Angel of Music

9. A musical that you once loved but now you hate.

When I saw the original cast of We Will Rock You in London, I loved it. It had great energy and was fun and silly and charming. I recently saw the tour, and sadly, that charm has gone. I wouldn't say I hate it, persay, but I would say I won't be going to see it again, unless someone twists my arm very hard.

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7. A musical from your favorite composer

While I am fond of Lloyd Webber, composer-wise, I have to say Sylvester Levay throws him into the dirt. Levay does some amazing work, and just because I've been listening to several of the songs on repeat for the last week, I'll go for Mozart!

I'm not a big fan of the show itself, because frankly it has far too many plots and provides Mozart with a whole fleet of counterpoints to Mozart, but not enough of a villain or a strong driving force behind it to make it flow. However, the basic premise of adult Mozart haunted by the legacy of his years as a child prodigy to the point that it's destroying him is fascinating. And the music. Oh, the music.

My especial favourite of the moment is Wie wird man seinen Schatten los?, and the reprise of the same, performed by the Ensemble in the finale is just as good.

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5. First musical obsession.

This one is easy: Phantom of the Opera. I saw it when the UK tour was in Edinburgh back in 1993 and was immediately thoroughly smitten. It wasn't just the musical, either. I promptly hunted down every possible Phantom film I could find, any books relating to the Phantom, random memorabilia. I love the story, I love the premise, I love a man in a mask who can sing and compose and do awesome magic. And strangely, the best production of Phantom I have seen was still a small 4-man cast production by a tiny, private theatre company in Warsaw, on a stage smaller than my livingroom. The cast totally made the show.

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3. A musical that makes you sad.

The title speaks for itself: Les Miserables. Every time I see this show, I cry somewhere new, depending on my mood. Usually, it's Little Fall of Rain, but occasionally, Fantine's Death. There are other places, but yes, while I love this show dearly and could watch it a thousand times, it makes me bawl like a baby.


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1. The most underrated musical.

Elisabeth, outside of a certain circle. Name it to English-speaking fans, and I suspect the majority won't have ever heard of it. I've heard of musicals fans avoiding shows not in their native language, many of them English-speakers, and this is a big loss for any non-German/Hungarian/Finnish/Dutch/Japanese speaker, because it's a gorgeous, dark, deep, bitter and beautiful show. It's epic in a few countries, but not beyond there. Plus, no English translation, aside from a couple of songs. Even Rebecca got an English demo. I've seen it live 4 times in 2 countries, and am looking forward to seeing it more.

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