#Sáfár Mónika

[inevitablemoment]

My Top 5 Favorite Elisabeths

DISCLAIMER -- This is just my personal opinion. Please don't flame me. I just want to talk about how much I love these women. And yes, Pia isn't on here, but she gets an honorable mention.

Maya Hakvoort (2005 Vienna revival/proshot)

She's my first Sisi, so I probably would always have a soft spot for her. But I have to say, every time that I watch the 2005 proshot, she never fails to blow me away with her sheer talent. While I'm sure everyone points to her performance of "Ich gehör nur mir," I have to draw attention to her morbid curiosity and wonder in "Schwarzer Prinz," her release of regret and grief in "Totenklage," and her (honestly frightening) rage and determination in "Maladie." Even in songs where she's present but doesn't have any lines, such as "Der letzte Tanz," the emotions on her face are both as clear as day and a mystery. She knows the right time to be subtle and restrained, and the right time to let all of her emotions take control. Also, as a random note, I think she's like if Willemijn Verkaik and Lucy Lawless had a baby.

2. Willemijn Verkaik (2006 Thun)

I mean... it's Willemijn Verkaik. While Maya was my first Elisabeth that I watched in full, it was through Willemijn that I had first learned of the show back in 2016 (when I began to discover my love of musical theater in general). Of course, I only have the fourteen minutes of promotional material, and the production style is a mixed bag for me (I liked some of the costumes, such as her nightgown in "Ich gehör nur mir," but the cajones to redesign her coronation gown-- as well as some of the blocking), but it's still worth watching those fourteen minutes to see Willemijn's version of Sisi.

3. Mónika Sáfár (1996 Szeged)

Mónika is a very recent discovery and actually, my first Hungarian Sisi, but she is already a favorite of mine. She surprised me with how mature and classical her voice was, even when portraying a young Elisabeth, but it somehow works. The maturity of her voice doesn't detract from her intrepretation of Elisabeth's journey from free-spirited Bavarian princess to isolated empress to triumphant queen to lonely and bitter hermit.

4. Ock Joo-hyun (2012 Seoul)

Oh, God... where to start with her? She is able to portray both Elisabeth's desire for freedom beyond the house of Habsburg while carrying herself with an empress-like dignity. She has such a unique voice, that is classical in a way similar to Mónika, with the same depth of Maya Hakvoort's voice and the strength of Willemijn Verkaik.

5. Annemieke van Dam (2012 Vienna)

Now, I said in a previous post that Annemieke looks the most like Elisabeth (like, to an eerie extent), but that's not the only reason that she's here. She has the lightest voice of any Elisabeth that I've heard, but that doesn't mean it lacks in strength. She is able to hold her own through each song, whether it's a solo, a duet, or a group number. And her interpretation is the most unique that I've seen; she truly makes the role her own.

[wolfgangamaderik]

“Poor fool he makes me laugh” from Hungarian Phantom. 

Erik: Sasvári Sándor

Christine: Mahó Andrea

Carlotta: Sáfár Mónika

Monsieur André : Szerednyey Béla

Monsieur Firmin: Galbenisz Tomasz

Meg Giry, a lánya, balettáncosnő: Ladinek Judit

(Well, other than Michael Crawford’s, I love Sasi’s laugh the most from all the Eriks in this scene. I hope you like it too)

[shimyereh]

That won’t be me anymore (Az már nem én lennék)

I haven’t posted any translations from Hungarian in a while, so here’s a song that recently got itself stuck in my head. I love how expressively Janza Kata sings it in this video, but I also like Sáfár Mónika’s recording (which was my first exposure). Original Hungarian text and my translation below the cut. (Source of Hungarian text here.)

ELISABETH Don’t ask me to play the well-behaved woman. Don’t ask me to be fluent in fashion and etiquette. The perfect little court lady – that won’t be me anymore!

When the trapeze soars, when the thin ice holds – and I’m risking everything on a whim – that’s marvelous, that’s a dream come true. So understand: if I can’t take chances – that won’t be me anymore!

If you keep me away from any hardship, that is a kind of hardship: how dreary my life would be! Like a falcon, I will fly to some faraway land, if necessity compels me!

If a star calls down to me, if it beckons to me, I’ll go. The world is my home; the clouds, my masters. If books are to be my only source of worldly knowledge – that won’t be me anymore!

And I can’t stand being jostled  by so many favorites and lackeys. And I’m on edge when I’m stared at, and I relish being alone. Pretending the vicious mob can’t hurt me – that won’t be me anymore!

And you can lose something, believe me, if you lock it up tight. I will fly out of your nest. In order to keep me, you must let me still believe that the life I live is my own!

I need a companion, a friend, who protects me, who holds me close, who understands and helps, when I need sympathy or a laugh. But let me live as free as my soul, because that’s all I want to be!

Just that!

ELISABETH Ne kívándd, hogy játszam a nőt, aki jólnevelt. Ne kívándd, hogy tudjam, a módit, s az illemet. E példás, kis udvartöltelék, az már nem én lennék!

Ha repít a trapéz, ha elbír a vékony jég. A szeszély, a veszély, az csodás, az álomszép. De értsd meg, ha nem kockáztatnék, már nem én lennék!

Ha óvnál a bajtól, épp az lesz a baj, hogy nyűg lesz csak rajtam a lét! Mint sólyom, úgy szállok majd más táj felé, ha béklyóz a kényszerűség!

Ha leszól egy csillag, ha elhív, én elmegyek. A világ, a hazám, a felhők, a mesterek. Ha tudást csak könyvekből vennék az már nem én lennék!

És taszít, ha tolong, sok kegyenc sok esdeklő, És riaszt, ha les rám, És öröm, ha egy sem jő' Kit nem bánt e barbár csőcselék, Az már nem én lennék!

És elveszthetsz, hidd el, ha börtönbe zársz. A fészkedből elszállok én. Hogy megtarthass, az kell, hogy hadd higgyem már, az élet, mit élek, enyém!

Egy társ kell, egy barát, ki megvéd, ki átölel, ki megért és segít, ha vígasz vagy tréfa kell. De hagyja, hogy éljek, szabadon, mint a lélek, mert így vagyok csak én!

Csak így!

[theveilfalls]

I HAD NO IDEA THIS EXISTED. Work film for Opi's Elisabeth in 1996, featuring some (very young) faces whom I adore. (Mónika, Kata in interview, Szilveszter & Földes Tamás are the main actors shown)(Zoli's in ensemble)

(part 1) (part 2 [above]) (part 3)

part 3 has Szil / Mónika Schleier fällt i'm ashjgfg;

[singfurimmer-blog]

As long as I'm posting videos from the original Hungarian cast, here's Totenklage.

[singfurimmer-blog]

The first part of a special about the Hungarian Elisabeth...WAYYY back when it first premiered, it seems. The video is a little slow-moving, until you get to the best part: A pretty much full video of Sáfár Mónika's Ich Gehör Nur Mir! I've only seen little bits of her performance, but I think she really is my favorite Elisabeth so far.

[singfurimmer-blog]

Here's another Hungarian Elisabeth/Death pairing I had no clue happened - Szilveszter and Sáfár Mónika, singing Der Schleier Fällt.

[singfurimmer-blog]

I love solo songs sung as duets - and here's a gorgeous version of Az Már Nem Én Lennék/Ich Gehör Nur Mir sung as a duet between Sáfár Mónika and a very young-looking Janza Kata. Simply beautiful...

[singfurimmer-blog]

Aha! Found it at last. Nyisd Ki, Elisabeth/Elisabeth, Mach Auf Mein Engel with Sáfár Mónika, Sándor Sasvári, and Tamás Mester.