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100% agree! "No coming without going" felt SO out of place. And the Schönbrunn version was SO hard to watch (especially when you've known the original and older productions from Vienna) I actually couldn't finish and had to turn it off.. :( Did you have a look at the revival of the musical Mozart? They completely stripped the character of all edges and polished him into some shiny soap-opera like pretty-boy. This loss felt heartbreaking..

Very good essay that expressed exactly what I've been so unhappy about. My favorite production is the one from 2003! But I just saw the newest one that's going on tour next year and I hope there will also be a recording of that. I think the new actor of Death Lukas Mayer is doing a very good job, and even though it's still the 2012 version, I feel they pushed it more towards what it once was. Death is more androgynous, more predatory again (and he's not trying to be a "Kerl"). Still has the stupid whip, but as far as I saw it, there was a propper Mayerling kiss! But I absolutely hope I will at some point see it on a proper stage again with the big cast and set.

Okay I have to make another comment, because there is also Lucheni and his relationship with Death, which I also always loved. Especially Serkan/Mate....I like when they have more of a connection. Ah yes back in the day there also were many fanfictions about those two and as a big Lucheni fan I love the idea that they somehow also had a special relationship. xD

Oh my how interesting! I got to know Elisabeth with the CD of Essen and I absolutely fell in love. I then saw Uwe Kröger live as Death in 2008 in Berlin and I also saw Mark live in 2012. I also got the DVD of Vienna with Mate and my favourite Luigi Lucheni Serkan Kaya. I agree that Mark for me is a bit bland. Nowaday I prefer Oliver Arno actually. I will never forgive them for cutting Schwarzer Prinz. I love Wenn ich tanzen will. I think it shows Death always lingers there even though Elisabeth is triumphant for a while. My favourite song will forever be Die Schatten werden länger though (both songs). There will be a new tour through Germany, Austria and Switzerland of Elisabeth based on the Schönbrunn concert version and I really want to see it, but I hope they did not change and reduce too much.

"A Hapsburg version of The Phantom of The Opera" GET 'EM! GET THEIR COWARD ASSES!

Excellent video essay. It's like Elisabeth went through some hetero-homogenization process. Since "Sisi" remains a huge icon and tourist attraction, I wonder if the queerness was removed for marketing reasons. It reminds me a little of the changes that were made to Mädchen in Uniform from 1931 to the 1958 version. It is sad that they removed the queerness. Forgive the joke, but Death comes for us all. Brb, going to watch this musical on youtube now.

This is like 80% Serkan Kaya, and Im here for it 😍

I call the worse, boring version of der Tod "der Todd" lol (also, being generally Mayerling-pilled and Nervous Splendor-maxxing, Rudolf is my favorite character and his relationship with death being sexual is v important to me)

That Mate guy is giving me Hayden Christensen vibes. He’s gorgeous, is what I’m saying.

THIS IS PERFECTION 😂❤❤❤

so basically what i have realised from this is elisabeth is ur average sims gameplay for seducing the grim reaper

I MUST draw beach party Der Tod now

I have no words.

I could never put my finger on what it was specifically about the newer versions I did not like. You just explained it to me. Plus I personally just don‘t vibe with mark Seibert in general. And I miss ‚schwarzer Prinz‘ it was one of my favorites. Thank you for this. This made my day.

When the hula dancers came out I lost it

This is HIGH ART

Why did I expect some kind of "the sims 2 EXPOSED" kinda video😭😭 (in my defense i am actually german and also love video essays about stupid nonsense)

wow! thank you for this video! its super cool!!! the ending is the best😍❤‍🔥🔥🔥

I don't like robot narrator

One could also add that the overtly political nature of Luigi Lucheni also deminiged over the years.

I think omitting the kiss here is kind of strange? Like there is no reason I can see for it. 1) these two have kissed other guys on stage before, so I dont think its that 2) theyve kissed EACH OTHER on stage before too 3) It cant be covid because then why would he still Kiss Elisabeth 4) I always liked the Kiss of Death as a concept. Because a kiss is usually a gesture of love, and for that to be the way death kills is just kinda poetic. Idk there must be some reason it was omitted here and in 2019

I love the fact that luigi is italian. I am here singing along in german and suddenly "CHE CAZZO VUOI?!" 😂

No bc my personal theory is that whoever decided to change certain aspects e.g. the very overt homoeroticism in "Die Schatten werden länger" and the Mayerling kiss are missing the POINT. Its not ABOUT gender, androginy or sexuality its about DEATH. Death as something that tampts you, is an amazing representation of what Depression feels like. Trigger Warning! Discussion of suicidal ideation and depression! I myself grappled with that a few years ago and sometimes, when it got really bad, it felt exactly like this! Like death was the only way out, a kind of relief from my own mind and the steuggles in my life. *end of the triggering passage* And representing that with something so human, like Lust is just such a genious idea! And if they do it for Elisabeth, and they DO, then they gotta do it with Rudolph as well, because it makes no sense that death acts one way with one person and another with a different person in very similar situations (we literally have a song where Rudolph says he is much like his mother). I think they started going "no homo!!! Bro" for some reason but instead ended up with The Phantom of the Opera two, electric boogaloo😂

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

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

i mam feeling very educated right now

amazing video essay!! even tho i wish i didnt have to see how the concert butchered die schatten werden länger i already disliked the interpretation of rudolf being a pawn in deaths plan to get sissi bc it makes them more of An Actual Character rather than a metaphorical one and also cheapens rudolfs subplot but WOWWWWW. A FREAKING CAT TOY. how much more disrespectful can you get?

this video is much funnier now that i understand german

34:01 ❤

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

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

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.