![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Review: Elisabeth - Tsukigumi 2009
Summary: Elisabeth is the Gothic musical about the love story between Empress Elisabeth of Austria and Death. It follows her life, as an unhappy Empress through until her assassination in 1898, and Death following her steps.
Given that Elisabeth remains my favourite Takarazuka show, I think it is delightful that it was the first show I ever saw performed live in the Takarazuka daigekijou. We managed to get seats in row 21, which is more than close enough for your first visit to the theatre, and it was absolutely fantastic.
There have been a few major changes. The sets have been redone, and look incredible, and you never ever get an idea of the scale and depth from a DVD. There were layers of pillars to left and right, which were tiered inward to give the illusion of more depth. The fact that in different scenes, sections of the pillars were decorated to look like they were crumbling, symbolic of the Habsburg decline, was a nice detail.
Ai to Shi no Rondo had a new opening, with Death rising through the stage in his beautiful, ornate throne, which was on the stage revolve. The angels had all new choreography, and chief-angel was like the ringmaster in Death's little circus. Elisabeth was intially all bouncy, much like Ichiro Maki in the Toho production, until the angels and Death started poking at her.
There were some other smaller changes throughout the show, but nothing as major and surprising as the Ai to Shi no Rondo number. The transitions were done well, although when you're seeing it in the theatre, you can't help but notice the people frantically scurrying off-stage as soon as the lights go down on them.
Now, to the cast:
Sena Jun as Death: I'd loved her Elisabeth even more than I liked her Lucheni, and oh, she owned the role. She played it subtle and calculating, but underneath it all, there was frustration and desire, and this Death didn't know what to make of it. She's not quite in my top 3, but she's a strong Death and exceedingly beautiful while she's at it.
Her voice was the thing that stunned me. I knew she had strong vocals, but seriously, I did not expect my spine to turn to jelly the minute she started singing. The depths and heights she hit were fantastic, and the way she moved was just wonderful to watch.
Nagina Ruumi as Elisabeth: I was stunned. Completely stunned. She's ranking joint top with Ichiro Maki now as my favourite Elisabeth. I think they fact they let her sing at around western-Elisabeth vocal range was a very good thing, rather than forcing her to sound tin-whistle like. It worked for her and she was able to hit notes with impressive power for such a skinny little thing.
She also played it surprisingly strongly as well - of all the Elisabeth's I've seen, she managed to get the balance between the wilful strength and fragile instability just right. She was a girl to begin with and as she grew, she managed to change the way she sang to reveal age. Her 'Ich Gehor nur Mir' was incredible. If I can, I will be getting the DVD ASAP (unless it's still 15,000+y because of the extra digests).
One of the things that startled me the most, though, was in the Asylum sequence. Her voice and acting were so strong there, and I was almost in tears as she embraced the madwoman, and gently replaced her broken fan with her own. It was such a touching little scene.
Sadly, it seems that not everyone agrees. From what I've heard, older Japanese ladies are not thrilled by the fact she's singing it more Western style, but personally, I think that if the performer performs to the best of their ability, all the better, and Kacha did that.
Kiriyan Hiromu as Franz Josef: I had high hopes for Kiriyan's FJ, and she didn't disappoint. She was a lovely, dignified and proper Franz Josef, who doesn't seem to realise how much he's been molded by his mother. Although, I did love it when he was told he was going to marry and you could see the OMGWTF??? and when he picked Elisabeth, there was the very deliberate paused before he practically ran passed Nene.
Her dignity in Ships in the Night was heartbreaking, as was the scene in the crypt with Elisabeth. Still, she hasn't quite surplanted my Star FJ ;)
Ryuu Masaki as Lucheni: Absolutely. Insane. She was wonderful, and manic, and her voice was mind-blowingly good. It takes a lot to keep up with a voice like Sena's but Masaki did it in spades. She had a kind of Serkan-Kaya edge to the crazy, and her fanatical loyalty to Death led to some absolutely brilliantly little gestures and interactions. One of my favourites was Lucheni chewing on his knuckles to keep from giggling madly during the finale of Milch.
Shirosaki Ai as Sophie: Ai-chan was fantastic in the Shinjinkoen in 2005, but she's improved immeasurably. You can see she took inspiration from Mimi Anri, rather than the pantomime-dame stylings of previous Sophie's. I like my Sophies to have personality and strength of will, rather than being charicatures. Her voice has come on leaps and bounds as well.
Aoki Azumi as Rudolf: Morie I knew from the shinjin 2005, whn she played Death, and she was a lovely little Rudolf, with so much passion burning in her expression. She also had a great voice for matching Sena. The sheer quality of vocals on this show was impressive, and definitely worth listening to over and over :)
Ryouga Haruhi as Elmer: I will not deny it - she loomed. It was hard to notice anyone else on stage with her, when she was towering over every other revolutionary. Her fire and vim were hard to miss as well. She was spiffy.
Asumi Rio as Stephan: The most excitable revolutionary puppy in the world, this one. I was very curious about her Rudolf, after seeing how idealistic and enthusiastic her Stephan was.
Kiryuu Sonoka as Chief Scary Angel of OMG DOOM: I did wonder why one angel was given a bit more of a lead than the others, but after checking who she was, I'm not entirely surprised. She was like Death's chief of staff, and got to do some fantastic dancing, as well as manipulating Sisi for her Master. The fact she was absolutely beautiful in the make-up and hair certainly didn't hair ;) It certainly explains why they had a big poster of her among the main characters.
I would go into more detail, but gah. It would take forever, if I was to gush on every cast member. While it's not quite my favourite production, it's ranking high up there and it was a good, solid performance from the whole troupe which was lovely.
Oh, and added bonus came after:
After that, we returned to the theatre, and pootled about because we had the intention of doing Demachi. It may sound dorky, but it's the most formal variety of stage-dooring you ever will see. The top performers have fanclubs, which work in a systematic, almost military fashion, and have specific places they have to stand as their performers emerge, to show their appreciation for the stars.
The top Otokoyaku (male player) and Nibante (second man) had pride of place, in sight of the stagedoor, with their clubs in allocated club colours, so you could identify them. Smaller clubs were lined out of sightof the stagedoor, around the corner of the building and extending down the streets. It can be slightly intimidating to watch, for the sheer systematicness of it. People are put in particular places in their fanclubs, with orders and rankings, and whenever a performer emerges, the fanclubs respectfully crouch down to acknowledge them.
We approached a couple of fanclubs, since I had a portrait I wanted to pass onto Nagina Ruumi, who played Elisabeth. The fanclub of Sena Jun (Death in the show) were kind enough to point us in the right direction, and Ruumi-san's fanclub seemed rather surprised that a couple of Gaijin were providing a present for their star (especially given how far they were down the ranking of fanclub. Ruumi-san is still too young to rank further up than the entrance of the carpark). They kindly agreed to pass on the envelope, and we went to stand on the terrace opposite the stagedoor to watch people emerging.
Kiriya Hiromu (Franz Josef) came out fairly briskly, and collected the letters from her fanclub (every demachi, the fans in attendance must right a letter to their star. I think there's some kind of experience points system in place in fanclubs and you can raise your ranking by number of iri/demachis attended). She was beautiful, even in the poor light, and when her car collected her, with her dog in it already, she stopped to wave to everyone.
Sena Jun was unsurprisingly knackered-looking when she came out, after she'd done two shows. She collected her letters and departed fairly quickly. Others speedwalked away with their heads down. The good thing is that because of the system, they will not be harrassed. It's all very polite, rather than the scrum of Western stage-dooring.
We waited, since I will feely admit I was nervous about Ruumi-san's fanclub actually handing the thing on. I've heard stories about some clubs being so insular that they wouldn't allow it. When she did emerge, we (the only Gaijin for miles, I think) were still quite prominent on the terrace, despite loads of other people being around. Her fanclub apparently mentioned us and pointed, and she turned to look at us. That, in itself, was a giggle-inducing shock.
They crossed the road-island that we were standing on with her, and over onto the far side. They must have noticed we had packed up after she emerged and were getting ready to leave, when two of them beckoned us to join them. There was blinking, so we walked along parallel with them, uson the island in the middle of the road (here were trees and flowers to stop us crossing over) and them on the far side.
When we reached a junction, they waved us again, more frantically, beckoning us over, to which Bwinter and I went 0_0, and flailed our way over with J probably wondering what the frick was going on. Ruumi-san had clearly been told about us and started talking to us, at which point we all failed Japanese 101 and Jen had to explain we didn't speak any. The fanclub then handed over my gift with great enthusiasm and Bwinter squeed at her, telling her just how good her Elisabeth was.
Embarrassingly, for the first time in my life, I was struck speechless. You do not meet Takarasiennes. We have been told this over and over again. It's not part of the way the fan community works, unless you're a member of a fanclub. Someone once mentioned that when meeting a Sienne, you do go blank. Given my preious experience with Western musical types and Broadway types, I couldn't understand that response, but when it happened to me, I turned into a blinking fangirl. Since it was unexpected, it was even worse. I just stood there, bowing and dazed.
And the best moment was when Beth told her just how good she was and she smiled. She absolutely lit up. It was the most radiantly beautiful smile I have ever seen. I get the feeling she doesn't get nearly enough credit for everything she does, but oh, she was wonderful. She'll be getting a letter, methinks. Especially given how much I loved her Elisabeth :)
Needless to say, it was a giddy evening.
Given that Elisabeth remains my favourite Takarazuka show, I think it is delightful that it was the first show I ever saw performed live in the Takarazuka daigekijou. We managed to get seats in row 21, which is more than close enough for your first visit to the theatre, and it was absolutely fantastic.
There have been a few major changes. The sets have been redone, and look incredible, and you never ever get an idea of the scale and depth from a DVD. There were layers of pillars to left and right, which were tiered inward to give the illusion of more depth. The fact that in different scenes, sections of the pillars were decorated to look like they were crumbling, symbolic of the Habsburg decline, was a nice detail.
Ai to Shi no Rondo had a new opening, with Death rising through the stage in his beautiful, ornate throne, which was on the stage revolve. The angels had all new choreography, and chief-angel was like the ringmaster in Death's little circus. Elisabeth was intially all bouncy, much like Ichiro Maki in the Toho production, until the angels and Death started poking at her.
There were some other smaller changes throughout the show, but nothing as major and surprising as the Ai to Shi no Rondo number. The transitions were done well, although when you're seeing it in the theatre, you can't help but notice the people frantically scurrying off-stage as soon as the lights go down on them.
Now, to the cast:
Sena Jun as Death: I'd loved her Elisabeth even more than I liked her Lucheni, and oh, she owned the role. She played it subtle and calculating, but underneath it all, there was frustration and desire, and this Death didn't know what to make of it. She's not quite in my top 3, but she's a strong Death and exceedingly beautiful while she's at it.
Her voice was the thing that stunned me. I knew she had strong vocals, but seriously, I did not expect my spine to turn to jelly the minute she started singing. The depths and heights she hit were fantastic, and the way she moved was just wonderful to watch.
Nagina Ruumi as Elisabeth: I was stunned. Completely stunned. She's ranking joint top with Ichiro Maki now as my favourite Elisabeth. I think they fact they let her sing at around western-Elisabeth vocal range was a very good thing, rather than forcing her to sound tin-whistle like. It worked for her and she was able to hit notes with impressive power for such a skinny little thing.
She also played it surprisingly strongly as well - of all the Elisabeth's I've seen, she managed to get the balance between the wilful strength and fragile instability just right. She was a girl to begin with and as she grew, she managed to change the way she sang to reveal age. Her 'Ich Gehor nur Mir' was incredible. If I can, I will be getting the DVD ASAP (unless it's still 15,000+y because of the extra digests).
One of the things that startled me the most, though, was in the Asylum sequence. Her voice and acting were so strong there, and I was almost in tears as she embraced the madwoman, and gently replaced her broken fan with her own. It was such a touching little scene.
Sadly, it seems that not everyone agrees. From what I've heard, older Japanese ladies are not thrilled by the fact she's singing it more Western style, but personally, I think that if the performer performs to the best of their ability, all the better, and Kacha did that.
Kiriyan Hiromu as Franz Josef: I had high hopes for Kiriyan's FJ, and she didn't disappoint. She was a lovely, dignified and proper Franz Josef, who doesn't seem to realise how much he's been molded by his mother. Although, I did love it when he was told he was going to marry and you could see the OMGWTF??? and when he picked Elisabeth, there was the very deliberate paused before he practically ran passed Nene.
Her dignity in Ships in the Night was heartbreaking, as was the scene in the crypt with Elisabeth. Still, she hasn't quite surplanted my Star FJ ;)
Ryuu Masaki as Lucheni: Absolutely. Insane. She was wonderful, and manic, and her voice was mind-blowingly good. It takes a lot to keep up with a voice like Sena's but Masaki did it in spades. She had a kind of Serkan-Kaya edge to the crazy, and her fanatical loyalty to Death led to some absolutely brilliantly little gestures and interactions. One of my favourites was Lucheni chewing on his knuckles to keep from giggling madly during the finale of Milch.
Shirosaki Ai as Sophie: Ai-chan was fantastic in the Shinjinkoen in 2005, but she's improved immeasurably. You can see she took inspiration from Mimi Anri, rather than the pantomime-dame stylings of previous Sophie's. I like my Sophies to have personality and strength of will, rather than being charicatures. Her voice has come on leaps and bounds as well.
Aoki Azumi as Rudolf: Morie I knew from the shinjin 2005, whn she played Death, and she was a lovely little Rudolf, with so much passion burning in her expression. She also had a great voice for matching Sena. The sheer quality of vocals on this show was impressive, and definitely worth listening to over and over :)
Ryouga Haruhi as Elmer: I will not deny it - she loomed. It was hard to notice anyone else on stage with her, when she was towering over every other revolutionary. Her fire and vim were hard to miss as well. She was spiffy.
Asumi Rio as Stephan: The most excitable revolutionary puppy in the world, this one. I was very curious about her Rudolf, after seeing how idealistic and enthusiastic her Stephan was.
Kiryuu Sonoka as Chief Scary Angel of OMG DOOM: I did wonder why one angel was given a bit more of a lead than the others, but after checking who she was, I'm not entirely surprised. She was like Death's chief of staff, and got to do some fantastic dancing, as well as manipulating Sisi for her Master. The fact she was absolutely beautiful in the make-up and hair certainly didn't hair ;) It certainly explains why they had a big poster of her among the main characters.
I would go into more detail, but gah. It would take forever, if I was to gush on every cast member. While it's not quite my favourite production, it's ranking high up there and it was a good, solid performance from the whole troupe which was lovely.
Oh, and added bonus came after:
After that, we returned to the theatre, and pootled about because we had the intention of doing Demachi. It may sound dorky, but it's the most formal variety of stage-dooring you ever will see. The top performers have fanclubs, which work in a systematic, almost military fashion, and have specific places they have to stand as their performers emerge, to show their appreciation for the stars.
The top Otokoyaku (male player) and Nibante (second man) had pride of place, in sight of the stagedoor, with their clubs in allocated club colours, so you could identify them. Smaller clubs were lined out of sightof the stagedoor, around the corner of the building and extending down the streets. It can be slightly intimidating to watch, for the sheer systematicness of it. People are put in particular places in their fanclubs, with orders and rankings, and whenever a performer emerges, the fanclubs respectfully crouch down to acknowledge them.
We approached a couple of fanclubs, since I had a portrait I wanted to pass onto Nagina Ruumi, who played Elisabeth. The fanclub of Sena Jun (Death in the show) were kind enough to point us in the right direction, and Ruumi-san's fanclub seemed rather surprised that a couple of Gaijin were providing a present for their star (especially given how far they were down the ranking of fanclub. Ruumi-san is still too young to rank further up than the entrance of the carpark). They kindly agreed to pass on the envelope, and we went to stand on the terrace opposite the stagedoor to watch people emerging.
Kiriya Hiromu (Franz Josef) came out fairly briskly, and collected the letters from her fanclub (every demachi, the fans in attendance must right a letter to their star. I think there's some kind of experience points system in place in fanclubs and you can raise your ranking by number of iri/demachis attended). She was beautiful, even in the poor light, and when her car collected her, with her dog in it already, she stopped to wave to everyone.
Sena Jun was unsurprisingly knackered-looking when she came out, after she'd done two shows. She collected her letters and departed fairly quickly. Others speedwalked away with their heads down. The good thing is that because of the system, they will not be harrassed. It's all very polite, rather than the scrum of Western stage-dooring.
We waited, since I will feely admit I was nervous about Ruumi-san's fanclub actually handing the thing on. I've heard stories about some clubs being so insular that they wouldn't allow it. When she did emerge, we (the only Gaijin for miles, I think) were still quite prominent on the terrace, despite loads of other people being around. Her fanclub apparently mentioned us and pointed, and she turned to look at us. That, in itself, was a giggle-inducing shock.
They crossed the road-island that we were standing on with her, and over onto the far side. They must have noticed we had packed up after she emerged and were getting ready to leave, when two of them beckoned us to join them. There was blinking, so we walked along parallel with them, uson the island in the middle of the road (here were trees and flowers to stop us crossing over) and them on the far side.
When we reached a junction, they waved us again, more frantically, beckoning us over, to which Bwinter and I went 0_0, and flailed our way over with J probably wondering what the frick was going on. Ruumi-san had clearly been told about us and started talking to us, at which point we all failed Japanese 101 and Jen had to explain we didn't speak any. The fanclub then handed over my gift with great enthusiasm and Bwinter squeed at her, telling her just how good her Elisabeth was.
Embarrassingly, for the first time in my life, I was struck speechless. You do not meet Takarasiennes. We have been told this over and over again. It's not part of the way the fan community works, unless you're a member of a fanclub. Someone once mentioned that when meeting a Sienne, you do go blank. Given my preious experience with Western musical types and Broadway types, I couldn't understand that response, but when it happened to me, I turned into a blinking fangirl. Since it was unexpected, it was even worse. I just stood there, bowing and dazed.
And the best moment was when Beth told her just how good she was and she smiled. She absolutely lit up. It was the most radiantly beautiful smile I have ever seen. I get the feeling she doesn't get nearly enough credit for everything she does, but oh, she was wonderful. She'll be getting a letter, methinks. Especially given how much I loved her Elisabeth :)
Needless to say, it was a giddy evening.