#following the tanz der vampire tag in 3 2 1

[cethvalier]

just watched tanz der vampire 1997 proshot and phantom of the opera has officially been #DETHRONED from the position of second favorite musical.

i can’t exactly say for sure what i liked more about this one tonally but it worked more for me than the 2005 proshot. not saying much cus i already loved it a lot, but i love it sooo much more now. for now ill chalk it up to different direction and not think about it too hard! steve barton is THE BEST krolock and so talented. anything with dramatic (and blue, more often than not) lighting is automatically better than anything else. i also have a massive crush on 1997 alfred which might make a small difference too

[thatvictorian]

I posted 664 times in 2022

That's 660 more posts than 2021!

48 posts created (7%)

616 posts reblogged (93%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@suspiciouslyglowingmoss

@alcinas-darling

@ava-does-dumbassery

@hypo-critic-al

I tagged 323 of my posts in 2022

#dracula - 47 posts

#dracula daily - 35 posts

#lady dimitrescu - 33 posts

#jekyll and hyde - 28 posts

#lady dimitrescu x reader - 24 posts

#resident evil village - 23 posts

#jonathan harker - 21 posts

#writers - 19 posts

#the strange case of dr jekyll and mr hyde - 19 posts

#tanz der vampire - 18 posts

Longest Tag: 83 characters

#how dare you give him emotions he's not supposed to have those he is not hysterical

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

See the full post

55 notes - Posted November 1, 2022

#4

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59 notes - Posted April 26, 2022

#3

Donna's Hands

I could talk about her hands forever. The gentle curves of her slender fingers, her neatly painted nails, the way they gently rest on Angie's waist with gentle care. GOOD LORD

The way I'd love to sit and watch her sew by the fire, never faulting. The way her hands know the materials she uses, the way her hands would fit perfectly on my waist, the way she'd kiss my lips.

102 notes - Posted May 15, 2022

#2

Love Aflame

 Love, Aflame

Pov: You’re a maid who had been working for Lady Dimitrescu for quite some time. Recently you’ve caught the flu and have been reduced to bedrest. 

Warnings: Some slight anger from Lady Dimitrescu and a small argument between them. Other than that, this is fluff! A word a few might not know! Pulchritudinous! It means beautiful.  This was written for @alcinasdarling but also for @ladydimitrescuworship

Working in House Dimitrescu wasn’t exactly easy. The Lady’s daughters tended to be very aggressive in a playful way, and the Lady herself could have a bit of a temper. Although, you had worked up quite the good relationship between you. After the first year, you had been promoted to grand chambermaid due to your ability to follow orders and sarcastic sense of humor.  Perhaps the work had bored you way more than you had cared to notice, as you had taken up writing down your thoughts in a journal. 

The journal, old but usable, had been gifted to you. And by that, it was really just left on your nightstand. Usually when Lady Dimitrescu left you small gifts of appreciation, they were left with some sort of note. However when you had found it, there were none. 

December 18th, 

“I have begun my daily tasks as per usual, getting dressed and fixing my hair. The Lady has requested I clean the ballroom for she intends to host a ball. Of course, after eavesdropping   over-hearing a conversation between her and Mother Miranda, I knew this was really a ploy to hunt for test subjects and prey. It is now time for the Lady’s bath.”   

 “That’s an old entry.. Perhaps it’s about time I write another,”  You thought, picking up a pen that looked like a quill. After all, it could be quite frustrating trying to write with actual ink. The ball itself hadn’t actually been that interesting aside from sharing your first kiss with the Lady. Socializing isn't exactly easy when you know what the real reason was behind the whole event. The girls had been cleaned up and put in fine dresses, and the Lady wore a glorious red dress with fur on the shoulders.

December 20th, 

It has been sometime since I last wrote, perhaps I should do this more often now that the Lady has restricted me to bedrest. It is quite frustrating, as I can’t do any of my regular duties and feel quite useless just laying here. The ball itself was full of the usual boring guests, people from the village. No one I knew however. But I got the most incredible gift I could’ve ever asked for. Alcina had kissed me, her wine flavored lips pressed against mine. And when she kissed me for the first time, I felt something of which I could not name. At the time, I could not find the right words. Even when she had asked me how it made me feel. When I had told her I could not say, her lips upturned into a grin. As if the mere idea of making words incomprehensible to me was the most enjoyable thing in the world.

“Y/N, I have come to inspect your health,” Lady Dimitrescu’s voice called from the other side of the door.  You jumped, startled by the suddenness of her presence. The door began to open as you scrambled to hide the journal under the covers of your sheets.  Lady Dimitrescu stood high above you, moving to sit on your bed. Her weight tilting you slightly, she smiled.   “How are you feeling darling?” She purred, her golden eyes puncturing you with their gaze. You hesitated to answer her, causing her smile to drop. “I asked you a question, you are expected to answer. Or have you lost that precious voice of yours?” She growled. “No mistress, I have not.. I am feeling better.  I only ask to return to my work. It’s killing me just sitting here, I feel suffocated,” You said, clutching the sheets nervously. Lady Dimitrescu’s gaze softened as you coughed a few times, a light burn in your throat. “My dear, you are not well and I will not have you making yourself worse,” She stated firmly. Scoffing and rolling your eyes you tried to get up but were held down firmly by the woman, the journal slipping out from the covers and onto the floor.

“Oh? What’s this?” Lady Dimitrescu bent slightly to reach the item, easily holding your frantic self down. “N-nothing stop! Put it down! Hey! Can you hear me up there!?” You rambled on until she covered your mouth. Her eyes scanned the entry before she snapped the journal shut.  “Well.. isn’t this interesting..” she murmured, scooping you gently out of the bed. The urge to protest was quickly swallowed by the excitement and admiration rising in your chest. For a murderer, she truly was beautiful. Her ebony hair in soft curls, her porcelain skin, and most of all her air.  She carried you for a while through the hallways, soft candlelight warming your skin.  

Eventually you reached her room, she didn’t drop you for a moment. Not even as she bent slightly to enter the room. 

Finally she sat you on her bed. “Now pet, I want you to stay there until I return alright?” She purred. You nodded, swinging your legs. “Sure why not, after I assist you in–”, She raised a finger.  Lady Dimitrescu slipped into her bathroom, returning a short moment later in a white nightgown that, if the light landed on it right, was slightly transparent. “Wow.. just wow.. She’s.. incredible..”  You thought as she strode around to her side of the bed and slipped under the covers. Moving quickly to avoid her crushing you, you pulled the covers around you. A coughing fit racked your body as you leaned back against the pillows. 

“Easy my dear..” Alcina whispered, rubbing your stomach. Her fingers against your thin nightgown sent cold shivers throughout your body. Her smell, her touch. The way she carried herself so restrained so as to not hurt you by accident. God just her… 

It was hard not to leap up and kiss her, but the fear of destroying the relationship restrained you very well. “Thank you mistress, I appreciate it,” You whispered.  She smiled again, tilting your head over. She ran a finger across your lips before pulling you closer so that your noses were almost touching. “May I kiss you?” She asked in a breathy whisper. Your answer was pressing your lips against hers, rolling over her to straddle her lower stomach. At first you had been lifting yourself up but she pulled forward, cupping your cheeks with both hands. At last, your lips were touching. Her breath filling your lungs, the smell of the wine she drank filling your nose. The kiss lasted for a while, neither of you stopping to properly breathe. “My my draga mea, you taste so sweet..” 

All you could do was stare at her pulchritudinous body. “And you too mistress, I apologize for staring.” You tried to match her formal tone, even though your size made the romantic pose quite a funny scene. She chuckled, bouncing you slightly. In order to stop yourself from falling face forward onto her face, you rested your head on her chest.  “Rest now my dear, do not worry about your weight. I assure you, I am comfortable,” she said in a hushed tone. Soon the room had become quiet, the only sounds being Alcina’s breathy sighs of contentment as she breathed. Her skin and nightgown, warm. Sleep soon came to take you under its wing, Alcina stroking your hair.

Thank you for reading!! This is my first fic so I apologize for it being so short!

181 notes - Posted April 26, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Mother Miranda said it's my turn on the xbox

267 notes - Posted May 23, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[angelofmusic1296]

Answer 21 questions

Tagged by @emptymasks, thank you :)

1) Name: Emily

2) Nicknames: I’m fine with Em, but I’m rarely called that

3) Zodiac: Sagittarius

4) Favorite Musicians or groups: the Civil Wars, the Musical Tenors, Uwe Kröger, Pia Douwes, Thomas Borchert, Norm Lewis, Lea Salonga, Linda Eder, Anthony Warlow, and many more

5) Favorite sports team: none

6) Other blogs: none

7) Do you get asks? : No, but I would welcome them

8) How may blogs do you follow?: 14

9) Tumblr crushes: none

10) Lucky number: none

11) What are you wearing right now? light blue tank top, dark blue shorts

12) Dream vacation: Would love to go to Germany to see German shows

13) Dream car: none

14) Favorite food: Pasta, if I have to choose, I suppose

15) Drink of choice: water, but I’m also partial to apple cider and milk tea

16) Instruments: violin and piano ( I should really practice)

17) Languages: English, some Mandarin and a bit of Latin and Greek

18) Celebrity crush: Samantha Barks, Ramin Karimloo, Sabrina Weckerlin, Jan Ammann

19: Random Fact: A dog’s nose print is unique to the dog

20: Favorite Ecosystem: Northern forests, like Canada or New York

21: Favorite cat species: I liked my Manx, though he was mean

Tagging @tanz-der-vampire-musical, if you’re interested

[tanz-der-vampire-musical]

Personal concert review - Musical T’s - 29.9.2018 in Berlin

(gotta call them this because there is a thing called copy****t)

Please don’t share the audio outside Tumblr, not even the link. Thank you!

As I promised I wrote a review about Musical T's concert on 29th September 2018 in Berlin, Admiralspalast

The videos of the encore, you can find in this post!

Last time I decided to write the rest in German, but I try it in English to make everyone understand what a wonderful experience it has been.

The musical t's is a quartet, that includes 4 of the most well-known and popular musical actors in Germany who all happen to be tenors. Two of them are very well known by “Tanz der Vampire” fans. Mark Seibert and Jan Ammann, both portrayed the role Krolock in the past. The other two are Christian Alexander Müller, who played in the Phantom of the Opera musical 10 years ago and gained popularity by it, since then he was mostly in low-budget productions and off-musicals and Patrick Stanke , famous for potraying big lead roles in “3 musketeers” , “AIDA”, created the role Graf Axel von Fersen in the musical “Marie Antoinette” by Kunze/Levay and is known for his self-made shows “Stanke ohne Strom”. This is a quartet that fits to each other so well. You would never guess that in the first place, because they are all solo artists, but together they are in harmony.

I know now why I wanted this concert to happen so badly for 7 years. Yes 7 years ago I went to the same concert format and they never did it again in the past years. There was this CD back from 2011. (So if you don’t know it, listen to it, it is worth it.)The funny thing about this concert was, that even if it was 7 years later, I was immediately thrown back in time to 2011. Because many songs were just the same like back then, also added by some new songs from the musicals and concerts they did in between, but mostly same setlist as before. Also one little detail was different they all aged well and got even better in the years in between, but some of them just got a little, how should I say that, out of their old shape (you know what I mean, do you?)

The audio is the song: “Die unstillbare Gier” sung by two past Krolocks Jan Ammann and Mark Seibert

It is not an exaggeration to say, that this was probably the fan highlight both for me personally and also for the audience.

The whole audience was already very hyped by every song and I think I never saw so many standing ovations in a concert, where people sit. Usually standing ovations is to be seen after the last performance, but here we just had a contest for “who would jump first out of their seats”. And of course in a concert like this, there are mostly ladies, so screaming was foreseen. The audience was electrified and you could see that Jan and Mark were just overwhelmed after the standing ovation they received. I’ve never been to a concert like this with such a “wow” factor in so many areas.

Setlist and more detailed review under the cut!

Photos from here

To write about each and every song would be a bit too much, but I tell you a bit about my personal highlights and the TdV part.

Act 1

When the first notes were there I already knew it would be a great concert. In the Admiralspalast Studio there is a good quality about the sound. The band is never too loud and also each actor knows how to regulate his tone to make the right person stand out.

The “3 musketeers” medley is a greatly crafted piece, starting with original D’Artagnan of the original German production Patrick Stanke with “Heut ist der Tag” (Today is the day), joined by the whole quartet. It features one of my alltime favorit songs “Engel aus Kristall” (Angel of crystal) then went slowly to have “Wo ist der Sommer?” (Where is the summer?) and “Wer kann schon ohne Liebe sein?” (Who can live without love?) and then to gain momentum with „Heut ist der Tag“ to finish. You could see how much fun they had with this piece. Also amazing how songs originally sung by women in the musical also fits this quartet.

My personal highlight was Mark Seibert’s “Ein Traum ohne Anfang und Ende” (A dream without beginning and end) from the musical “Die Päpstin”. I heard him sing this piece in Hamburg in May and he is such a fit for the role with his warm voice.

Of course one song that gets the crowd going immediately with the first notes is “Die Schatten werden länger” (The shadows grow taller) from “Elisabeth”. Elisabeth is very popular among German speaking musical fans and Mark Seibert played “Der Tod” many years and so it was no wonder that song belonged to him. His duet partner was Patrick Stanke.  These two together singing the song just blow me away. You hear them fight for their lives in the song, this is what the song is about. You don’t need the costumes and the stage setting you just need their voices.

The other highlight that was amazing on so many different levels was Patrick Stanke’s “Du bist das Licht” (You are the light) what was written for him and also has a very personal meaning to him. He played the piano himself (I did not know he could play piano) and sung the song with such an ease to it that makes you feel that he loved the song. The tears just came because it was so beautiful.

I love “Phantom of the Opera” and “The music of the night” is a song that gives me goosebumps if sung like Christian Alexander Müller sings it. He sung this solo in 2011 too, but omg he got so much better. In 2011 I thought, that this is the best version I ever heard and even after seeing the musical in Hamburg after this I still have found no match, but this in 2018 just blew me away. The interpretation of the lyrics in every note and the nuances of the Phantom were so well played in the song. (I think I will share that audio with you later, because it was just this phenomenal.)

Also that little duet before with Jan Ammann from “Love never dies” “Til I hear you sing” was brilliantly sung, but I think some songs are meant to be sung alone.

 Act 2

“Who wants to live forever/The show must go on” is a showstopper at its best. It has everything you want in a quartet in this arrangement. I am not sure I will ever be able to tell how amazing that mashup is.

“Never enough” from “The greatest showman” is a song that I am torn about, because it is a good piece of music, but lacks a bit “wow” factor for me. Also that repeatedly “never, never” is a bit annoying, BUT Christian Alexander Müller sang that. And that’s a challenge for a man, that he mastered brilliantly. I will never be a big fan of this song, but what he did with it was really difficult and deserves an extra appreciation.

Patrick Stanke excels in Kunze/Levay’s “Wie wird man seinen Schatten los” (How do you get rid of your shadow)  from “Mozart”. This song just leaves so much room for showing off your vocal skills. It just leaves you speechless about what a great singer he is.

“Tanz der Vampire” could not have been left out at all with two Krlocks in the house. So sung with special guest Stefanie Schüper (Is this her name? I don’t know it…I am still so sorry) was “Totale Finsternis” and as my friend who went with me there just told me “Yeah well everyone is great, but Jan Ammann just stands out for fitting the role” and I cannot say it any better. The quartet plus special guest was nice and you will probably never hear such a diverse “Totale Finsternis” but some just fit the song like it is written for them, others just don’t have the feeling to it. And Mark Seibert is my favorit musical actor but I think “Tanz der Vampire” does not suit him as well as other roles. (He was still great when I watched him last year in TdV but I prefer Jan Ammann in this)

After this bombastic sound in Totale Finsternis, the duet “Die unstillbare Gier” just topped everything before. I don’t know if it was because of the hyped audience or anything else, but it was special. Mark and Jan both sung the parts alternately and in the end joined in two voiced. You can listen to it in the beginning of this post.

With this highlight it could have been the end of the show, but it was not. It followed two wonderful slow pieces of music.

Mark Seibert’s “Letzter Vorhang” (Last curtain call) from “Schikaneder” where Mark told a little anecdote beforehand. Mark  told us that when he worked with Stephen Schwartz that he thought the song would end in a bombastic sound like many ballads in musicals do, but Stephen Schwartz just told him “No it is not like this, it is just a little song, not one where you show off” . I appreciate that Mark chose this song, because he could have shown-off his vocal skills but he did not and this little song is a beautiful piece of music with very beautiful meaningful lyrics. So it felt just like everyone calmed down and did not really know how to react. Of course people applauded loudly but much calmer.

The other slow song is also one of my personal alltime favorit songs that make me cry “Bring him home” from Les Mis. This was a beautiful duet with Christian A. Müller and Patrick Stanke. Even writing about it, gets me emotional….

The finish was “Vivo per lei” that is just an appreciation song to music and a wonderful song to finish, just that this was not the end at all.

There came the ABBA Medley that got the crowd going and screaming and hyped the audience again (almost everyone took out their phone and filmed) and they ended it with “Look with your heart” from “Love never dies” . They ended the same way they did in 2011. And the clever part of this song is that they slowly walk off the stage and don’t come back so the audience cannot scream for more. Very clever, because we could have stayed there all night.

Thank you for reading!  I hope you enjoyed the read. Let me know if I should share a bit more audio files of the show, I would do it.

SETLIST: 

(Note: CA Müller is Christian Alexander Müller)

AKT 1

01.  Tenors – Limelight  Moderation A Alle

02.  Tenors - Drei Musketiere Medley

03.  Jan Ammann – Leuchtturm

04.  Tenors – Auf der Strasse, mein Schatz wo Du lebst

05.  Tenors - The Impossible Dream / Man Of La Mancha

06.  Mark Seibert - Ein Traum ohne Anfang und Ende

07.  Tenors – More Than Words

08.  Seibert & Stanke – Die Schatten werden länger

09.  Patrick Stanke – Du bist das Licht

10.  Tenors – Memory

11.  Müller & Ammann – Till I Hear You Sing

12.  CA Müller – Die Musik der Nacht

13.  Tenors – This Is The Moment

14. Tenors feat. Female Guest – I Believe in You

AKT 2

01.  Tenors – Who wants to live forever / Show must go on

02.  CA Müller – Never enough

03.  Tenors – Closer To Heaven

04.   Jan Ammann – Kalte Sterne

05.  Female Guest – divers, je nach Konzerttermin

06.  Patrick Stanke – Wie wird man seinen Schatten los…

07.  Tenors - Am Ende bleiben Tränen (Tu Cosa Fai Stasera)

08. Tenors feat. Female Guest – Totale Finsternis

09.  Mark Seibert & Jan Ammann – Die Unstillbare Gier

10.  Mark Seibert – Der letzte Vorhang

11.  CA Müller & Patrick Stanke – Bring ihn heim

12.  Tenors – Vivo per lei

Encore

01.  Tenors – ABBA - Medley

02.  Tenors –Look With your Heart

Setlist from here

[drakorn]

Tanz der Vampire St. Gallen - Act 2 Spoiler Review

I am back with Act 2 of the St. Gallen production! Oh wow, to be honest, I never actually expected the previous one to be THAT long. But oh well, let us see how this one works out. Act 1 actually has even more changes than Act 2 and I actually happen to like quite a lot of them. But then there are some, where I just have to facepalm and think to myself: WHY? But what am I saying? Let’s get into details. As in the previous post, this review is full of spoilers, so for everyone who would like to see the St. Gallen production totally without any knowledge, you can turn away right here! Everybody else...let’s go :D

Totale Finsternis: The second act starts in the most neogothic, Twilighty way possible. Remember that dark overview of the castle in the original production? Well, get ready for shaky cameras in a forest, crosses, lightning strikes, RED EYES, UUUUUHUUUUUU! Another unintentionally funny moment for me XD Then we FINALLY get rid of the screen and make way for the stage. And boy, IS THIS A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE. And I don’t mean this in a bad way. I actually found that a lot of this Totale Finsternis posed some interesting creative decisions, some of which I actually support. So, first thing, the stage: There are two areas: A gallery-esque thing with one big painting that sings the “Sei bereit...” chorus. This is where Sarah is. Krolock on the other hand is high above her in a second area. This area has a gazillion load of candles. Krolock sits at a piano and actually plays the tune of Totale Finsternis while singing to Sarah. Thomas Borchert really gets to show off his piano skills in this scene XD The entire first part of Totale Finsternis comes from him playing it in-character. He is also dressed in a red coat that looks similar to Krolock’s movie costume. And Krolock looking older in this version really does remind a bit of Ferdy Mayne in this scene. There is also a small staircase through which Sarah gets to Krolock. He rises up from his piano and is about to bite her. This is a place where I would really have welcomed a script change again. Because in this version, Krolock sounds like he almost doesn’t want to bite her, but then he talks about all of the lust and how he needs to be patient and all. So yeah, Totale Finsternis was actually really not that bad :D

Carpe Noctem: This is where the leather costumes actually make more sense because the vampires do actually seem more dangerous like that. It actually starts with the bed being somewhere in the background, with the first Nightmare Solo crawling out of the floor. The bed later gets moved and dragged around the entire stage. What I DO like about this version is that Alfred is much more the focus here. He is always there, trying to save Sarah, who at some point I think even goes away from the stage for a few moments. This Carpe Noctem genuinely feels like a nightmare of modern day vampires. Unfortunately, this is the case for the Nightmare Solos. While the first one sounds fantastic, the second one...I really don’t like that singing style. But overall, it was a good Carpe Noctem rendition.

Ein perfekter Tag: Nothing really changed that much here, at least nothing that’s worth mentioning. It’s the same scene just with modern clothes and a younger professor.

Für Sarah: Due to the show’s direction with Sarah, this song kinda has a bittersweet feel to it. In this version, it is REALLY obvious that Sarah is not interested in Alfred at all, but Alfred doesn’t see this. Therefore, he is basically singing for a lost cause. He clearly loves her. She is annoyed with him.

Die Gruft: Alright, people, brace yourselves, for here comes the biggest change that this version brought with it! First of all, Abronsius gets HEADLAMPS, making him and Alfred look like cave explorers. For a brief period, this is also the only source of light on stage. Then they finally find the crypt, which looks a bit underwhelming here, to be honest. The gigantic stone sarcophaguses are replaced with smaller coffins. However, this is nothing compared what happens next. First of all, Abronsius gets stuck in such a position that he ACTUALLY CAN’T SEE the coffins this time. Wonderfully solved here. But then comes the thing: Alfred advances to the coffins, prepares to open them...except Krolock and Herbert are not in them. How do we know this? Because father, son, and Koukol are standing on the other side of the stage, watching how Alfred makes a fool of himself. Krolock was prepared for this situation. But then the question arises...what IS inside the coffins? Because Alfred clearly sees something in them! OR COULD IT BE....that Alfred was lying to the professor in this version? He could have wanted to impress Abronsius first by stating that the empty coffins are actually full. But when Abronsius ordered him to impale them, he obviously couldn’t do it and therefore lied about not being able to do it. Or DID he mean “I can’t do it because they’re not here” and Abronsius misunderstood this as cowardice? Or I don’t know, maybe Krolock put some puppets in there or dressed up some corpses and Alfred was too dull to realise that. Then comes another change: Chagal and Magda crawl out of a trapdoor on the stage, they are not actually in a coffin this time around. I find that a bit odd, but ok, if they want to go with it, sure...

Bücher: This is some interesting staging here. The library and the bathroom are located on the stage at the same time. The library is on the upper level while the bathroom is on the lower level. They are connected by a staircase. The library is a big projection this time around with only a few books physically being there, which I think is a bit of a shame. Then Alfred advances downstairs to talk to Sarah, who is sitting in a bathtub with a pink towel on her head. She is clearly completely in the Count’s grasp here, as she barely acknowledges Alfred being there. The red dress is standing behind some sort of glass vitrine.

Noch mehr Bücher: Alfred heads back up the stairs to find Abronsius, who has been reading and walking around with books this whole time. As I said, I really like the staging of library and bathroom being on at the same time as it makes for some interesting discoveries, as we see in the next bit.

Wenn Liebe in dir ist: This is where some more great changes happen XD First of all, if one looks closely, it can be seen how Herbert advances to the bath while Sarah is still in theres, she quickly gets out and exits, he gets in and he is also wearing the same pink towel on his head XD Then he starts singing, and Alfred advances down, after singing his little part. Herbert rises up from the bathtub and he is actually naked here, as the audience can clearly see his backside. Alfred is so incredibly embarrassed that he turns away, looks for a bathrobe and hands it over to Herbert so that he can dress. Now imagine this: Herbert wearing a bathrobe and a pink towel on his head dancing with Alfred. The mirror was thankfully also incorporated here. The little break in the chase scene doesn’t happen: Herbert bites the book, Alfred attempts to run, Herbert grabs him and PUSHES HIM INTO THE BATHTUB. Then he quickly jumps on Alfred, so both of them are in the bathtub now. It can’t get any more ridiculous than that XD Abronsius appears and beats Herbert away. Alfred, feeling extremely exposed and attacked, quickly gets out and they swiftly escape. I think this was a great way of changing the scene, I fully approve of this.

Sie irren, Professor: This one is also quite interesting. Alfred and Abronsius stand on a small balcony stage right and overlook and empty stage. Then Krolock appears on another balcony stage left and starts to taunt them. Except...this time he doesn’t disappear. He stays there for the second part and visibly taunts Alfred. It’s interesting to note that while he says “Alfred’s soul is already mine” he imitates Alfred’s failed attempt of impaling him in the crypt before. Then he walks away, leaving Alfred and Abronsius alone.

Ewigkeit: Alright...this is it...this is where the bad things start to happen. First of all, there are no graves, the stage is empty. The vampires just casually walk up on it and start singing their number. Ok, positives first: Herbert and Magda are both in this scene, singing along with the other vampires. Then we have Alfred and Abronsius actually watching this scene from their position. And ok, given that the vampires are much more active in this show, it makes sense that they are not crawling out of graves here. But here comes the big negative. @kahorifutunaka , you were a witness to this and I understand how you must have felt as a History student. Basically, a part of the advertisement for this show was the following: Act 1 would have the vampires dress up as modern people. Act 2 would have them dress up according to the time period they were bitten in. That’s all fine and dandy EXCEPT THE COSTUMES ARE NOT HISTORICAL AT ALL. Ok, 2 or 3 were, but THAT’S IT. NONE of the other costumes made any sense! It looked like they came straight from a carnival store! Surely the vampires must know how their time period looked like? Come on, guys! Get it right! You had ONE JOB. It’s not THAT hard to look up historically correct costumes, but you totally missed that here! Also...this song loses a big part of his meaning due to the modern setting. In the original version, they were hiding in the dark, lurking in the shadows, waiting to take over the world. Kunze’s intention was to show at the end that the vampires HAVE taken over the world in modern times and even wanted to portray them as tax collectors, politicians and corrupt businessmen, the real bloodsuckers of today. But this song indicates that they still haven’t got there. This is where script changes would have been more than welcome again. They could have sung about how humans were falling for them all the time and how they ARE the rulers of this world. But nope, instead, we got a carnival trope running around an empty stage. Also, they don’t exit through the audience here but through the orchestra pit.

Die unstillbare Gier: I have mentioned the atrocious ball costumes, yeah? Well, here comes Krolock. Oh boy...what have they done to him here? XD He is wearing a long red cape with a ridiculously gigantic collar. Then he still wears all read and huge brown boots. This costume looks like it has been smashed together from many different time periods. It looks like “Dracula meets the three musketeers” in the worst way possible! Jesus Christ, whoever designed that costume, please, I would really want an explanation for this. But then...even though it was an empty stage and Krolock looked like he just escaped a circus, this was one of the best acted Giers I have ever seen. Krolock is not as stoic as in the original production. Here he is howling and screaming in despair. But at the end, it gets ruined a bit because again, unchanged lyrics: The original version is set before the year 2000. It made sense for Krolock to speak his dark prophecy about the next millenium. Here however it makes it look like he is talking about the year 3000. I mean, how hard can it be to change a few words. In fact, here: “Prophezeit war’s euch schon lange, doch wiederhol’ ich’s heut und hier: Nun, da endlich das neue Jahrtausend beginnt, ist der einzige Gott, dem jeder dient, die unstillbare Gier!” I’m not claiming this to be a perfect rewrite, but it makes more sense than what they did. There is also another thing I would like to add: Alfred and Abronsius watch this scene as well, which I really think is a smart decision. That way they can see all of the vampiric sides.

Tanzsaal: This is also quite an interesting one. First of all, Alfred’s “They have feelings, just like us!” and Abronsius’ “Feelings? Nonsense. Duty calls!” exchange is picked up in this one again, THANK THE LORD FOR THAT. Finally, someone uses this part again! Bravo, St. Gallen! Then another thing happens: Koukol seems to openly invite Alfred and Abronsius to join the ball. He even gives them their costumes so they don’t knock out anyone here. Herbert even advances to them to sheepishly greet Alfred with a cat-like “raawwr” gesture. Then Krolock comes in through the doors (no staircase this time), and the vampires start dancing something that looks like a rendition of Thriller in front of him. Also, Magda is in the ballroom scene in this version, so that’s a plus too :D Sarah appears on an upper level of the stage and Krolock goes up to greet her. He bites her under the moonlight, but there is something else that I found quite interesting: They actually incorporated some classic vampire lore here. I know, it was picked up by the modern vampire shows but who cares? It was a classic vampire thing: After Krolock bites Sarah, he scratches his arm and lets Sarah drink his own blood. According to lore, this is what turns someone into a vampire. So props for that! Then we have the menuett, which I think has the same choreography as the original version, so nice to see that something from there made its way here. Then we get another surprise: Remember the human dwellers of the castle? Well, Krolock has them all lined up for dinner here. Jesus, they really should have changed the script because he still talks about “two mortals” being there for them. But nevertheless, when Krolock says “Suck them dry!” here, the vampires actually advance on and suck out all of the humans, except Alfred and Abronsius of course. Alfred doesn’t have a candelabra here. No, he takes a giant board off the wall and prepares to ram it into Krolock’s head. At this moment he looked like he wanted to say “DIE MOTHERF****!!!” Anyway, he and Abronsius use the diversion that is caused by the vampires sucking out the other humans, by forming not one, but TWO crosses, by placing two boards on two of the pillars of the ballroom, actively making the castle itself a crucifix. Now, THIS is where the Stage version, where the castle crumbles down like the One Ring had just been destroyed there, would have made more sense. And again, SCRIPT CHANGE PLEASE: Krolock still shouts “Koukol! Get rid of that thing!” even though there’s two things here now. Alfred, Abronsius and Sarah make their escape.

Draußen ist Freiheit Reprise: Alfred and Sarah sit on a staircase, while Abronsius goes to the completely opposite side of the stage to make his notes, where he actually can’t see them. I find this a bit more likely. What happens is pretty much unchanged: Sarah bites Alfred while Abronsius takes notes. But then, Sarah let’s Alfred take her blood, effectively turning him into a vampire! That was great!

Der Tanz der Vampire: And this is another scene that just loses a bit of its meaning in this version. Abronsius still sings about how he will protect the world and get the Nobel Prize, which still makes sense. But then Alfred and Sarah run away and the final song starts. Now...it doesn’t feel right here. In the original production, this was a massive time skip that indicated how vampires have triumphed over the last century and taken over the world. Here they still gloat about it but it just doesn’t have the same effect. And given that this version is already in the modern world, this feels like an afterparty after a slight inconvenience in the ballroom. And again, please, consider script changes, for the vampires should have conquered the world by now and not just be about to do it. A nice little extra was that at the end, Abronsius, Alfred and Sarah, and Krolock also appear on the upper level of the stage: Abronsius alone on a balcony, Alfred and Sarah together on the other one, and Krolock in the middle in front of the door he walked in before singing the Gier. All in all, pretty enjoyable.

So yeah, here we are. This was my spoiler talk for the St. Gallen production. Now...what can I say? It had GREAT moments like Wenn Liebe in dir ist and Totale Finsternis, it had pretty enjoyable moments like Der Tanz der Vampire and Draußen ist Freiheit, and it had downright terrible moments like all of the script mess-ups that the new version brought to the table and the ballroom costumes. It feels like wasted potential to me. A modern take on Tanz could have been SO MUCH better. Why have it in an asylum? You could have had it in a castle that was surrounded by a modern city where Krolock was running the city and the vampires were collecting “blood money” from the people. This would have been a reflection of the true bloodsuckers and would also be accurate to Kunze’s vision of today’s world ruled by bloodsuckers.

Is it good? Yeah, it’s ok, definitely an interesting take. Does everything work? OH BY FAR NOT. Would I recommend it? Actually...yes, I would. Because think about it: I might not have liked it so much but the statistics speak for a huge success of this version. Think about the possibilities: This could mean that we get to see other directors attempt their own takes on Tanz der Vampire, more non-replica productions and perhaps everyone will have their own preferred version by then, and wouldn’t that be amazing? So, the St. Gallen version, along with the Finnish and the Czech versions have started something that could evolve into so much more! And I hope we get to see more Tanz productions in the coming years. Ulrich Wiggers had a risky task, and I think he did pretty well as a director!

I will do another post where I talk about the cast in more detail, but until then...thank you for sticking around :D I had great fun writing this and I hope you had enjoyment in reading this :)

[intoxicatingimmediacy]

Tagged by @msjosephinemarch

1. Nickname: Loops

2. Gender: cismiss

3. Star sign: Gemini

4. Height: 174cm

5. Time: 8:34

6. Birthday: June 7th

7. Fave Bands: clipping. has been playing on a loop for months, but overall probably still Incubus

8. Fave Solo Artist:  Alanis Morrissette, Daveed Diggs, Mark Owen

9. Song Stuck in my Head: the intro to Straight Outta Coffin

10. Last Movie I Saw: Dr Strange (bläh)

11. Last Show I Saw: TV - DS9, play - Against (I wanna punch the author of it, and not in a ‘ugh it’s too good’ way, in a ‘you must be punished for inflicting your poison’ way)

12. Favorite Actors: Emma Thompson, Ben Whishaw, Helen McCrory

13. What do I post: a smoosh of my current fandoms with a sprinkle of social justice and whatever else floats my goat

14. Last thing i googled: ‘så’ because i am a bad Swede and can’t spell

15. Any other blogs: nah

16. Do I get asks: very rarely

17. Why did I pick my URL: originally taken from Darren Criss speaking about performing on stage versus in front of the camera, and I realized it fits my personal experience on a few levels

18. Following: 76

19. Followers: 415 (I’m sure at least half of em are inactive by now, but at least  no porn- or spambots, they get blocked right quick)

20. Fave color: greens and purples

21. Fave place on earth: Burggarten in Vienna in the summer

22. Lucky number: 4

23. Instruments: just enough piano to accompany myself by smashing the chords

24. Fave hobby: reading. books. fic. words. storytelling.

25. Crushes: lots and lots

26. Dream Career: filthy rich patron (I shall keep a salon and introduce artists to each other and build theaters)

27. Dream Trip: all the many places where people I love live. So basically, a year-long trip, and start anew every January.

28. Fave anime: I should probably finally watch ATLA, people keep recommending it

29. Nationality: Austrian and Swedish

30. Fave musical: Rent, Hamilton, Tanz der Vampire

TAGGING: @watch-the-stars-go-by, @startedwellthatsentence, @ellicelluella, @lnmnuelmrnda,  @returnsandreturns, @ordinaryornate, @significantowl, @werelibrarian, @ctimenefic, @vera-invenire, @crazyfishmonger tell me ‘bout yerselves

[tanz-der-vampire-musical]

Mark Seibert concert MUSICAL MELODIES , 20.5.2018 17 Uhr – A VERY PERSONAL REVIEW

A couple of days ago I went to Mark Seibert’s concert in Hamburg. You may have guessed that I like Mark Seibert a lot, actually he is my favorit musical actor. I know this is a Tanz der Vampire Blog, but Mark Seibert is part of the TdV family and he sang two songs from Tanz der Vampire, so I guess putting it here is fine. And also writing a review helps keeping my memory vivid...

The concert was utterly amazing and time flew by like nothing. Mark invited two special guests: Oedo Kuipers and Marle Mertens, who both worked with him in some productions.

List of the songs he performed (as my wonky memory remembers them)

Act 1:

1. Go the distance (Disney’s Hercules)

2. Your song (Elton John)

3. Traum ohne Anfang und Ende (Die Päpstin)

4. Wehrlos (Die Päpstin) – Duet with Marle Mertens

5. Irgendwo wird immer getanzt (Mozart) – Marle Mertens Solo

6. Träum groß (Schikaneder) – Duet with Marle

7. Broken wings – Duet with Oedo Kuipers

8. Corner of the sky (Pippin) – Oedo Kuipers Solo

9. Totale Finsternis (TdV) – Duet with Marle Mertens

10. Die unstillbare Gier (TdV)

 Act 2:

1. You’ll be in my heart (Disney’s Tarzan)

2. Halllujah (Leonard Cohen)

3. Melodies Medley – Piano Solo by Daniel Frank

4. With you (Ghost) – Duet with Marle Mertens

5. Wenn ich tanzen will (Elisabeth) – Duet with Marle Mertens

6. Ich gehör nur mir (Elisabeth) – Marle Mertens Solo

7. Lady In Red (Chris de Burgh) – Oedo Kuipers Solo

8. Bring him home (Les Mis)

9. Falling slowly (Once) – Trio with Marle and Oedo

 Extra:

10. Die Schatten warden länger (Elisabeth) – Duet with Oedo Kuipers

11. Der letzte Vorhang (Schikaneder)

Usually I write in English, but since I can express myself better in German, I will write my experience in German. So I am sorry dear English followers (maybe I do a short recap in English later if you ask for it)

 GERMAN PART:

Alles auf der Bühne war ohne Requisiten, ein sehr intimes Konzert. Als Begleitung ein Cello und ein Klavier, die einzigen Veränderungen waren durch das Licht. Mark wollte gern eine Konzertreihe, wo er viele Balladen singen konnte. Und an Hand der Songliste sieht man, dass genau das gelungen ist.

Go the distance ist ein so schönes Lied und Mark singt es so gefühlvoll, dass ich vom ersten Song an Gänsehaut hatte. Das hat sich auch mit Your song schon gesteigert, sodass ich aus dem Träumen schon gar nicht mehr raus kam.

Nach den Eröffnungssongs erzählte Mark, dass er Angst vor einem Konzert in Hamburg hatte und es deshalb so lange gedauert hat bis er ein Konzert in Hamburg gegeben hat. Generell wird vielen von einem Konzert in Hamburg abgeraten, weil es angeblich das Publikum nicht anzieht. Kann man bei Mark nicht sagen, denn das Konzert bei dem ich war, war das Zusatzkonzert. Denn das erste Konzert ein Tag davor, war so schnell ausverkauft, dass ein zweites angesetzt wurde. Ich würde also sagen, dass Mark das ganze „in Hamburg kann man kein Konzert geben“ widerlegt hat. J (Hoffentlich heißt das, dass noch viele Konzerte in Hamburg folgen, denn da komm ich problemlos hin.)

Als nächstes Stück spielt Mark Die Päpstin in Fulda, deshalb hat er auch Ein Traum ohne Anfang und Ende gesungen. Das perfekte Lied für ihn, das ihm übrigens die Rolle einbrachte. Danach stellte er seinen ersten Special Gast vor: Marle Mertens! Ich muss sagen, dass ich Marle noch nie in einer Rolle gesehen habe, ich kannte zwar ihren Namen, mehr aber auch nicht. Aber sie hat mich unglaublich begeistert. Was für eine schöne klare Stimme. Sie hat dann auch gleich mit Mark Wehrlos aus die Päpstin gesungen. Mark und Marle harmonieren super und man weiß, warum Mark sie eingeladen hat. Hat Marle bei Wehrlos doch eine verletzliche Seite zeigen können, hat sie mit Irgendwo wird immer getanzt ihre ganze Stimmpower rausgehauen und ab diesem Moment war ich ein großer Fan von ihr. (Etwas schade nur, dass Mark nichts aus Mozart gesungen hat oder Oedo Kuipers)

Mit Schikaneder kann ich bisher nicht so viel anfangen, einfach von der Geschichte her, aber auch die Musik blieb mit jetzt nicht so hängen, wobei es sehr schöne Lieder gibt (z.B. Der letzte Vorhang). Aus Schikaneder gab es ein Duett zwischen Mark und Marle Träum groß mit wahrscheinlich der meisten Choreografie des Abends.

Danach kam Oedo Kuipers als zweiter Special Gast. (Ich weiß zum ersten Mal wie man seinen Namen ausspricht!) Er hat gemeinsam mit Mark Broken Wings gesungen, was auch auf seinem Album drauf ist. Mark hat dazu auf der Cajon den Rhythmus gemacht. (Mark hat mehrmals Werbung für Oedo’s Album gemacht.) Danach hat Oedo sein Solosong gesungen und zwar(, wenn ich den Titel richtig habe, denn es gab keine Songliste oder so) Corner of the sky aus Pippin. Oedo singt sehr „verträumt“ und ohne viele „Schnörkel“. Diese Einfachheit gefällt mir gut. Und es passte auch gut zum Abend und zu den Liedern.

Und danach kam das Finale für den ersten Teil und natürlich durfte Tanz der Vampire nicht fehlen. Zuerst gab es Totale Finsternis mit Marle und danach Die Unstillbare Gier. Ich habe Mark selbst als Graf auf der Bühne in TdV gesehen und ich muss zugeben, dass mir sein Graf nicht am besten gefällt. Denn ich finde, man merkt dass die Lage eigentlich zu tief für ihn ist. Nicht, dass er es nicht trotzdem singen kann, aber ich merke, dass er schon viel Technik anwenden muss, um die tiefen Töne gut zu bekommen. Das ist sicher eine Herausforderung für Mark und das verdient höchsten Respekt. Trotzdem muss ich sagen, dass ich von der Interpretation noch nie eine herzergreifendere Unstillbare Gier gehört habe. So leidend und punktgenau auf den Text. Deshalb ein würdiger Abschluss für den ersten Teil. Ich weiß auch nicht, was für ein Lied danach kommen sollte. Die Leute im Saal gaben stehende Ovationen.

Teil 2 begann ruhig mit You’ll be in my heart, einer meiner Lieblingslieder überhaupt. Danach folgte Hallelujah von Leonard Cohen und auch wenn Mark behauptet hat, er kenne niemandem dem der Song nicht gefällt, muss ich sagen, dass ich das Lied mittlerweile nicht mehr hören kann und auch nicht mag. Trotzdem hat Mark es natürlich toll gesungen.

Ein Highlight des Abends war Daniel Franks Soloklavierstück. Er hat in ca. 10 Minuten um die 30 Melodien gespielt. Mark meinte er wollte auch mal dem tollen Klavierspieler die Chance geben etwas allein zu spielen als immer nur als Korrepetitor. Ich habe viele der Melodien erkannt und das Publikum ging ordentlich mit.

Mark erzählte danach vom unrühmlichen Musical Barbarella, dass er lieber vergessen würde und als er hörte, dass er noch ein Musical schreiben würde, dachte er nur: Wie kann man den nochmal ein Musical schreiben lassen? Aber er muss sagen, da hat er tolle Musik geschrieben. Nämlich Ghost und daraus hat Mark mit Marle als Duett With You mit einem etwas anderer Text gesungen, da es ja eigentlich ein Frauensolo ist. Ich mag das Lied sehr und das war wirklich wunderschön.

Das Musical Elisabeth durfte natürlich nicht fehlen, deshalb gab es Wenn ich tanzen will mit Marle als Duet und dann durfte Marle noch Ich gehör nur mir singen. Tolles Lied, tolle Interpretation, super gesungen. Nur wenn man Pia Douwes schon mehrmals dieses Lied live hat singen hören, dann kommt leider keiner für mich an diese legendäre Interpretation heran, aber das soll Marles Leistung in keiner Weise schmälern.

Oedo konnte mit Lady in Red die 80er nochmal aufleben lassen. Mark sorgte mit einer kleinen Anekdote zu Chris de Burgh für den Lacher des Abends. Chris de Burgh wird im nächsten oder darauf das Jahr Musik für ein Musical in Fulda schreiben. Und er war bei dem Press Call für Die Päpstin auch da, wo Mark Seibert war. Chris de Burgh hat ja ein riesen Anwesen in England und das ist eben eine Burg. Da hat Mark einen Witz gemacht: „Naja er heißt ja auch Chris de BURG!“ Chris de Burgh und andere kamen und fragten worüber sie lachten und Mark hat versucht das deutsche Wortspiel zu erklären, was dann natürlich gar nicht mehr lustig ist auf Englisch. Chris de Burgh war wohl wenig begeistert. Mark meinte er hat sich voll zum Deppen gemacht. Als letztes sagte er noch: „Egal was ich bald mache, ich weiß schon mal wo ich auf keinen Fall spielen werde“ im Musical von Chris de Burgh. Ich hab mich weggeschmissen vor Lachen.

Bring him home ist einer meiner absoluten Lieblingslieder überhaupt und deshalb habe ich mich so gefreut als Mark das gesungen hat. Tränen hatte ich oft in den Augen (ich bin nah nah Wasser gebaut), aber da hab ich geheult wie ein Schlosshund.

Als Finale gab es Falling Slowly als Trio mit Marle und Oedo. Tolles Arrangement.

Stehende Ovationen für alle Beteiligten.

Wie das so ist, wollen aber die Fans noch kein Finale und deshalb gab es noch zwei Zugaben. Zuerst Die Schatten werden länger mit Oedo. Da waren alle am Jubeln und danach als Rausschmeißer mit Ruhe Der letzte Vorhang aus Schikaneder. Das letzte leise Solo von Mark. Und damit war es leider zu Ende.

Ein tolles Konzert, ein Abend voll leiser Töne und viel Gefühl. Ich würde jederzeit wieder zu einem Konzert von Mark gehen! 

(Danach gab es noch ein Meet und Greet mit Mark für die Leute mit VIP Karten. Ich hatte keine, aber das ist nicht schlimm, denn ich hab Mark schon mehrmals von Angesicht zu Angesicht gesehen und auch ein Autogramm von Mark auf seiner CD.)

 Danke fürs Lesen! Sorry für den längsten Post ever, aber das wollte ich gern los werden!

(Photos from Mark’s Facebookpage)