Elisabeth - Tumblr Posts
The relationship between Elisabeth and Der Tod is textbook “enemies AND lovers.” They crave and hunger for each other so but they also hurt each other just as much. You want them to end up together because they truly understand each other, Elisabeth even comes to him to celebrate her triumph in Wenn Ich Tanzen Will and he’s happy for her. But you’re also meant to cheer for Elisabeth when she chases Der Tod away because he’s literally her depression personified.
They YEARN for each other but on their own terms. And there’s so much desperation, so much hunger. It’s almost primal and instinctual. They tear away each other’s facades and rip off each other’s defense. Elisabeth is not an elegant and beautiful Empress but an egotistical and selfish (very depressed) woman to him. He’s not an omniscient and detached deity but a jealous and possessive (almost animalistic) man to her. And they both can’t help but be attracted to each other.
Their interactions are rarely tender, they bite, they claw. What do you expect from a love affair with literal DEATH?? It’s a story you can root for because they complement each other’s toxicity but don’t necessarily want it for yourself cuz … depression sucks 🫠
In fact, reducing their relationship to an all-good all-romantic love story in a way, glorifies depression and suicidal tendencies. Because that way, Der Tod is just another suitor, portrayed as far superior to the human Franz-Joseph, of course Elisabeth SHOULD want to be with him, simple as that. The way Maya and Mate play it truly taps into the nuances of Elisabeth and Der Tod’s love affair. It’s cathartic, not happy.
Maya Hakvoort and Máté Kamarás in Elisabeth
And to beat a dead horse, one of the points that I stressed in my video essay is that: the existence of a “happy ever after” for Elisabeth and Death RIDICULES Elisabeth’s refusal to succumb to her suicidal thoughts.
If there exist a happy ending, then logically, Elisabeth should have no fear in accepting Death’s invitation (to kill herself). And when she does, she is framed as foolish and stubborn. Which is NOT a good look.
I can’t say original Viennese production is avidly anti-suicide, but you are meant to root for Elisabeth when she does refuse Death. It’s portrayed as triumphant moments. Because Elisabeth and the audience share an unspoken understanding that there is no “after.” Death is NOT a solution to problems, just an end.
By making Death’s “happy ever after” a SOLUTION to Elisabeth’s life problems, it is sending an extremely problematic message, one that shamelessly glamorizes suicide.
Society has moved past the need for "together in the afterlife<33" endings to Elisabeth. Like, if that's your takeaway, why would you produce the show oabfösbgödlf
It's not a story about love, it's a twisted mockery of a love story. Lucheni's narration - because it was always supposed to be that and only that!!!! He is not an objective source of information and that is 900% the point!! - uses the conventions of a love story to make a point. Seeing what happens should horrify the audience, and if it doesnt horrify the audience, the audience should think about it a bit and be horrified upon realising that they've been made to root for something horrible (a relationship that kills and destroys) and possibly even find it sweet or comforting. Goes for Elisatod and Todolf both. Lucheni makes a big old romance or seduction narrative - something we're societally wired to enjoy and root for - stand for a lifelong fascination with death. He's the OG romanticiser. But, at the end, it doesn't work if the audience isn't shown the tangible effects and end results of that narrative, which to me are
Elisabeth's cruelty, bitterness and brokenness throughout act 2 and how she TANGIBLY harms other people in the course of her pursuit of freedom (this could also start in act 1 already, with Milch). In this we can root for her, but the audience should never forget the price paid. It's not that she's evil - far from it - we should almost see her selfishness as the only coping mechanism she has in her situation and be drawn to deeply understand and care for her and hope against hope that she'll reach happiness somehow. Which makes it even more tragic that it does still harm others, and EVEN MORE tragic, awful and uncomfortable that happiness slips from her grasp and she's literally joyful that she's DYING
Elisabeth's death as a "ruined" ending to the show. There's a kiss and the music swells triumphantly, still in keeping with Lucheni's pretense that this is a grand love story, but the audience should be left feeling empty and horrified after it ends. I don't care if it's bad for marketing ajfkdkkf. Tod should PUT HER ON THE FLOOR or otherwise show that after the charade is over, she's dead and her imaginary boyfriend can't save her or accompany her because he's an empty husk that doesn't exist unless she's there to imagine him - or, if Tod is a more real figure, that he doesn't care, or can't care. He cares during her life because she pertains to his fate-assigned task, but afterwards, there's literally no way for him to and no reason to. She's gone to a place he can never know about or follow her to. Or he's just done. I think it's a very grave mistake when the show is directed to have a genuinely triumphant-seeming ending. Death is not REALLY happiness, death is not really freedom, even though Lucheni spends the entire show gaslighting us to think that. If Elisabeth has a happy ending, it becomes a show that legit encourages suicide in a way that no amount of todolf flirting or Mayerling kissing can. (I see people wonder about whether todolf romanticises suicide, but in staged productions, it literally never does. It can't, because Tod never is outright tender with Rudolf, or is implied to stay with Rudolf after Mayerling. At least in European prods - idk if this happens in some of the Asian prods, I don't watch them because I don't like what I've seen of the way zuka, toho or koreabeth are directed ajdkkdkf. I can't believe homophobia is protecting todolf from the romanticisation treatment but I think it is 💀).
Overall.......... like, vbw please, less KKOG and more alle fragen sind gestellt. If you want a sparkly elegant princess love story with lots of drama, banger music and don't mind if there's no actual criticism or metacommentary, just go watch Anastasia 💀 (i mean that one does also have historical criticism, but it's just COMMUNISM BAD, aristocracy GOOD lol. Ajdkkdfb if Elisabeth was written by Lucheni, Anastasia was written by dowager empress Maria Feodorovna lmao)
Potato Tod 😭
Birds into the sky, corpses into the earth… I continued betraying the God.
Ichiro Maki in Elisabeth (1996).
Pia Douwes and Maya Hakvoort in the same roles
Note1: I couldn't find pics of Maya as Velma and Milady, so I have to leave that to everyone's imagination
Note2: while they played the same character in 3 musketiere, the productions were not the same, they were different musicals by different writers/composers, based on the same story. Unfortunately I couldn't find much information about the St. Gallen one with Maya from 2000
Note3: just to make it clear, I didn't make this post to compare them to each other (apparently people like to do that, at least in the comment section of YouTube), I love both of them very much and I think they're both freaking talented and stunning