The Scarlet Seal (Musical)
The Scarlet Pimpernel is a musical based on the novel of the same name by Emmuska Orczy (published in German as Das Scharlachrote Siegel ). The music is by Frank Wildhorn ( Jekyll & Hyde ), the lyrics by Nan Knighton . The world premiere took place on November 9, 1997 at the Minskoff Theater in New York . Since 2008 the musical has also been performed by the Takarazuka Revue , with a similar huge success as the Takarazuka interpretation of the Viennese musical Elisabeth .
action
The musical is set in 1792 during the French Revolution . Despite all the political turmoil, the English nobleman Percy Blakeney fell in love with the French dancer Marguerite St. Just in Paris and married her after only a few weeks of acquaintance. What he does not know: She was pressured by the jealous Paris police chief Chauvelin to reveal the hiding place of the French nobleman Marquis de St. Cyr. A short time later, he and his whole family are beheaded.
Percy learns of Marguerite's alleged betrayal and loses his trust in her. He decides to secretly fight against the cruelty of the revolutionary government. Together with his friends, as a masked Scarlet Pimpernel, he saves numerous people from the guillotine, while in England he gives the noble snob to divert suspicion from himself. Police chief Chauvelin intensifies the search with increasing violence and growing hatred, until the opponents face each other in the shadow of the guillotine for the all-important duel.
Song sequence
- prolog
- Storybook
- The girl from before
- Madame Guillotine
- I trust in you
- prayer
- In the middle of the fire
- Falcon on the hunt
- The Scarlet Pimpernel
- I look at you
- I look at you (recapitulation)
- You give me hold (garden surprise)
- The creation of man
- The confusion
- They look here, they look there
- She was always there
- Fairy tale book (recapitulation)
- In the middle of the fire (recapitulation)
- The girl from before (reprise)
- You are my hold
- He was always there
- Finale - When I look at you
- Bows
Performance venues
- new York
Peter Hunt directed the premiere on November 9, 1997 at the Minskoff Theater in New York.
- Hall
The German-language premiere took place on February 14, 2003 in the Halle Opera House . The German texts are by Wolfgang Adenberg , directed by Robert Herzl, Koen Schoots was the musical director.
Premiere cast in Halle:
- Sir Percy Blakeney - Darius Merstein-MacLeod - 2003 to 2006 and 2003 to 2008: Christoph Goetten
- Marguerite St. Just - Ann Christin Elverum - 2006/2007 season and 2007/2008 - Maricel
- Chauvelin - Chris Murray
- Armand St. Just - Zoltán Tombor
- Clingenburg Festival
The world's first open-air production of The Scarlet Pimpernel took place in the summer of 2003 at the Clingenburg in Klingenberg am Main. The director was Udo Schürmer, the musical director was Jürgen Voigt, and the sound engineer was Pit Lenz.
- Sir Percy Blakeney - Wolfgang DeMarco
- Marguerite St. Just - Anna Carolin Stein
- Chauvelin - Marc Pagan
- Armand St. Just - Serdar Ilbuğa
- Ozzy - Martin Birnbaum
- Dewhurst - Ramin Dustar
- Elton - Titus Hoffmann
- Farleigh - Moritz Manuel Michel
- Ben - Espen Nowacki
- Staatz
The Austrian premiere of The Scarlet Pimpernel - Das Scharlachrote Siegel was shown in an open-air performance on the Staatz Felsenbühne in Lower Austria in the summer of 2007 . Director: Werner Auer , musical director: Gregor Sommer, choreographer: Eva Klug.
- Sir Percy Blakeney - Markus Neugebauer
- Marguerite St. Just - Elisabeth Sikora
- Chauvelin - Werner Auer
from June 26, 2008 to August 17, 2008
occupation
- Percy Blakeney - Espen Nowacki
- Marguerite St. Just - Anna Thorén
- Chauvelin - Hans Neblung
- Armand St. Just - André Sultan-Sade
- Baden near Vienna
Premiere on October 18, 2008 in the Stadttheater Baden / Vienna.
Director: Robert Herzl, musical director: Franz-Josef Breznik, choreography: Rosita Steinhauser
Premiere cast:
- Sir Percy Blakeney- Darius Merstein-MacLeod
- Marguerite St. Just - Maricel
- Chauvelin - Chris Murray
- Armand St. Just - Zoltán Tombor
- Bremerhaven
Premiere on November 20, 2009 in the Stadttheater Bremerhaven
Production: Thorsten Krafft, musical direction: Peter Stolle
Occupation:
- Sir Percy Blakeney - Hans Neblung
- Marguerite St. Just - Maike Switzer
- Chauvelin - Ralph Ertel
- Armand St. Just - Oliver Nöldner
- Bielefeld
Premiere on March 6, 2010 in the Stadttheater Bielefeld.
Musical director - William Ward Murta, staging - Roland Hüve, choreography - Jochen Schmidtke, stage and costumes - Christof Cremer, choir master - Hagen Enke, dramaturgy - Jón Philipp von Linden, musical assistance - Ingo Stadtmüller, musical master - Alexis Agrafiotis, Christian Van den Berg-Bremer, Ingo Stadtmüller, Witolf Werner, assistant set designer - Mariya Yordanova-Schepke, assistant director - Alexander Reschke,
Occupation:
Sir Percy Blakeney - Veit Schäfermeier; Marguerite St. Just - Karin Seyfried; Chauvelin - Alexander Franzen; Armand St. Just / Robespierre - Dirk Mestmacher; Marie Grosholtz - Sarah Kuffner; Tussaud / Guard - Ramon Riemarzik; Coupeau / Jessup / Prince of Wales - Ulrich Neuweiler; Mercier - Andreas Lutsch; Dewhurst - Lutz Laible; Ozzy - Alexander Janacek; Elton - Christian Tobias Müller; Farleigh - Carlos Horacio Rivas; Hal - Krzysztof Gornowicz; Ben - Sebastian Teichner; Marquis de St. Cyr - Vladimir Lortkipanidze; Maid - M.Ataalla / D.Dobrolinska, E. Quilichini / N.-K. Schmidt, L.Schütz / M.Tratzyk; Cupidos - members of the Performing Arts Studio, Bielefeld;
Choir - Bielefeld Opera Choir; Ensemble - Bielefelder Philharmoniker.