Post by Havanah on Feb 15, 2011 20:04:09 GMT
I found a lovely article about this and, as we've discussed symbolism here a lot, I thought I'd post the translation. This thread can obviously then be used as a discussion thread on the subject!
Taken from www.musical-fanpage.de/content/musicals/musicals.html
Death wears a dress!
~The symbolism of Vienna's Elisabeth~
By Sisi Silbertrane (Sisi Silver Tear)
Often criticized by fans of other productions and yet essential: The rich symbolism of the Vienna version of Elisabeth. The images are as diverse as the musical itself, some of which are present throughout the plot and others only during a single scene. They have one thing in common. You have to understand their meaning to see their place in the musical. Anyone willing to open their eyes to the new things and take time to look behind the facade will find that the their enjoyment of the new DVD recording will be richer.
We find ourselves in a world of darkness. Everything has fallen due to the power of time and abandoned to destruction. Hovering between the ruins of a former glory and the ghosts of the past. Luigi Lucheni, Elisabeth's murderer, evokes her once more as he has every day for one hundred years. He stands perched on the file with which he committed the act and awakens the marionettes using his glowing bar which brings the restless spirits to life who move in their angular dance of death. They will tell us their story.
One of the most striking symbols that we are aware of at the beginning are the tendril shaped decorative wounds or mold edges that are on many costumes. They are usually a dark green with only those on Elisabeth's pale clothes matching in colour. They can be found on all the garments of the nobles, even those of the Hungarian nobles, the ladies of the court, Elisabeth's governess and the Cardinal-Archbishop Rauscher and stand for decay to which the aristocracy is finally abandoned.
On several occasions Death's Carriage also appears. This is another symbol that has not found its way onto the German stage but is very important in the Vienna version. Whether it is presenting the coffin of her little child to Elisabeth or makes the bed of Rudolf it stands for death. It forms the background of a grotesque dance between the dark angels and the young Crown Prince. In the new version the vehicle is spotted in another scene, namely "If I Want to Dance", Elisabeth's dance with Death. Although she has succumbed to the belief of having being liberated from everything she cannot escape the Black Prince. The vehicle was modeled on the state coaches of the imperial family which can now be seen in the Schonbrunn Carriage Museum.
The next eye-catching symbol is not long in coming. In "Nothing is Hard" the young couple is lifted up on a stylized Viennese Ferris wheel [Wiener Riesenrad] For this purpose, it should be mentioned that this is not intended to represent that. The cars have never looked like the musical design that is reminiscent of the Habsburg double eagle. This points to the position of the young couple in the monarchy. At the top but alone. And even this close coexistence is an illusion. We all know what will ultimately happen to this link. It does not say that those who rise high can also drop far.
The "Drome" vehicles traveling around the Viennese coffee house in the "Happy Apocalypse" are certainly prominent. The topics of conversation are secular - people recognize first that the monarchy has survived (Elisabeth addressed this in the poems she wrote in her latter years), they long for change "Austria now needs a parliament" * The progress is unstoppable and this is why they use the strange looking vehicles. The death angels riding in the cars could be virtually symbolic implantation of ideas.
Another aspect, much criticized by fans are the symbolic costumes of death. In Mayerling Waltz, in which Rudolf gains the gun which will be set, by Death, against his temple, the Black Prince and his deaths angels in woman's clothing. They have not, however, become transvestites ("Sweet Transvestite" is from another musical), but is symbolizes Mary Vetsera, Rudolf's young lover, with whom he went to his death.
Less strange looking, but equally interesting, are the white outfits of Death which he wears at the beginning and the end of the story. A sharp contrast to the elegant blue-black suit. If we look closely, we realise that the prologue and epilogue of the play take place in the realm of the dead while in all the other scenes Death is in the realm of the living. For us mortals he is of a dark and threatening nature but in his own world there is no reason to fear him.
Most of these symbols, be they the vines, the horse-drawn carriage of Death or the Riesenrad are reserved for the Vienna production. Other versions only keep the essential items such as the large file as a bridge from the realm of the dead to the world of the living. Or Franz Joseph's gift to Elisabeth, a dog-collar like chain with which he burdens her and from which she flees for life "How heavy the chain"* And do not forget the cynicism of Sophie dressing entirely in black at the imperial wedding.
These images may be enough for the other productions of the musical, but not for the Viennese. She lives by the many profound symbols rather than by pompous marble stairs or statues of Achilles. At first glance, for connoisseurs of the other version, it seems weird and inappropriate but the Viennese version would not work without them.
* libertto of the original Vienna version (VBW)
Taken from www.musical-fanpage.de/content/musicals/musicals.html
XD
