Dracula (Karel Svoboda)
Dracula is a musical by the Czech composer Karel Svoboda .
history
The original Czech libretto was written by Zdeněk Borovec and Richard Hes. The world premiere took place on October 13, 1995 in the Prague Congress Hall in Prague.
The German-language premiere took place on April 30, 2004 in the Musical Theater Basel. Another German-language production ran in summer 2004 at the Freilichtspiele Tecklenburg. Here the main role was played by Ethan Freeman . The musical was also performed by the LMC in Balzers (Liechtenstein) in 2006. In 2006 Musical! Kultur bought the rights and appeared in September and October 2007 with 6 performances and a public rehearsal in Betzdorf, one in France and another in Turkey. In 2010 the musical will be performed at the Schlossfestspiele in Ettlingen near Karlsruhe, in which Hans Neblung plays the role of the cruel count.
The German texts are written by Michael Kunze . The plot is only very free based on the famous Bram Stoker novel. Each of the three acts shows a different era that Dracula experienced.
action
The story begins at the end of the 15th century. The dreaded Count Dracula roams the country murdering and plundering. People flee to a monastery church to seek protection from him and his knights. The local priest reassures the refugees and assures them that even Dracula does not dare to kill God's people here. A monk there doubts this and a little later Dracula and his knights actually penetrate the walls of the church and threaten the priest. The monk wants to protect him, but is stabbed by Dracula. The frightened people flee in panic, followed by the knights. When the monk he met dies in the arms of the priest, the priest feels incredible hatred and curses the cruel Dracula to eternal life in darkness and an insatiable thirst for blood. Thereupon he is killed by the unimpressed Dracula as well.
At about the same time, Dracula's young wife Adriana, who was pregnant last month, is waiting for her husband to return to his castle in Transylvania. She has no inkling of Dracula's bloodthirsty machinations and is entertained by the court jester Scapino while she waits longingly. When the count returns to his castle, she loses their son and succumbs to the consequences of the miscarriage. Deeply dismayed by the double loss, he accuses his employees and even leaves the court jester hanging on the yoke, who ponders the meaning of death there. Heartbroken and unable to cope with the heavy loss, Dracula wants to commit suicide. But the priest's curse rests on him and he cannot die. In his initial euphoria about the apparently happy new fate, he falls into a raging bloodlust and seduces a virgin maid in his bedchamber. Only when he wakes up next to the bloodless victim does he become aware of the true meaning of the curse and, in despair, he realizes that nothing human is attached to him.
The second act takes the viewer to the beginning of the 19th century. In the meantime, several beautiful women have fallen victim to him and three of his ex-lovers, whom he has turned into vampires, complain about the lack of interest in their lord and prince of darkness, who sleeps in a coffin during the day. He is still mourning his first wife Adriana. An unexpected visitor arrives from England: Lorraine and her brother Steven who want to ask their distant blood relative for financial help. While Dracula's butler Scapino and his followers are chasing Steven into the crypt, the count falls in love with the beautiful Lorraine and thinks he sees a light in her eyes that he can bear. He also recognizes in her a certain innocence that he does not want to destroy. He hopes to be freed from his curse through them. At a vampire ball in their honor, the dancing crowd is surprised by the appearance of Stevens, who is desperately looking for his sister. He realizes the deadly danger that seems to emanate from Dracula and tries to warn Lorraine about him. But she seems to be in a trance and is convinced of the authenticity of her love. Steven then wants to kill Dracula before it's too late for his sister. But he gets up unharmed and drives the pastor to suicide. The loss of her brother is overcome by her deep passion for the prince and at their blood wedding they drink each other's blood.
The third act brings the event into the present. The Stockers, a gang led by Nick and his girlfriend Sandra, are planning an attack on Dracula, who is now a powerful casino owner. However, he can only maintain his strength with the help of a professor (Scapino), who provides him with blood transfusions, and he also becomes increasingly depressed. The recurring longing for his beloved Adriana and his increasing disinterest in Lorraine makes her addicted to alcohol, much to the delight of his other three ex-lovers. Meanwhile, Nick intrudes into Dracula's secret laboratory and steals a dress that Adriana had owned and Dracula is still keeping there. Lorraine also insists on being shown into the laboratory by the professor to see Dracula and finally find out what's wrong with him. She sees the picture of Adriana and realizes that he is still mourning his first wife. Meanwhile, Nick gives the dress to his friend Sandra and sends her dressed up in a dress and a wig to Dracula's casino to spy on him. But when he sees her in the dress of his late wife, he takes her for the returned Adriana and asks her to stay with him. However, Nick becomes jealous and pulls Sandra away from him. Dracula can't bear to have lost his Adriana again and he chases them both. When a fight finally breaks out between him and the Stockers, Nick shoots him. But instead of him the professor is hit. Dracula is shocked that someone wanted to help him because he liked him and screams in desperation that he doesn't want to live anymore. The priest, who was killed by Dracula at the time, appears and summons God's judgment, in which all his victims appear as witnesses to pass judgment. The monk and Steven curse him to eternal damnation in hell. The maid he killed at the time speaks of justice and the fact that she died then and yet wanted to live. The professor also appears and says that his crimes are ridiculously unimpressive, almost humane in today's world, when generals have children massacred. But only the complete forgiveness of Lorraine can finally free him and together they go, guided by Adriana's spirit, into the sun, which shines through the door that Sandra opened. His victims also shine in the light.
Songs (German version)
- Overture (Předehra);
- God hear us (Smilování);
- The Curse (Černí rytíři);
- Butterfly (Šašek a Adriana);
- We two! (Vím, že jsi se mnou);
- Death (smrt);
- God, if you exist (Nespravedlivý bůh);
- Night after night (Nymfy);
- Blood relatives (Tajemný hrad);
- A terrible suspicion (Stevens monologue) (Stevenův monologue);
- I lost myself to you (Jsi můj pán);
- When the drums pound (Hon na zlo);
- A common syndrome (dehybernace);
- You have to be sexy (Okouzlená Sandra);
- Free, over (Lorraine v podzemí);
- Dracula's monologue (Draculův monologue);
- This is what you were born for (Draculova smrt);