Original Cast Wien 2005
Elisabeth
The most successful German-language musical shows the great love story between Elisabeth, the Empress of Austria, and death. The action takes place between 1852 and 1898 (and a hundred years later in the catacombs of history), in Possenhofen, Vienna and Geneva as well as in various historical and imaginary locations. The portrayal of Elisabeth as a modern woman at the end of the Habsburg era, her struggle to preserve and develop her personality and freedom, has thoroughly corrected the kitschy "Sisi" legend of the film. Death, her fascinating secret lover, is embodied in a contemporary manner by an attractive young man. This love story is peeled open and cynically commented on by Luigi Lucheni, Elisabeth's murderer: like another Mephisto, he leads through this panorama of the turn of the century. A waltz dream of death, extreme, grotesque and funny is this musical, also sentimental and tender, a dance of death "on the deck of the sinking world". The DVD collector's edition includes an elaborate digipack with 2 DVDs, which is surrounded by a slipcase refined with high-pressure silver embossing and contour varnish. As a complement to the single DVD, the collector's edition includes a bonus DVD with a look behind the scenes, facts about the recording and other backstage information. In addition, the bonus DVD contains interviews with all the main actors and, as a special highlight, a photo album with pictures from 13 years of Elisabeth-Das Musical. The bonus DVD has English and Japanese subtitles. In addition, in contrast to the single DVD, the recordings of the first and second act are available in 16: 9 format.