story a lot to fit into the more romantic take on the story and because of that, the addition of the song kein kommen ohne gehen makes sense to me since the plotline of death wanting to make Elisabeth fall in love with him was not in the original show because Elisabeth already does love him from the beginning, so it made sense that they added the song to introduce the storyline. The Takarazuka version seems kind of like a gothic romance, which I personally really like because I was always into gothic romance stories like Phantom of the opera (the Takarazuka Phantom was how I discovered the Theater and found out that they did Elisabeth too) But I am also a huge history lover when it comes to the real Elisabeth, which was one of the reasons why I loved the musical since it's one of the only versions that doesn't portray Elisabeth in a glamourized Romy Schneider way. So adding the song kein kommen ohne gehen in the Vienna production didn't make sense to me because it does not fit with the way death is characterized during the rest of the show and the story of the show. The plotline of death wanting Elisabeth to fall in love with him doesn't exist in this version so the song kind of goes nowhere and doesn't even make sense because Elisabeth already does want to be with him, she even sings it in the song unlike in the Takarazuka version where it's a solo of death. So why does death even need to wait in the Vienna version like he says in the song? It makes no sense at all. I personally really love both versions. I love Takarazuka for the gothic romance but I also love the original for the complex take on Elisabeth's life and mental state but mixing them together doesn't work for me.

My favorite Death is Máté Kamarás and I love the version with him (1st revival - 2003). In my opinion, Uwes and Marcs versions are a bit to clean and nearly angelic and princely, but my idea of Death is rough, tempting/seducing and animalistic/demonic. Mátés acting and his voices fits that best. Also "Wenn ich tanzen will" is a great addition ("Schon bald werd' ich dir verhasst sein", so good!) (I really like the idea of Death having no specific gender/being different for every person. Maybe terrifying for some and seducing for others. And I'm obsessed with an actress playing Death!) I don't understand/like that the view was shifted away from Elisabeth, to show more of Death' emotions. (-> "Kein Kommen ohne Gehen", why?) Death is a plot device/personification of Elisabeths Depression, not a real Character. So it's less love story and more her romanticising freedom by ending her own life. ("Am Rand des Abgrunds, oder nur in deinem Blick" -> "Im Angesicht des Todes") And let Death kiss the people who are taken. That's how it's done!

This is SO well written! What a holistic and objective treatment of the show, well-justified with thoughtfully-chosen examples, and avoiding the common pitfalls of dunking on specific actors for directorial choices likely outside their control, or specific adaptations simply because they must exist in a different context. I love how you take one aspect of the show and uses it to (come on) show us (this) how the approach towards the show has changed over decades of subsequent productions and how, along the way, some of the original vision of the show-writers has perhaps been lost. Looking forward to more work from you!

It was interesting watching this as someone who has seen the Japanese Toho production (not the Takarazuka version). This production also keeps the new songs but I feel they fit better there, and there are elements which work to offset the "watering down" of Death's character. For example, the long kiss between Rudolf and Death remains (slightly different though, as Death hands him the gun during the long kiss, walks away and turns his back before Rudolf uses it on himself--perhaps a little less visceral on purpose, but the seductive element is still there). There are also scenes where Death seems to aid others in service of general chaos, which I couldn't find in any videos from European productions I saw. For example, before the death of Sophie there is a scene where an assassination attempt is made on Elisabeth in Hungary, and Death appears to conceal the assassins' presence. Overall though I'd say the Toho death is perhaps both more sexualized and more other-worldly than any other production. His costumes are totally out-of-time Visual Kei style rocker consumes, with bared chest and long, flowing hair. The "angels" who appear in most of his songs are similar but even more naked (often just shirtless with black wings). Whether this is viewed as "androgynous" or not is a complex question given that this kind of look not as rare in the Japanese entertainment world, but it's certainly closer to the original Austrian Death than many other productions, I think. I think this extreme look actually makes death seem even more supernatural, since he's such an incredible contrast compared to the setting the other characters are living in, and his sexual element feels a lot less like romance and a lot more like vampiric seduction.

I actually prefer Mate’s portrayal from Hungary. Also passionate but less vicious and the costume was just gorgeous!

Wow! It looks like the musical has become the very thing it always criticised about the elisabeth narrative...kitsch. thank you, for this amazing video, you managed to put all my (very gay) feelings into words!

That's completely SHOCKING!!!! I'm watching this in a library, so i can't scream or throw stuff... but what the FUCK is this??? The Mayerling kiss and Tod's and Rudolf's relationship always felt so central to the show, it shows how Tod operates and that he doesn't stop at nothing. Also the suicidal idiation is historically and musically part of Rudolf's nature, so it should be *obvious* that Tod is seductive with him, because Rudolf is that far gone. I've seen a documentary about him and the way he redacted his letters is so heartbreaking, he really was someone who was reaching out for help, but couldn't find anyone and just concentrated on trying to make Austria better, but that failed too and so he didn't see any other way out. Truly a most tragic character, even without woobifying him (though I love woobie Rudolf). But going back, it makes sense even historically that Tod is so seductive, because Rudolf is that far gone. But really, the kiss!!! I hope for their sakes that the next musical production, and not just some silly concert, includes the fucking kiss and a little bit more sensual, thank you very much, not just 1 second of kissing and done, cause otherwise they have just fucking outed themselves as homophobes and it becomes abundantly clear how they see us. I was actually planning to watch Hamilton next January, but they will close it in October, because "it's not a hit show like in America" (Lin deserves fucking better than just a year of production) and they haven't even bothered to advertise it! (Which seems VEEEEERY fucking sus!) And now you're telling me they have homophobized the one musical I looked forward to seeing (I'll make sure it's a stage, not concert production!)?? Man, the musical gods are PUNISHING MEEE!!😢😢😢 Ok, I just hope in January they will do the complete musical and it will include the kiss or I'll WALK OUT!

Anyone here who was also obsessed with the erotic Rudolph/Death Scenes 10 years ago? Yeah, turns out I‘m very queer but who would have guessed😂 also, love your last sentence, I‘m there for it! (Omg I think Elisabeth was the first and only queer representation I got as a child growing up in a concervative small town)

Great video! I never knew the song 'No coming without going' came from the Takarazuka version. I thought it originated as 'Útvesztő minden út' from the Hungarian. Weird as it might sound, I love in that production but didn't like when they added it to the German language productions lol For me, Wenn ich tanzen will work's well because it feels like a battle of wills. Sisi is being stubborn, proud and haughty, while Death is taunting her, reminding her that he is still there and that she will one day need him again. The song has a darkness and an intensity to it, especially with the original Essen orchestration, And I love that!

For me, I felt like everything Tod did in all three musical productions was geared t/w getting Elisabeth, including his seduction of Rudolf- murdering her son will likely make Elisabeth more suicidal, therefore closer to death. And Tod is so persistent too, he's literally present in every stage of Elisabeth's life, and the inclusion of Wenn ich tanzen will emphasized that. About the Rondo number, I really appreciated your analysis of it, I totally agree with you on that.

I wasn't expecting to find a video talking about elisabeth, but I'm glad youtube reccomend it! It's great!!

Poignant and well summarized! I agree with all you had to say on the matter and I can't help but want more video essays on Elisabeth das Musical now. :)

Great commentary and great exposition! I would also love to have an Italian produtcion of Elisabeth all in Italian, and thinking about that, I always thought that the character of "Der Tod" (that in German is a masculine noun, so it makes sense for it to be a male), could be played by a woman, because in Italian "death" is a feminine name, and there are also some speculations that say that Sisi could have been into women, even if, of course, is not and cannot be, confirmed. Or also an androgen figure... But I think it could make sense, just like you said at the end xD

Great video essay, and the final line killed me

My first approach to Elisabeth was through the South Korean productions and while they do lean a little into romantic lead with their Der Tod, his most sadistic and scheming side remains as a his primary characterization. Great video!

oh my god you put it in (intelligent, pretty) words! ive spent the last 10 years with only "but i dont like hiiim" "hes like unseasoned ramen" "backstreet boy by day, biker by night" as arguments serkan has more understanding and emotion in his blond wig than any of that crap i would love your take on oliver! at the time, we nicknamed him fae-prince-death / psycho-death in 2010, because truly no one's been that unhinged ever since for all the interesting things asia's done to it, korea being stuck in the kpop-idol-death' while austrias stuck with bland-hetero-death for over a decade is whitering my heart it feels symbolic like the removal of the vines fromt he costumes

I don't agree with everything in the video but thank god somebody said this about No Coming Without Going. Actually, I don't even like how the song sounds even though I desperately wanted to. It sounds out of place from the rest of the discography, especially when it has no mirrored thematic parallel later in the show like the other songs; and thematically, it does throw off the rest of the show. The difference between the 1992 and 2005 Black Prince already changed enough that Maya's Elisabeth noticed and appreciated Death, saying only he understood her, while Pia sang completely about her own ideals and goals without the acknowledgement to Death. No Coming Without Going serves the Takarazuka production's purposes of their version where Death is the main character, because the focus is completely shifted to him and his perspective in that song. But because of that and my other points, it has no place in the main Elisabeth productions. When I first Saw Elisabeth, I saw the 2005 production and I did like that it had vibes similar to Phantom of the Opera - but what I liked most was that it WASN'T Phantom of the Opera. It was better. The themes were way more interesting too. And yes, the 2019-22 revival concerts seems sad and sanitized

Haha the end cracked me up! More lady deaths because... BECAUSE!! But seriously I love the 2007 Takarazuka Elisabeth with Mizu Natsuki, I worship her version of death and I like the idea that they have it lean more romantic, even tho it sucks that the character of Elisabeth gets the shaft because of it but it was also great knowing that there were various versions like the Vienna version where that wasn't the case and it was more her story. It was great that audiences could choose which version of Elisabeth they could watch or love. Do you love the more romantic leaning version? No? Well here's the more ambiguous, thoughtful version and vice versa. I hope that they go back to that version for stage productions in Vienna. Also, can we pour one out for the costumes towards the later productions.... they're quite uninspired and one thing I always interpreted about Death even though it's hard to actually personify him and attribute certain traits to him.... I always thought of him as pretty vain. So the though provoking costume changes seemed just as important to his character.

To me, the story was always the story of both Elisabeth and Rudolph. Maybe they thought that they had to tone down the Rudolph part since he had his own musical. But I actually liked the Rudolph storyline more than the Elisabeth storyline.

First of all, great analysis! Your breakdown was easy to follow, you didn't get caught up in irrelevant speculations or personal preferences and I found myself agreeing with most of your points. Perhaps you could have gone into the non-Austrian German language productions, especially Essen 2002, a bit more (similarly to how you handled the Takarazuka discussion), because I think the changes made there were influential on the Austrian versions. While I am a fan of Wenn ich Tanzen will, I agree that it somewhat mudfies the water on how "real" Death is supposed to be (until this point it's possible that he only exists in Elisabeth's and/or Lucheni's mind) This is why I much prefer the alternate, but ultimately rejected version Wenn ich tanz. This is also a duet between Elisabeth and Death that gives them opportunity to directly interact, but all of Death's lines mirror and undermine Elisabeth's optimistic look into the future. This makes the relationship portayed in the song seem less like a conventional if toxic love affair and more like a soliloquy by Elisabeth who even at her most successful is still battling her depression and anxiety and fears that soon enough she will once again be at her lowest. (Death showing up at this point in the play not making sense is one of the points that I disagree with you on, but I admit that it's not made super clear in the current version) Also: I can't believe they cut the Rudolf kiss from the concert! I did NOT know that... Is Bellaria in the concert version and if it is, did they cut the kiss from that song too? Because if that's the case, atleast they are being consistent if it's not, then it's straight homophobic bs.

Thank you for so eloquently expressing what I’ve been thinking. Elisabeth has been my favorite musical for at least 10 years (which is about as long as I’ve been struggling with mental illness and suicidal thoughts (or at least as long as it got really bad). I’m quite partial to the interpretation of death as a representation of Elizabeth’s and Rudolf’s depression and self-destruction and I do find the “heterosexual romance arc” that recent productions have introduced to be straight up problematic and offensive and also just kind of cliche and boring tbh. It’s literally turning a show that was heavily criticizing the kitschified, overly romanticized version of Sisi’s life into exactly what it was trying to critique and as a German i grew up with kitschified Sisi media (omg I could go on about this forever, like many people know about the Romy Schneider movies but it goes so much deeper there’s the children’s TV princess cartoon and the branded Barbie dolls to go along with it omg I could go on about this forever (excuse my autism but Elisabeth and her portrayal in pop culture is literally my biggest special interest)). Anyways the musical felt so ground-breaking bc it literally went against all that kitschified nonsense and this romanticized Austrian national myth and it made its’ audience an active participant in the musical who’s complicit in the romanticized bullshit (like Luigi Lucheni breaks the fourth wall for a reason and it’s great). Like I could wax poetic about how awesome the original version of Elisabeth is in terms of accurately portraying history (with some minor flaws) and accurately portraying mental illness and suicidality without romanticizing it too much and I think the new version that focuses on her romantic arc with death just destroys all of that (which is especially disappointing considering that the real Elisabeth was most likely asexual). Also, come on, if they had to make it into a Twilight-esque dark romance everyone knows that the character who most deserves to have a sexy undead murder boyfriend is obviously Rudolf, I mean cmon people, know you’re fandom! I can excuse romanticizing suicide, but I draw the line at heterosexuality! (I’m obviously joking, I think Todolf is a much better ship in fanfiction than the real show). Just stop with the romance arc not everything needs a kitschified Hollywood romance arc, like the show was dark and fucked up and complex and now they just try to dumb it down and commodify it for the masses when that’s literally not even necessary, it was already one of the (if not the most successful) European musicals, they could have just left it alone! Anything after the 2005 Vienna revival is questionable at best tbh

Fantastic video, such a thorough and unbiased analysis!! Its really interesting to hear the thoughts of the actors on their characters, and I love how you didn’t take the cheap argument of blaming the actors for their changes. Also a great balance of serious content and humour, love the ending :) Lets hope the powers behind future Elisabeth prods will change things in a more positive direction

As a Takarazuka fan who has only seen multiple zuka productions up until now, when I finally tried some of the Viennese versions a few days ago I adored how complex they were in comparison and I've become obsessed. As much as I love Takarazuka there is much to criticize about it, from it's misogynistic and heteronormative origins to how those origins still permeate the theater today, but I also believe that the Takarazuka aesthetic and formula can be too limiting at times, as much as I appreciate that many of its formulaic aspects are aspects that make it special. There's many shows that one could just never imagine Takarazuka doing bc of these limits, and even if they do those shows I wouldn't be surprised if in the future they changed those shows to an extent to make them fit with Takarazuka tradition more like they did with Elisabeth, even to the detriment of the themes. However I still hold hope of Takarazuka becoming more flexible in the future, and they have broken formula before. For example their original musical adaptation of the legendary 70s manga The Poe Clan has no central heterosexual romance and instead the central relationship is the homoerotic relationship between Edgar and Alan, and Takarazuka stays faithful to this and imo even leans more into homoeroticism than the manga.

I enjoyed this analysis very much! Please, make more video essays in the future.

Already a great video essay but 32:58 made it to god tier.

Completely agree with you on letting a woman have a go a playing Death. An additional meta-level might be to have a previous Elizabeth actress do it.

This was a beautiful video essay, well done!! (I'm so happy that there are other people out there who like me love this musical enough to have deep thoughts about it and it really warms my heart to see it appreciated) The Mayerling kiss was always one of my favourite parts of the story and it breaks my heart to see it so watered down in recent versions and even completely removed in 2022! >:( The mystique and lgbtq+ ness (for lack of a better term), and also the sensuality of Death were some of the things that drew me most to him as a character and to the show as a whole, much more than the more traditional and frankly overdone heterosexual love story between a man and a woman that this show is so sadly becoming in recent adaptations... Guess I will just have to cling onto my DVD copy of the 2005 Vienna revival for dear life, and imagine a world where I was indeed not 6 years old in 2005 and could have gone to see this production live✨ (Mate Kamaras is perhaps unsurprisingly my favourite interpretation of Tod, but Uwe Kröger definitely deserves an honourable mention as well!) Nothing against Mark Seibert as an actor, but in my opinion his version of Tod just never brought any of what made him such an intriguing character in the first place. Plus, the fact that in that interview he even stated that he *needed* to see Death as a definite and unchanging *man* in order for him and by extension the audience to understand his relationship with Elisabeth somehow just rubs me the wrong way... Almost like romance can't be portrayed or understood on stage if it's not clear that it's between a man and a woman?? (And who's to say Elisabeth was heterosexual anyway, all we know is that she was forced by circumstance and the times that she lived in to marry a man...) Anyway, all this to say I absolutely loved this video commentary, and would also love to see you make more in the future!!

I don’t know that I agree with every interpretation you put forth in terms of interpretations, but I really respect the work you’ve done here and I think you make some really good points. In particular, I do think it’s pretty fair to say that it kind of seems like somebody, somewhere is uncomfortable with the kiss between Rudolph and Tod. This is something that needs to be watched, because I do think that if it continues to be presented as such, I do think it’s hard to take away from the change that it is anything except homophobic. I guess to play devils advocate, if there was a difference between the two, you could make an argument that Rudolph’s death somehow romanticizes self harm, While, even though Elisabeth struggled with her mental health, ultimately, she was assassinated. As such, portraying their relationships differently could make sense in a certain framing. But, I think, personally, that’s kind of weak tea when the show has basically been running for three decades, And it’s themes and content are well established. And, just to fill out the devils advocate section, I suppose someone, somewhere, could still present the argument that they want to limit exposure by limiting the number of people kissing, but I don’t think, at this point, any productions moving forward can use that same excuse. It was questionable this past summer, but it’s going to be pretty indisputable moving forward since basically most people have agreed that the pandemic is over. I do have to wonder, to some extent, if there is meddling from the government or other groups. As an American, I can’t say that I know too much about Austrian politics, but I do know that they, along with many other central European countries have kind of been, concerningly, going towards right wing politics as of late. And I wouldn’t be surprised if there were some people who were higher up in the food chain who were very heavily discouraging any kind of “gay kiss“. Again, we’ll have to see if this changes in the future, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibilities. On the broader point, I do think that I also agree that making Tod and Elisabeth too intimate Makes it seem as though they are somehow special together. I mean, I suppose you could interpret it as such, because at the beginning of the show, they do say that no one has danced with death quite like Elisabeth” But, I still think that it would be wrong to take away from that that death somehow favored her. Ultimately, Tod is supposed to be a bit of a pansexual cassanova, if not outright fuckboi. I actually think the first revival production (with the 2005 pro shot with Maya, Serkan, and Mate) was the gold standard production thus far and I think the way they handle the character and stage everything is ideal, but that’s definitely just my opinion. Sidebar: on the characterization of Tod, I mean, personally, I tend to interpret Tod as a more abstract manifestation of existential dread and the human desire to break beyond our human constraints. Because, although undoubtedly I’m sure she had some kind of suicidal side to her, the other things that I think she really seemed to be driven by were very human things like legacy and immortality (as personified through eternally beautiful images) not just a kind of obsession with death. Again, I think Tod is really just a more clear personification of that idea, and that we all have finite time and constraints, so we do engage with death in some way. And we often do that, primarily, through kind of “flirting” with death, pushing the limits to see what is possible. That doesn’t mean that Tod has feelings for you, just that Tod is willing to play the game and flirt back. As you said, multiple times in your video, I do think that portraying him as a more “otherworldly” figure makes a lot more sense and making him too personally involved with Elisabeth I think turns him into Krolock too much. I think, Given the reasoning you laid out, it makes sense that the Takarazuka production included it, since they did so with intent. But I kind of agree that it ruins the whole mysterious vibe at the beginning of the show. End side bar. Lastly, I know you clarified it in some of your other comments, but I might encourage you to post a pinned comment making sure that people don’t walk away with the impression that Mark is to blame for all of these changes. I’ll admit, I really do like his interpretation because it is sexy and seductive (he’s also a certified daddy and I too am gay af for him), and his voice fits the part really well. I really like Kamaras’ interpretation and do to some degree like Uwe’s non binary portrayal. But, I do think what’s most important is that there is a diversity of portrayals Such that we can play with different ideas and takes on story. And I really hope they don’t make Elisabeth too tie to tradition and not take any risks as with what has basically happened to Phantom of the Opera. Actually, if anything, I think the person who needs a more explicit relationship with Tod is Leucheni. Anyway, that’s probably enough for today. Keep up the good work.

THANK YOU for this video essay. I have been trying to write a video essay for a while now about the differences between the music of Takarazuka Elisabeth and Viennese Elisabeth (mostly the 2003-2005 revival version) which started as a roast of “Rondo of Love and Death” but bled into a study of other songs as well, in particular Die Schatten Werden Langer (first act) and Kitsch which have both been MAJORLY screwed over by the writers at Takarazuka Revue, resulting in a super wishywashy storyline. I haven’t finished it but your video not only gave me more perspectives but also motivation to continue 😅 Lots of love and don’t let Death tempt you 💖

Absolutely delighted to see thoughtful video essays about Elisabeth das musical entering the youtube world!!!!!!!! Would love to see more from you this was brilliant. And would love to hear it read out by you / a reader instead of text to speech, though I completely understand the choice to do so, in order to remain anonymous!

Once again I am amazed by your work and absolutely love this video. Now, I have to admit I have never seen Elisabeth - only listened to the cast recording (which was a Best Of CD from I think the early 2000s version) during a car ride, so not very attentively either. I loved some songs and a friend explained to me roughly what happened during those songs/gave me context to what was going on. So I actually didn't have any reason to watch this video BUT I was intrigued since I've seen your take on Alfred from TDV (and absolutely loved that as well). That being said: I am once again shocked (but not surprised) how much got changed, especially in context of hetero normative storytelling. And I am so very annoyed. Obviously, in the 90s we were more progressive than nowadays in that direction - at least from what I've learned about the original plays - and that leaves me so disappointed and frustrated. There are so many thoughts and I haven't even watched the musical! Which I will certainly do in the near future and I will definitely watch the OG 1992 version! Apart from my rage, your video essays are brilliant and give me a reason to think about musical theatre in a way I've never thought about it before. And also I am more than happy to find fellow musical nerds! Have a lovely day x

literally one of the most eloquent and honest critiques of heteronormativity i've ever seen

I've had this video essay in my watch later for about three months and I'm very glad to finally have watched it, it's very well done and really puts into words what's been bothering me with the most recent productions. Also I admit that I'm maybe a little biased because I like inhuman characters. Another musical that does Death as an otherworldly and seductive figure is the 2001 French musical production of Romeo and Juliet, where Death is a background character and stands out for being completely silent (in a musical!) but is very present (and occasionally utterly terrifying) and also has a kiss of death scene with a main character. Just felt like bringing that up.

Finally got around to watching and commenting - the latter is something I almost never do. I think you summed up the crux of the matter perfectly. And at least for me, you took the words right out of my mouth. :) As a student of History and German Literature/Language I appreciate this musical as a gift that just keeps on giving. So many layers and dynamics at play, so many things that only start making sense once you start digging deeper into the history of the involved parties, literature (Heine & Shakespeare), Viennese/'German' culture as a whole... It's marvelous. While I adore Wenn Ich Tanzen Will, I find myself agreeing that it heralded the 'Kitsch'ification of Elisabeth. I've become absolutely enamored with this musical in 2019, the first time I saw it live was thus the 2022 version. And I dare say I'm not overreaching when I say there was a collective sigh of disappointment going through the audience at the ommitance of the Mayerling kiss. The Rudolf/Death dynamic is such a fascinating relationship on stage, and yet one one has to be very careful about. It is something that can very quickly spiral into outright romanticization of s*uicide, and I've certainly seen my fair share of just that in fandom content. (I am quite taken aback with the 'soft boy' approach one so often sees for Rudolf, for the real life man certainly was anything but that. I feel like the dynamic is tragic enough as is without Rudolf having to be made even more of a victim of the circumstances than he already was.) That being said, cutting the kiss because of that reason alone... Isn't the whole show an ideation of Death by that logic? Until, of course, one realizes that the majority of that 'edge' has already been chiselled away by ever more 'Kitsch'. No, seriously, I'm quite amused the number is still in. The irony is quite intense at this rate. Honestly, at this point you could probably replace Death as a character with Andrassy or some other generic male love interest and it would be much the same. Weird, really, considering how s*x-repulsed rl Elisabeth was by all accounts. (Gimme ace Elisabeth and androgynous Death back, please. Or make Death a woman, please and thank you.) Elisabeth of 1992 wasn't afraid to be edgy. Perhaps even a bit too avantgarde. 30 years later it has become shallow. And it saddens me. I still enjoyed the 2022 concert, I admit. Having the chorus call out Elisabeth's name in front of her historical haunting grounds was goosebump inducing. And yet... it could be so much more. On that note I'm kinda hopeful for the future, still, for interest is certainly still there. All I desire is a proper 30 years anniversary staging and to see where this will evolve from there. At any rate, thank you for putting this video out, I shall proceed to share it around with the ever growing group I'm indoctrinating into admiring this show.

HELP THE LAST PART

In the 2001 Essen show, there is this little melody between “The Way You Think and Plan” and “Nothing is Difficult” which I absolutely love and am sad that it got cut. It is a little playful tone that Franz and Elizabeth share as young lovers that sounds like a brighter variate of the verse melody of “Nothing is Difficult”/“Ships in the Night,” (at least the jumping up and down of the notes holds some resemblance). Then right after Sisi sings this part of a love-struck young girl, Franz follows by talking about the responsibility/problem that comes with marrying an emporer like him (beginning “Nothing is Difficult”). The song makes clear to me that there were moments where Sisi was in love with Franz or maybe at least purely happy and excited for the start of a dream-like romance, which in term contrasts with the resignation of “Ship in the Nights.” I also wondering what went into the decision to include this song from 1992 to 2001. In 1992, Sisi was a bit more hesitant/mild and just generally loving towards the concerns Franz raised, while in the 2001 production, Sisi acted more childish and dismissed Franz’s concern with the innocent, romanticized image of her first love.

Great video! Like a lot of people here, Todolf (specifically Mate/Fritz) was the first time I saw an example of queer rep that wasn't played for laughs. This essay really drives home what we've lost. I do think it's also worth noting that the decision to downplay Tod/Rudolf is probably driven not just by classic flavor homophobia but also the biphobia of any bi/pan/etc man who actively desires other men being seen as secretly gay and thus not a real man, which is obviously what the current branding of Tod would probably like to avoid. (Not blaming Mark of course, he's playing exactly the role he was told to and I can't fault him for that). I'm kinda conflicted on how I feel about Wenn ich tanzen will. Obviously, I love it as a song and my biased heart loves Tod and Sisi having a proper duet (especially since it adds an opportunity for more Tod screentime), but I think it pushes Tod a bit further into the role of a generic obsessive stalker. I do kinda disagree that it diminishes Mama wo bist du. To me, it still does the job of showing that Sisi is too wrapped up in her own issues to pay attention to anyone else, just in a way that's more focused on the Obligatory Romance than before. But I'm also biased because the two main productions I've watched over and over are 2005 Vienna and 2009 Antwerpen so now the ones that don't have it feel a bit off to me. Also I love the little joke of showing Christine in her inexplicable Sisi costume when talking about Elisabeth turning into Phantom 2.0.

Removing der schwarze prinz was a crime. Saw Elizabeth over 20 times in vienna and on a german tour

Whoever you are. You're spot on. And thanks for the addendum. Made my day.

I also really hate that death was made more explicitly a character onto himself. All it does is muddy everything up, as you said. Also, I still think Rudolph should initiate the Mayerling-Kiss, since he is the one who initiates his own death and doesn’t just wait for it to take him.

it's so sad that they made der tod to be this... plain and simple, when death is complex, not only as a character, but, well, death itself is. so why reduce it to what they did from 2012 onward? i really like mark seibert. i loved him as colloredo in mozart das musical. but it's sad seeing an actor you like playing a character that is less than it used to be before. i've never noticed the changes since i only watched the first revival with kamaras (mainly because it's the only one with english subtitles on yt lol) but now that i know german a little more, i really want to check the original out and i surely will, especially after you reminding me that kröger plays death there lol thank you so much for this video essay. i enjoyed diving in more into the different versions of the musical! it's absolutely my favorite non-english musical, alongside rudolf affaire mayerling! (also, literally seconds before you showed the japanese version with a female death, i was like, "why can't they just cast der tod as a woman?" and i guess they did lol) (they should definitely do it more) (i'd really enjoy seeing the same chemistry as kröger and kamaras showed with "their" elisabeths and rudolfs but with a female death:])

I love this so much and you brought up points I hadn’t thought of 😄

What a pleasure this was to watch! Very intelligent in thought and expression. Well done

You put into words my thoughts on why I find subsequent productions of Elisabeth lacking in one aspect or another. But mainly I lament the dwindling philosophical aspects of it's interpretation. To me it's one of the key factors that make Elisabeth such a great musical and Kunze's Magnum Opus. It's lyrics are like a poetry that invites the audience to think and reflect on multiple subjects at once while following a surprisingly complex storyline. I don't think I can name another musical that does that other than Cats. However, Webber gets less points because it's an adaptation, not an original screenplay 😆

Great work, intelligent dissection. Where is discussion of the progression of Elisabeth's death in Death's arms and then he just leaves her lying on the stage floor or her being carried off stage by death at the end?

Great analysis! It's also very true what you say, everyone adores their own version of Death. Our Dutch version with Stanley Burleson is sublime. He has a dark yet warm voice portraying this complex character.

I feel the ending so much

Nodding along throughout the video and then the last sentence I slam my head on the table in agreement

*lifts sign with Andreas' quote about Rudolf being 'obviously not hetero, as a matter of interpretation gay, at least bi'

I'm generally a fan of the more bad boy deaths and Mark Seibert is a favourite, but I do agree that Mark seems be leaning more and more into the "no homo" with Rudolf lately. I think maybe he's just sick of the role, as a seems to have begun to just sleepwalk through it in the later performances IMO. My other favourite Death is Stanley Burlesson from the Dutch Production who's more of a sad boy with lots of feelings XD

Incredibly interesting analyzation! Well done! I just wanted to add that all Viennese theater productions were directed and choreographed by the same team: Harry Kupfer and Dennis Callahan. Though the "new" costumes for the 2012 revival were by Yan Tax, who originated that design for the production in Scheveningen. VBW then hired Yan Tax again for the concert version in 2019 and 2022, though this time the direction was in the hands of Gil Mehmert and the choreography was by Simon Eichenberger. That explains why in comparison the concert differs greatly from the Viennese theater productions.

brilliant video. great analysis!

This is great, thanks for posting

Thank you for reminding me of this masterpiece! I remember watching it a lot when I was younger. My personal favorite portrayal was Uwe Kröger. I enjoyed Mark Seibert's portrayal as well.

First death's portrayal was for the gays, then the girls, and now (no offense except kinda) the guys Yeah I enjoy Tod more as an androgynous otherworldly, thoroughly pretty person, if I wanted another ripped Lucifer I would watch literally every other piece of media ever made... Anyways, your video was very insightful, good job!

Excellent essay!

make elizabeth gay again!! thank you so much for the video

I wish I could see Elisabeth live at least somewhere from the 92-98 since I think Uwe set the bar high from doing a wonderful job as der tod and i think Addo, Paul, Felix did good following his foot steps but also bringing there own interpretation of der tod. And there should be some more female Der Tod's. I would love to see the costumes for a female der tod. And hopefully won't look like it was quickly put together like Mark's costumes(and half of the other costumes).

they massacred my boy :/

The new suits Death wears are just ugly and they really didn't try to improve the musical and instead just let it rot slowly. I always preferred the German version but it's really no wonder that now the Japanese version is my favorite and I just hope I some day get to go and watch it live.

This was such an informative and highly entertaining video and made an incredibly compelling point, I'm glad it was recommended to me! Also impressive how much personality can be conveyed through text-to-speech, wow!

I was at one of the Schónbrunn concerts this year and i really liked it! But i did notice the weird scene about Rudolphs death and the kiss was missing. I think i said that a bit too loudly because the ladies next to looked a bit sour. And they were clearly there only because Mark is hot (which i do agree on tho).

They heterosexualized my boy.... Thank you for this essay, and hard agree on your last point

I haven't been able to watch Elisabeth yet because I had no interest in the musical until recently. I plan to watch Tanz der Vampire next time they're playing it and maybe I'll also look into tickets for Elisabeth next time (tho the Uwe Tod seems so much cooler!!!) :p ah the life of being Viennese and not doing stuff lol Thanks for this video!! I really find it interesting that they made it straighter over time. Death is such a good figure to make ambiguous in appearance and portrayal overall and it's actually quite sad that they end up leaning into cis heteronormativity.

My favorite version is the German-Hungarian mixed version!

I really agree with you. On the 3th of September this year I went to see the French version in Belgium. They took all the directorial choises from the second Vienna Revival. They didn't do a Mayerlin kiss witch I thought was bummer since I was so ecxited to see it but Der Tod also didn't kiss Elisabeth at te end. So I think it was to set them apart from the humans. Der Tod also led Sophie to this hole thing he came from when she died and they putted Rudoplh's maitraisse in the Mayerlin Watlz. They hugged each other, she offerd him the gun and right when he shot himself Der Tod catched him before he fell on the ground. It was as he didn't want Rudolph to die. Der Tod was not that masculine portrayed but also not like Uwe's version. I think it was more like Oliver Arno's portrayel in the Antwerp version. Der Tod did have a whole different costume. Everything wfas darkblue. They wore a seethroug shirt, blue pants and blazer, blue nail polish and an earring. This was their only cotume. I think this version was a bit better than the Second Vienna Revival but nothing can compare to the original one.

Now I'm sad Czech production of Elisabeth doesn't have the kiss between Death and Rudolf. And I see so much potential that the production missed. It's really interesting to see how much the musical has evolved. Though to be fair, our Death is overall much colder and I don't think he gets close to Elisabeth much either until the end, and I like that. Also our costume for Death is my favorite (in my humble unbiased opinion)

They should have just brought the original cast for the 2019-2022 production of Elisabeth since they would have made it a bit better but that's my opinion:)

Really well-written, impressively researched and you make a great point (you managed to make an incredibly interesting essay about 'they removed the kiss!'). My one critique is the ending line - it's funny, but the 'This needs to happen because I'm gay' doesn't really fit with anything else in the essay with the exception (maybe?) of the Takarazuka

I had to rewind what you said at the ending!!!🤣

a round of applause for this

I really like your analysis of the character death!! I found this musical just a few days ago, and it really helps me to understand the character! (also to choose my own favorite one :) ) 22:56 by the way for some reason the subtitle is in Korean... so I read them while listening to your analysis. ...Wow it really is romantic. Not... what I expected to hear from death character...

I would love to see Elizabeth and Rebecca!

It was really interesting to watch a video about the original production (the hungarian one is one of my mother's favorite musicals and i basically grew up listenig to it) but like actually why the heck did they remove the kiss??? I got to watch it for the first time in december in Hungary (as you may know, we're not in a good situation about the LGBT+ community unfortunately) and they still had it?? Like just why... Also actually seeing it live for the first time kind of made me realised that having a crush on the Death wen i was 8 and on the Phantom at 9 may have to do something with having effed-up fictional crushes most of my life lol

Subbed!! I hope you touch upon TdV because plot aside, the relationships are all over the place (yes I mean Herbert too, but also Sara how she sang abt how cute Alfred is but basically said fuck that after Count seduced her and their duet at the end is Alfred going we're gonna be together :D and Sara I can go and do whatever the fuck I want :D.. Alfred is singing about love and she about freedom, they're not hearing each other and some people are missing this part. Then there's Krolock loving Sara (or does he only care about her while she's human?) but the whole "Alfred's soul is already mine" and other small things (like hypnotising him while talking is front of the castle) n Krolock longing for human companions got me 👀 and Chagal and Magda broooo those two are such a mess too

Wonderful analysist. I would love for an English version, but god only knows how it would be butchered.

Fühl ich, good work

OK, so first of all, this was the best analysis (of the few ('-: ) ones I've seen of this musical so far! I agree that the concert version is missing a lot from the '''normal'' production. The ensemble doesn't get to shine as bright as they get to in the theatre, also the Tod's relationship with Rudolf is lacking the tension, as you mentioned in your video. Still, I am very sure that the lack of the mayerling kiss is not because of someone being homophobic, since austria as a country is lgbtq friendly and supportive towards the community. Why they removed it, no idea. They probably wanted to give the production an own touch, but they could've kept the Tod x Rudolf relationship for sure. I dislike the concert version anyways, since it takes away the vibe totally, in my opinion. My mum wanted to take me to the concert this year, but I denied since a musical has to be performed on a big stage and not on a small one with no proper space. The musical lives because of the controversity in all the relationships, the concert version was mainly done because of the big fanbase and success in AT and also to perform it infront of Schloss Schönbrunn. Despite adding a special touch, the concert version can NEVER compare to the proper theatrical version . If the VBW plans on bringing it back to the theatres, they will surely do one of the viennese productions without big changes (at least I hope so). Since Mr Christian Struppeck has already directed the 2012 production and has been working for the vbw since then, I have high hopes that, when performing it again, the storyline is kept the way it is supposed to be.

Here for the tension between Matés death and Rudolph. Really made me realize I am incredibly queer 🎉 Very cool made - thank you! And yes: No to yet another forced heteronormative musical - and Yes to a female death 🤩 #RepresentationMatters

I don't know if Mark zeibert looks like Ian ziering (Beverly hills 90201 Kelly Taylor's ex-boyfriend before the show started), however I always get the impression of Ian ziering, whenever I see mark zeibert.

where did you find the video of the Takarazuka's productions of 'Elisabeth'??

This actually explains why Elisabeth left me confused when I watched it, the version I saw was definitely post Wenn Ich Tanzen Will getting added, and maybe already had Kein Kommen Ohne Gehen as well. To me the overall themes of the show appeared muddled at best, Kitsch felt extremely ironic, and, more subjectively, the idea that Death was in love with Elisabeth from the moment he first met her felt... uncomfortable, seeing as Elisabeth was extremely young at that point (which, if I recall correctly even gets pointed out in the show?) It may be important to add that I am fluent in German, and was aware of the history surrounding Sisi long before first seeing the musical.

i like the korean ver with Junsu as tod, bit my favorite is defiantly the original production.

Also what about Addo Kruizinga or Paul Kribbe and Felix martin since they also had there own way of portraying der tod? Just asking?

You have no idea how obsessed I am with this essay! I love the analysis, the wit, the research. My personal favourite Death is Ichiro Maki (Takarazuka 1996 Snow troupe), she is the perfect Prince of Death. I also love Asaji Saki (Star troupe, 1996-97). But Uwe and Maté are amazing in their own ways, I love the complexity they bring to their portrayals and the overall story. I feel so sad thinking that a lot of productions are lightnings in a bottle and we can't replicate them or go back in time. The power they hold over us! Sometimes I see a shot of Ichiro Maki as der Tod and my heart just stops haha. The Death still be Deathing years later

Thank you for this video, I really enjoyed your analysis! I’m most familiar with the Takarazuka version so it was interesting to see the progression of the Viennese productions, and it’s a shame they’ve made it more generic. I gasped when you showed the 2022 Mayerling bit and the kiss wasn’t there. What are the producers afraid of? And also Death luring Rudolph with what looks like a cat toy really just feels disrespectful. On a side note, to go back to the topic of the Takarazuka version, yes Death is technically supposed to be male there, but because they go for androgynous-ish styling it really just feels like Elisabeth and Death are a wlw couple, making the that version feel very queer to me (even though I know Japan has problems with LGBT+ issues so a lot of people who actually live there there would probably disagree with me).

Well done! =) The last few seconds... What kind of show is that? And who are the performers?

I also hope one day we will have a female death. I'm also weiting a male Sadia for Starmania.

It's a pity that I don't understand English by ear 😭😭😭 such an interesting topic. I would like to discuss