Theatres across Austria are getting ready for an exciting season. Ludovico Lucchesi Palli offers an overview of shows to look out for in Vienna.
The Volksoper, Vienna will kick off its season with a real treat: following performances in Munich and Graz, the classic Im Weissen Rössl by Ralph Benatzky. The creative team and the two principals remain unchanged: Josef Ernst Köpplinger directs, sets and costumes are by Rainer Sinell, choreography is by Karl Alfred Schreiner. Michael Brandstätter will serve as musical director:
The two principals – Sigrid Hauser (with Ursula Pfitzner as alternate) as Josepha Voglhuber and Daniel Prohaska (with Boris Eder as alternate) as Leopold Brandmayer – resume their roles after having played them previously in Munich and Graz. They are joined by Bernd Birkhahn as Wilhelm Giesecke, Mara Mastalir as Ottilie, Carsten Süss as Dr.Otto Siedler, Markus Meyer as Sigismund Sülzheimer, Hans Dieter Knebel as Prof. Dr. Hinzelmann, Juliette Khalil as Klärchen, Wolfgang Hübsch as the Emperor, Franz Suhrada as Ketterl and the legendary Helga Papouschek as tour guide.
The Volksoper has a few more musical highlights in store this season. On 17 October there is the opening of The Man of La Mancha starring artistic director Robert Meyer in the title role and Patricia Nessy as Aldonza. On 24 January 2016 we can expect the concert staging of Kismet starring Rebecca Nelsen, conducted by Joseph Olefirowicz (Guys and Dolls, Candide). Rodgers and Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music will also return. This time around, Barbara Obermeier takes over the role of Maria opposite Boris Pfeiffer as the Captain von Trapp. Also returning is Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof) directed by Matthias Davids on 14 May 2016.
Vienna Theatre Project has a real treat for musical theatre fans. As their annual musical theatre production, they’re bringing Stephen Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little to the Theater Drachengasse starring Jacqueline Braun and Tim Hüning, both coming straight from Mamma Mia! at the Raimundtheater. Joanna Godwin-Seidl directs the production, which opens on 28 September 2015. Chanda Vanderhart serves as musical director.
Mozart! Das Musical, which premiered in Vienna at the Theater an der Wien in 1999, will return to the city where it all began on 24 September 2015. Since its premiere it has been seen in Germany, Sweden, Japan, South Korea, Czech Republic and Hungary.
The show, which tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, will be presented in an updated version, written exclusively for this revival, suggests Michael Kunze, who wrote the book and lyrics. Composer Sylvester Levay has promised a new song, a duet between Mozart and Constanze Weber. It will be directed by its original director, Harry Kupfer, who previously collaborated with Kunze and Levay on Elisabeth. The choreography will be by Dennis Callahan, set design by Hans Schavernoch, costumes by Yan Tax, lighting design by Jürgen Hoffman and video design by Thomas Reiner. Koen Schoots will serve as musical director.
The cast consists of Oedo Kuipers (The Phantom of the Opera) as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Thomas Borchert, the only original cast member, will reprise his role as Leopold Mozart; Mark Seibert (Elisabeth) will play Hieronymus Colloredo; Franziska Schuster will play the role of Constanze Weber; Barbara Obermeier (Sister Act, Natürlich Blond and currently in the musical company of the Landestheater Linz) will play Nannerl; Ana Milva Gomes (currently Donna in Mamma Mia!) will play Baronin von Waldstätten; Brigitte Oelke (We Will Rock You, Sunset Boulevard) will play Cäcilia Weber and Johannes Glück will play the role of Schikaneder.
Now to a bit more cabaret: Patricia Simpson brings her new one woman show Bombenstimme to the Kulisse on 22 September 2015. Audiences can expect a mix of different musical styles, accompanied by a live band. After various comedy programmes, Simpson returns to her roots and sings her heart out in this brand new solo show.
Martin Oberhauser and Nina Blum return to the stage with their third programme called Höhepunkt. Very much like their first two shows, Sex und Reden and Schlaflose Nächte, the performers’ newest adventure will be packed with slapstick and new lyrics to a bunch of songs. The show is directed by Marcus Ganser and features a book by Michaela Riedl-Schlosser. Opening night is 29 April 2016 at the Eden Bar.
The first premiere in the new season came from a company called Aspiring Artists On Stage. It was founded by Vanessa Ehmann, who recently graduated from drama school in Vienna, to produce lesser known musicals and plays and to give actors and actresses at the beginning of their careers to gain stage experience.
Their first production was the Austrian premiere of City of Angels. The show, which features music by Cy Cole Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel and book by Larry Gelbart, played the Off theater, Vienna. It was performed in German in a translation by Michael Kunze. The cast consisted of: Matthias Buchegger, Vanessa Ehmann, Michael Green, Georg Grigorian, Georg Hasenzagl, Marcel Hess, Florian Koller, Gregor Kronthaler, Romy Maria Mayer, Friederike Maus, Lisa Perner, Michael Perner, Christine Rösslhuber, Walter Spanny and Karoline Troger. The creative team consisted of Andrea Mellis (director) and Ronald Sedlaczek as musical director.
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