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operaglass-blog1 · 6 years ago

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Marie Antoinette

The long-awaited “Marie Antoinette” came and went at the Imperial Theatre.

When it was first announced in February of this year, I was ecstatic for several reasons. I had just seen Furukawa Yuta’s performance in “Kuroshitsuji -Tango on the Campania-“ and just couldn’t wait to see him sing again. Not to mention, who doesn’t love beautiful Versailles and all the gorgeous dresses and decadence of that era? I remember having watched the Marie Antoinette movie that starred Kirsten Dunst at least ten times in my university days, and I was completely enamoured with the lifestyle of the French royalty in the 18th century.

Since I had half a year from the announcement of the musical to the actual show, in preparation, I ordered books on the history of Marie Antoinette, read a bit on the French Revolution, started studying French again, and rewatched the movie a week before I went to see the musical for the first time. The more I read the more fascinating it became, and when it opened at the Hakata Theater in Fukuoka, I was browsing the pictures and digest videos pretty much every day until it finally arrived at the Imperial Theatre in Tokyo. (Talk about obsessed.)

This is the second time for “Marie Antoinette” to be shown in Japan, the last time being the musical’s first performance ever in 2006. Despite the story being set in France, its origins are actually in Japan, with the musical written by Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay (who also wrote “Mozart!” and “Elisabeth”, both of which I also love) and inspired by the Japanese novel Ohi Marie Antoinette (“The Queen Marie Antoinette”) by Endo Shusaku, published in 1985. I have not read the novel, so I will be talking about what I saw in the musical only.

The story revolves around Marie Antoinette as she is taken from Austria to France to marry Louis XVI, serving as the Dauphine of France before becoming the Queen several years later. In the midst of that, she meets Count Axel von Fersen, a Swedish count serving as a diplomat to France, and the musical also zooms in a little on his relationship with Marie Antoinette. However, rather than only focusing on the secret (or not-so-secret) love affair between Marie Antoinette and Count Fersen, the story also brings in a fictional character named Margrid, a girl who lives on the streets and spearheads the French Revolution, leading to the downfall of the royal family. What I really enjoyed about the story was that rather than looking at what Marie Antoinette did in her life, her involvement with the diamond necklace affair, and other events she is typically known for, it shines light on her growth as a person and the conflicts she encounters both as a woman and as the queen of France, and gives depth that goes beyond being a famous historical figure.

The musical this time features a double cast for the roles of Marie Antoinette (Hanafusa Mari/Sasamoto Rena), Margrid Arnaud (Sonim/Kon Natsumi), Count Fersen (Tashiro Mario/Furukawa Yuta), and Louis XVI (Sato Takanori/Harada Yuichi). Since I went to see the musical four times, twice in October and twice in November, I was able to see the same scenes through different “lenses” depending on the actor. It’s unfortunate that I didn’t have the chance to see Tashiro-san as Fersen (as Furukawa-san is fixed for me...), but I really enjoyed each show, and I found that while particular lines by particular cast members left strong impressions on me, they didn’t necessarily strike an impression when said by the other actor in the same role, and vice versa.

Hanafusa Mari, a past top star in Takarazuka Revue as a musume-yaku (an actress who only plays female roles), always had a kind of elegant joy written in her expression even when she wasn’t smiling. Her Marie Antoinette was someone who wasn’t so ignorant as much as voluntarily carefree; the part of her that chooses to ignore the poverty of her people is strong. The voice and nuances she says her lines are very meticulous, and I loved watching her performance. One of my favourite scenes by Hanafusa-san is when Marie has an argument with Fersen in the garden, and right after she says “Meirei yo! Watashi wa Furansu no ohii yo!” (“That’s an order! I’m the Queen of France!”), she immediately regrets it, reverting back to herself as simply a woman, and says in a small voice, “…Chigau no, ima no kotoba, imi ga nai no. Axel… Modottekite…” (“…No, the words just now, they didn’t mean anything. Axel… Come back…”). This part unexpectedly made me teary. I really felt in this scene that she was a girl, yet not just any girl, and that there was a conflict between the two even within herself as she struggles between her own desires, and her responsibilities and privileges.

On the other hand, the Marie played by Sasamoto Rena, another musical actress with a strong musical background, had a more mischievous and young smile, and Sasamoto-san’s Marie looked more like a girl in love who was going through life as any other woman. Sasamoto-san’s voice was deeper than I had first expected, but I found that it fit very well with a lot of Marie’s solos that required her to belt, like Aite wa Hebi (“Going against a snake”). It was my first time seeing the same musical several times with different people playing the main role, and it was fascinating for me to look at how and where they kept things the same, yet different for other parts, and how each cast member’s interpretation of the scene and his or her own character affected this.

I was happy to find that Count Fersen has the first and last solo in the musical. In the beginning, he has a long solo where he sings about his encounter with Marie Antoinette (I believe they were both 16 years old at the time) and explains her history of being married off to France. At the end of the story, he reads a letter informing him that Marie Antoinette (at 37 years old) had been executed. The solo he sings in the last scene is written with the same melody as his solo in the beginning and starts off similarly, which I thought was brilliant in pulling the audience’s heartstrings and bringing the musical full circle. I really like how the music Levay creates in his musicals is reused (this is true for both “Mozart!” and “Marie Antoinette”), first appearing in the first act during the characters’ innocent and ambitious days, then arranged and reused later in the second act when change is forced on the characters and circumstances are no longer within their control. When Furukawa-san sang this solo at the end, I could almost see actual tears glittering in his eyes.

After reading extensively about Fersen and Marie’s relationship beforehand, I did find Furukawa-san’s portrayal of Fersen a little colder than I had expected. I had always imagined Fersen to be a subtle man (this part is okay) with a loving heart who is secretly but completely enamoured with Marie. However, maybe from the influence of Furukawa-san’s own personality, I found that he was portrayed as someone who loved Marie in his own way, but his logic and coolheadedness to be above that (although that may be accurate in a way since their relationship was able to last for so many years). There were several duets and various conversations between the two lovers; however, they were relatively short compared to the other interactions in the musical. Strangely, I didn’t find the dynamics between the two to be overly romantic, but their scenes together to be more like catalysts, briefly describing their relationship and ultimately move Marie’s life story forward.

In the scene in the garden when Fersen tells Marie to look at reality and shouts, “Otona ni narunda, Marie!” (“It’s time to grow up, Marie!”), despite their fight, the Fersen portrayed remains to be a patient man who, seeing Marie happy in her own little paradise, is hesitant to destroy one of her sole oasis in the midst of her turbulent life. Though he had only wanted to give her advice as an act of love, Fersen reconciles with Marie despite their different opinions, as seen when he asks her if she is still angry at the night masquerade. It is unfortunate that this may have ended up being one of the factors that led to Marie’s ignorance of the situation outside of the palace until it was too late for her.

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In terms of the set, it was very elaborately made and changed quite frequently, with sets coming in from the back, the sides, and down from above. In many of the scenes that involved a large number of people gathering in one place (the ball at Versailles, the garden, the revolutionaries, etc.), a revolving set was used so that the overall scene could be seen by the audience, with the stage turning at some point to focus on something else that was happening at the same time. The revolving circular set was made with a slope, allowing the scene to make use of the depth of the stage without anything being obscured from the audience when characters moved further into the back. I was also impressed with the details of the set for Leonard and Rose’s shop. The shop set came down from overhead, and real items lined the shelves that were built into the back wall of the set. The door attached to the wall could actually be opened, and every time it opened, the sound of a bell sounded to make it more realistic. Furthermore, the usage of lit torches at the masquerade scene in the garden was particularly beautiful and mystical. Other sets that I particularly enjoyed was the printing shop where the revolutionaries make the posters, and the garden scene with leaves coming down from overhead and an image of the riverside projected onto the back wall, the circular stage in the middle covered in a green carpet of grass.

As for the characters and how they resonated with me, I wanted to support both Marie, a kind girl making the best of her own situation and trying to be happy in it, and Margrid, fighting for her people who were suffering every day while the wealth of her country was dwindling away. Kon-san’s Margrid was portrayed as very energetic and young, whereas Sonim-san’s Margrid was more rebellious, yet with a hidden kindness that shows when she interacts with Fersen and stands up for Marie at the trial.

I really appreciate the fact that the women in Kunze and Levay’s musicals are so strong and three-dimensional. For “Marie Antoinette”, one scene that really touched me in terms of its female characters is when Madame Ranmarre and Marie comfort the children, tucking them into bed and telling them not to be afraid. Even with the revolutionaries storming Versailles and the fear that this must instill in the two women, they choose not to run and play the pillars of support for each other and for the royal family. Although Madame Ranmarre does not have a very big part overall, I was very touched by the scenes in which she does appear, gracefully supporting her mistress and the children. Surprisingly, Madame Du Barry does not make an appearance in the musical—which I’m completely fine with as, honestly, too many depictions of Marie Antoinette’s life focus on her struggles in her early married life as the Dauphine of France.

I did find Marie’s letter that Margrid tries to use as possible evidence at the trial a little hard to believe, seeing how according to historical records, Marie and Fersen used such extensive codes and methods to exchange letters in addition to using pen names and designated messengers. However, the letter does serve as a catalyst for the trust and relationship between Marie and Margrid, and it’s how the musical employs both fact and fiction that made it so entertaining and allows the audience to see Marie Antoinette and her story in a new light.

The music, of course, is amazing. There were so many catchy tunes, and the lyrics were so beautifully written. The ballad between Marie and Fersen when he tells her that he must leave, reused again when he sneaks in to see her as she is detained by the revolutionaries, really pulls the heartstrings, with the sound of the harpsichord and heart-wrenching lyrics: Nakanaide, naku no wa yume ga kanawanai toki / Jiyuu na wakai hi ya shiawase ga mou kaeranai toki / Dakedo ima wa nakanaide / Kono ai dake wa kienai kara (“Don’t cry, crying is for when your dreams are not to be / For when the days of freedom and youth, and happiness are never to come back / But for now, don’t cry / Because only this love will never disappear”). Fersen sings these words again when Marie is separated from Louis XVI and struggling to keep herself and her children together; even in that impossible situation, he tells her not to cry despite her dreams having already been shattered. Despite the lyrics saying otherwise, I cried at this part every single time. Although all of the songs in the musical are spectacular, this song always particularly struck me in the heart.

I was extremely impressed by Sato Takanori, in the role of King Louis XVI, and Yoshihara Mitsuo, playing the role of Count of Orleans. It was my first time seeing both of their performances, but their voices were so mesmerizing and the portayals of their characters so magnificent, I’m sure it was something that only the two of them would ever be able to pull off. I would love to see them again in other productions in the future.

I have so many things I want to say about this musical, and despite nearing the end of December, my mind is still so full of memories from watching “Marie Antoinette”. Fortunately enough, a DVD of this performance of the musical is set to be released next spring, so although it won’t be the same as watching it in person at the theatre, I can’t wait to see it again and relive the wonderful world of “Marie Antoinette” that this production has built.

Although the shows in Fukuoka, Tokyo, and Aichi have finished, there are still upcoming performances in Osaka starting from New Year’s. I really recommend going to see this production if you can—it is amazing and it will not disappoint. You can also pre-order the DVD at each respective theatre for the duration of the musical.

I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to experience “Marie Antoinette” this autumn. And with “Roméo & Juliette”, “Les Misérables”, and “Elisabeth” lined up next year as well, I guess I’ll be quite busy until the end of summer. I can’t wait!

—Official site: https://www.tohostage.com/ma/

#imperialtheatre #toho #tohostage #musical #marieantoinette #teigeki #tokyo #japan #furukawayuta #hanafusamari #東宝 #ミュージカル #マリーアントワネット #帝国劇場 #古川雄大 #花總まり #笹本怜奈 #帝劇 #東京

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retro-vgm-revival-hour · 5 years ago

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RETRO VGM REVIVAL HOUR - STAGE 68: Games Of 2019

Better late than never!

This past 2019 was surprisingly strong for the world of gaming, offering up an incredibly varied mix of interactive experiences to all who played.

This past year had a great variety of games, be it from triple-A titles like Death Stranding to Link’s Awakening to indie successes like Disco Elysium, whatever your game of choice might be, all were there to inspire, comfort, and more importantly: entertain.   This past year was a defining showcase of the industry’s most talented individuals and how their creations made for some entertaining choices of digital escapism, be in on the go, or at the comfort of your own home.

So as a returning favorite for the retro VGM revival hour, We will be playing some selected tracks from the various games of 2019.

Now unlike the previous STAGES, this years selection will be limited to 3 tracks per game as a way to hopefully include more game titles than the previous episodes covering this said subject.

Now with that out of the way…. let’s get started!

Full track listing: ===========Game – Composer – Title – Company========

1.) Astral Chain – Satoshi Igarashi, Hiroyuki Fujino, Naofumi Harada, Hitomi Kurokawa, Masahiro Aoki & Satoshi Setsune – “Savior (w/ vocals by William Aoyama & Beverly), Legion Assault & Jena Anderson”- August 30, 2019 – PlatinumGames/Nintendo – Nintendo Switch

2.) A Plague Tale: Innocence – Olivier Deriviere – “Father, Strangers & Escape” – May 14, 2019 – Asobo Studio/Focus Home Interactive – Windows PC, PS4 & Xbox One

3.) Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – Keiki Kobayashi – “IUN Briefing, Charge Assault & Eastern Wind“ – January 18, 2019 – Bandai Namco Entertainment – PS4, Xbox One & Windows PC

4.) Apex Legends – Stephen Barton – “Preparing The Arena, You Are The Jumpmaster & Victory/Lobby Redux“ – February 4, 2019 – Respawn Entertainment/Electronic Arts – PS4, Xbox One & Windows PC

5.) Far Cry New Dawn – Tyler Bates & John Swihart – “Breakout, Saw Launcher & No Future“ – February 15, 2019 – Ubisoft Montreal/Ubisoft – PS4, Xbox One & Windows PC

6.) Wolfenstein: Youngblood – Ross Tregenza & Naren Rauch – “Côte D’azure, Weltraum Surfen (performed by COPILOT) & The House of the Rising Sun (performed by COPILOT)” – July 25, 2019 – MachineGames & Arkane Studios/Bethesda Softworks – Windows PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch & Google Stadia

7.) Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes – Kazuhiro Abo & DJ 1/2 – “Death Drive Console Beat, Electro Triple Star & Kill Your Artificial Mind“ – January 18, 2019 – Grasshopper Manufacture – Nintendo Switch, PS4 & Windows PC

8.) Days Gone – Nathan Whitehead – “We’ve All Done Things, Holy War & The Broken Road” – April 26, 2019 – Bend Studio/Sony Interactive Entertainment – PS4

9.) Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night – Michiru Yamane – “Luxurious Overture, Silent Howling & Voyage of Promise“ – June 18, 2019 – ArtPlay/505 Games – Xbox One, Windows PC, PS4 & Nintendo Switch

10.) Borderlands 3 – Michael McCann, Jesper Kyd & Finishing Move Inc. (Brian Lee White & Brian Trifon) – “Atlas HQ/Attacked, The Ambush at Jakob’s Estate & The Proving Grounds Final Exam“ – September 13, 2019 – Gearbox Software/2K Games – Mac OS, Windows PC, Google Stadia, PS4 & Xbox One

11.) Shakedown: Hawaii – Matthew Creamer – “Freeway Escape, Obliterator & Maniacal Lunatic“ – May 7, 2019 – Vblank Entertainment – Windows PC, Playstation Vita, PS4, 3DS & Nintendo Switch

12.) The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening – Ryo Nagamatsu – “First Search, Ending (Staff Roll) & Tal Tal Heights – September 20, 2019 – Grezzo/Nintendo – Nintendo Switch

13.) Ys IX: Monstrum Nox – Hayato Sonoda, Takahiro Unisuga, Yukihiro Jindo, Mitsuo Singa & Natsuno Nakamura – “NORSE WIND, GLESSING WAY! & FEEL FORCE“ – September 26, 2019 (Japan Only) – Nihon Falcom – PS4

14.) Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order – Takahiro Umeda & Masafumi Okubo – “The Raft 2, VS. Red Skull & VS. The Black Order” – July 19, 2019 – Team Ninja/Nintendo – Nintendo Switch

15.) The Outer Worlds – Justin E. Bell – “We’re All Counting on You, Journey’s End (End Slides) & Human Resource Violations“ – October 25, 2019 – Obsidian Entertainment/Private Division – Windows PC, Xbox One, PS4 & Nintendo Switch

16.) The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan – Jason Graves – “Where’s the Skipper, No Idle Threat & Redemption“ – August 30, 2019 – Supermassive Games/Bandai Namco Entertaiment – Windows PC, Xbox One & PS4

17.) Mortal Kombat 11 – Wilbert Roget II & Matthias Wolf – “A Matter of Time (Main Theme), Immortal Kombat & Shang Tsung’s Island Ruins“ – April 23, 2019 – NetherRealm Studios/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment – Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One & Google Stadia

18.) Code Vein – Masaru “Go” Shiina – “Extremum Belli, Requiem & Tears of Passion” – September 27, 2019 – Bandai Namco Entertainment – Windows PC, PS4 & Xbox One

19.) Left Alive – Hidenori Iwasaki – “Novo Slava, Enemy Sighted & Do You Like Baseball?“ – February 28, 2019 – Ilinx/Square Enix – Windows PC & PS4

20.) Fire Emblem: Three Houses – Takeru Kanazaki, Hiroki Morishita & Rei Kondoh – “Roar of Dominion, Chasing Daybreak & Three Houses/Main Theme“ – July 26, 2019 – Intelligent Systems & Koei Tecmo/Nintendo – Nintendo Switch

21.) Metro Exodus – Alexei Omelchuk – “Overture, Burning the Bridges & Realm of the Reaper“ – February 15, 2019 – 4A Games/Deep Silver – Windows PC, PS4, Google Stadia & Xbox One

22.) Control – Petri Alanko & Martin Stig Andersen – “Voces Ignotas, Metamophosis & Sankarin Tango (w/ vocals by Martti Suosalo)“ – August 27, 2019 – Remedy Entertainment/505 Games – Windows PC, PS4 & Xbox One

23.) Ion Fury – Jarkko Rotsten – “Maiden, In Your Interface & Broken System“ – August 15, 2019 – Voidpoint/3D Realms – Windows PC & Linux

24.) Daemon X Machina – Rio Hamamoto, Mitsuhiro Kitadani & Akihiko Ishikawa – “DAEMON X MACHINA, Inherit the Stars & Destiny (w/ vocals by Jon Underdown)“ – September 13, 2019 – Marvelous First Studio – Windows PC & Nintendo Switch

25.) Indivisible – Hiroki Kikuta – “Eternal Chaos, Power of the Third Eye & Indivisible (w/ vocals by Rio Okano)“ – October 8, 2019 – Lab Zero Games/505 Games – Linux, MacOS, Windows PC, PS4, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch

26.) Gears 5 – Ramin Djawadi – “Burned Up, Ice Combat & Kraken Combat“ – September 10, 2019 – The Coalition/Xbox Game Studios – Windows PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X

27.) Katana Zero – Bill Kiley & LudoWic – “Full Confession, Chinatown & You Will Never Know“ – April 18, 2019 – Askiisoft/Devolver Digital – Windows PC, MacOS & Nintendo Switch

28.) Samurai Shodown – Hiroshi Yamazoe (ZOE), Naoki Kita & Masato Horiuchi (Hori_Hori) – “Waltz of Nature (Nakoruru Theme), Fin of Invincibility (Galford Theme) & Way of the Crook (Earthquake Theme)“ – June 25, 2019 – SNK Corporation – Google Stadia, Arcades, PS4, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch

29.) My Friend Pedro – Nounverber, Navie D & Maks SF – “V A P E, Slinky & Look That Kills“ – June 20, 2019 – DeadToast Entertainment/Devolver Digital – Windows PC, Xbox One & Nintendo Switch

30.) The Ninja Saviors: Return of the Warriors – Hiroyuki Iwatsuki – “VS. Phantom Gecko (Stage 3 Boss), Stage 7 (Snow Track: Shelter-Inside) & Stage Final (Shelter-Back: Machine Room)“ – October 15, 2019 – Natsume/ININ Games – PS4 & Nintendo Switch

31.) Kingdom Hearts III – Skrillex & Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd (w/ Vocals by Hikaru Utada) – “Don’t Think Twice (English), Face My Fears (Japanese) & Chikai (Don’t Think Twice/Japanese ver.) – January 25, 2019 – Square Enix – Xbox One & PS4

32.) River City Girls – Megan McDuffee & NateWantsToBattle – “Knock Out, Relentless & We’re the River City Girls (w/ vocals by Cristina Vee)“ – September 5, 2019 – WayForward/Arc System Works – Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One & Microsoft PC

33.) Resident Evil 2 (2019) – Tadayoshi Makino, Masami Ueda & Shusaku Uchiyama – “Accident, R.P.D. Hall & Run, Kathy, Run” – March 8, 2019 – Capcom – PS4, Windows PC & Xbox One

34.) Death Stranding – Ludvig Forssell – “Once, There Was an Explosion, Chiral Carcass Culling & Mules“ – November 8, 2019 – Kojima Productions/Sony Interactive Entertainment – PS4 & Windows PC

35.) Disco Elysium – Jan Scott Wilkinson, Neil Hamilton Wilkinson, Martin Noble, Matthew Wood, Phil Sumner & Abi Fry (British Sea Power) – “Whirling-In-Rags/8 AM, Precinct 41 Major Crime Unit & Off We Go Into The Wild Pale Yonder“ – October 15, 2019 – ZA/UM – Windows PC, Xbox One & PS4

Edgar Velasco: @MoonSpiderHugs www.patreon.com/nostalgiaroadtrip Youtube: www.youtube.com/c/NostalgiaRoadTripChannel Official Site: nostalgiaroadtrip.com/ FaceBook: www.facebook.com/groups/nostalgiaroadtrip/ Official Twitter: @NRoadTripCast

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