Schikaneder’s World Premiere will be September 30, 2016, in Vienna
I’ve included two video clips with this story.
On March 10th, the Raimund Theater by way of the website www.Musicalvienna.at introduced the upcoming new musical Schikaneder through a livestreamed press conference. Schikaneder will have its world premiere on September 30th in Vienna, performed in German with English surtitles. The announcement has become trending on the web. This might contribute to the project’s success.
Christian Struppeck, the bookwriter and artistic director with whom Stephen Schwartz collaborated, hosted the event. Part of the press conference was presented in German and the rest in English. During the livestream, Stephen Schwartz sat at the piano on stage and played several samplings of songs for the new work.
PHOTO: Composer Stephen Schwartz on the computer screen by way of the livestreamed press conference.
During the press conference, Director Trevor Nunn spoke by way of a pre-recorded video. He reported that the show is not only a romantic musical, but is the story of how one of the world’s great operas, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, came to be written and staged. He described Schikaneder as being highly theatrical and “full of surprises and originality.”
Anthony Ward, the designer of sets and costumes, explained his interest in making this a period piece based on research of 18th century theaters and dress. The show promises to be visually fascinating. Orchestrator David Cullen spoke and Struppeck also introduced and interviewed cast members.
As the culmination of the press event, the cast members playing Emanuel and Eleanore Schikaneder sang a duet from the show, “Dream Big,” or in German, “Träume Grosse.” It was accompanied by the full 35-piece orchestra (Koen Schootsthat, music director) that will perform with the musical this fall. The charming performance by Milica Jovanovic and Mark Seibert showed the stunning result of Cullen’s orchestrations and Stephen Schwartz’s Mozart-tinged musical theatre score. Read more about the show Schikaneder – at MusicalSchwartz.com
VIDEO: Milica Jovanovic as ELEONORE SCHIKANEDER and Mark Seibert as EMANUEL SCHIKANEDER sing “Dream Big,” or “Träume Grosse” from Schikaneder.
VIDEO – Composer Stephen Schwartz, speaking in English, explains the new musical and its relationship to Mozart’s opera, The Magic Flute.
Stephen Schwartz is the American composer-lyricist known best for Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, and his work for Disney and DreamWorks. This article is being published as part of The Schwartz Scene newsletter. To keep up with Stephen Schwartz’s activities, please subscribe to The Schwartz Scene.
Link to full press conference with notes in English.
This article is being published as part of The Schwartz Scene newsletter issue 58. See the newsletter for the latest Stephen Schwartz news.
