Elisabeth
Original Hungarian Cast
It doesn't have Pia Douwes or Uwe Kröger, of course, but I love the Hungarian cast recording of this show nearly as much as I do the original. The song selection is very slightly different, and with one exception, this album "feels" very similar, unlike the live Vienna cast recording or the Japanese.
Like the original, this recording fails to include the Halál (der Tod/Death) portion of the Prológus, although it does include the exchange between Lucheni and the Voice of the Judge which occurs afterward. Maybe it's just me, but I rather enjoy comparing the different Luchenis' pronunciation of the Italian phrases during this scene and a few others.
Mint Te rivals even Pia Douwes's version, in my far from unbiased opinion! Janza Kata sounds just adorable here, and it's one of the times when I really like the way this language sounds.
The third song included on this recording is called Útvesztõ Minden Út, sung by Halál; it's not on the original recording for the very simple reason that it's not in the original show. It was written for the Japanese production, and then used in the Hungarian but not, as far as I have been able to find out, inserted into the Vienna production. The title of the Japanese version has been translated as "The Rondo of Love and Death"; I think the Hungarian title is more like "Every path's a maze", but that's just based on what I can find in online dictionaries. Anyway, it's rather more pop than the rest of the score, especially this arrangement; the Japanese fit in a little better. It's supposedly about Death's falling in love with Sisi; I'm told that the Japanese production (which also adds dialogue, and eliminates one song) shifted the show's focus from Elisabeth to the "love affair with Death" idea, and presumably this song is part of that. Not speaking Japanese or Hungarian, I can only guess, however.
Skipping ahead to Ahogy azt az Ember Gondolja (German title: So wie man denkt, so kommt es nie), which is just as fun as on the original. Once again, I really like the way the lyrics sound. I also find it interesting that, after Ferenc József has chosen Sisi over her sister, you can hear Helene's part more clearly than the couple's; it's basically the opposite from the other recording. Not necessarily better or worse, just a different focus. Fõldes Tamás doesn't have Ethan Freeman's smooth, unusually expressive voice, but I like him nonetheless; he's probably my second favourite Lucheni. His voice is "interesting"; in general, the men in the Hungarian cast have slightly rougher voices than those in the original.
Skip the wedding; instead, I'll move on to one of the songs that are critical to my enjoyment of any particular version of this show: A Végsõ Tánc. Mester Tamás is the most extreme example of the rougher voices in this cast; his voice seems more suited to rock than musicals. But unlike some of the Vienna successors to Kröger in this role, who've taken the "rock star" idea too far in my opinion, Mester manages to make it work. I think the primary reason for this is his approach to the role; whereas Addo Kruizinga, for instance, plays der Tod as evil in addition to going overboard with the rock star thing, Mester tries to make Halál hypnotically fascinating. His voice isn't as smooth, as I've said, or as naturally mesmerising as Kröger's, but in many ways his performance is similar. I know I'm biased, but I'm not the only one who's heard enough of a similarity between their interpretations to think that Mester modelled his version after Kröger's. (And, hey, why not? It clearly works, and why tamper with something that's so nearly perfect?) Even where his phrasing's not quite the same, his attack conjures up the same characterisation, for me at least.
Az Már Nem Én Lennék, on the other hand, is disappointing. It's sung by the second Sisi on this album, Sáfár Mónika, whose voice I don't much care for. I've heard worse, yes, but I've also heard considerably better! I never get much sense of any real acting going on, either; it's as if she's merely singing a song, and the inevitable comparison with Douwes can hardly be favorable, under those circumstances.
There really isn't a whole lot I can say about Nyisd Ki Elisabeth; it's acceptable, but fails to be as moving as the original cast's Mach auf, mein Engel. Sasvári Sándor is an acceptable Ferenc József, certainly, and considerably better suited for this role than he was for Marius, but his voice doesn't communicate the loneliness and longing Viktor Gernot's can. Janza is once again doing Sisi, but as an adult her voice isn't as endearing as it was for Mint Te. Bizarrely, the lyric booklet goes from the ultimatum straight to the next song, although Halál's appearance and Sisi's rejection of him are most definitely on the recording. It means, however, that I have little chance of ever finding out what's said during that portion; the line corresponding to the original's "ich liebe dich" almost certainly isn't the Hungarian for "I love you", though.
Although it lacks Freeman's marvellous performance, the Hungarian Tej (Milch) remains quite enjoyable. I don't really dislike any of the recorded versions of this song (which I've heard; still missing the 1997 Japanese recording); I suppose the 1996 Japanese is my least favourite, but that's probably because it's the one I've heard least often, by a considerable margin. It's simply a great song, all around, and this show seems to always have a really strong ensemble, which this song definitely requires!
Following Giccs (the Hungarian spelling of Kitsch :)) is another song not on the original cast recording, although it is in the Vienna production: Éljen, a song sung by the Hungarian crowds in praise of Elisabeth, following her 1867 coronation. I like it, although I find it interesting that although the German libretto has the title line of this song in Hungarian (Éljen, éljen, Erzsébet), presumably to make it clear that the crowds are Hungarian, rather than the Viennese who didn't like Sisi much, the Japanese doesn't even use the Hungarian form of her name....
One of the tracks missing from this album is whatever-the-Hungarian-is-for Rastlose Jahre; personally, I would have preferred that over Elpirulni, Ó, Itt Az Nem Való (Nur kein Genieren), but either way, it means one gets to Ma Nagyot Nõtt az Árnyék (repríz) that much sooner. I just love this song, in and of itself; and Mester and Szomor György (as Rudolf) do justice to it. Not as amazing as Kröger and Bieber, naturally, but highly enjoyable nonetheless. I especially love the way Mester does "ugye ismersz".
For Bennem Mint Tükörben, I refer you to my description of the original Wenn ich dein Spiegel wär; Szomor's Rudolf sounds startlingly like Andreas Bieber's, albeit a bit more breathy.
Mint Két Gálya, sadly, can't approach Boote in der Nacht. The Sisi's Janza again, but while she manages to sound appropriately younger for Mint Te, she seems incapable of sounding older for this song. Sasvári doesn't age either, and he sounds younger than Gernot did to begin with, but once again his performance is acceptable-yet-unremarkable.
Lehull a Fátyol is nice enough. Janza sounds better here than on some of her other post-Mint Te tracks, and I've already mentioned liking Mester.
Overall, I'd definitely recommend this recording as a follow-up to (but never instead of!) the original Vienna cast album!
