Tanz der Vampire — November 10, 2005 (Hamburg) [4K]

Описание: A 4K upscale of the complete Tanz proshot from the original DVD source, including English subtitles, edited by me. This specific recording is not only special for obvious reasons but because the staging of Tanz was probably at its best at this point during the Hamburg run. All stagings that followed cut material from the show, and the stage design had to be simplified. And though I'd argue that some of the changes made to the show were good for its pace and storytelling, I think the Hamburg run was the best of both worlds: neither the quite (too) long Vienna version nor the cut-down version of later years.

CAST:
Kevin Tarte (Krolock), Jessica Kessler (Sarah), Max Niemeyer (Alfred u/s), Stefan Poslovski (Abronsius), Franziska Forster (Magda), Tim Reichwein (Herbert), Jerzy Jeszke (Chagal), Simone Pohl (Rebecca), Stefan Büdenbender (Koukol)

Epic, gothic, sexy – and frighteningly funny: Roman Polanski’s Sixties cult movie hits the live stage, driven by a magnificent rock score, lavish set design and dazzling choreography. When The Fearless Vampire Killers, the flamboyantly funny parody of the classic horror movie genre, directed by Roman Polanski and written by Gérard Brach and Roman Polanski, first hit the movie theaters in 1967, it became an instant cult success. Thirty years later, Polanski’s highly amusing take on the now so immensely popular vampire theme had lost nothing of its spooky appeal, so the idea was born in Vienna to create a musical version – with none other than Polanski himself directing the world premiere.

For this exceptional project, Roman Polanski was joined by some other creative legends in their own right: Germany’s foremost lyricist, author and librettist Michael Kunze wrote the book and world renowned rock composer and producer Jim Steinman, who created one of the best-selling albums in the history of recorded music with Bat out of Hell, agreed to write the music.

By masterfully combining these state-of-the-art ingredients, DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES turned out to be a success more than worthy of its fabled movie predecessor. Gothic horror combines with slapstick, drama, comedy, romance and a hefty dose of Rock ’n’ Roll ballads to make a hugely entertaining spectacle. Why is there so much garlic in the local inn’s taproom? Why does the innkeeper lock his beautiful daughter in her room at night? And who will win her love – the scarily seductive Count von Krolock, the powerful leader of the vampire pack, or his unequal opponent, the endearingly shy and anxious Alfred, assistant to the eccentric scientist and vampire hunter Professor Abronsius.

Stunning sets and ingenious video projections allow the audience to follow the chase into the snow-swept mountains of Transylvania and Count von Krolock’s creepy castle with its dusty library, spooky crypt and the sumptuous mirrored ballroom where – strangely – not everyone can see their own reflection. The show’s perfect blend of stirring rock ballads, offbeat comedy, dazzling choreography and lavish set design rapidly achieved cult status and is frenetically acclaimed by audiences and critics alike. A cult classic far ahead of its time, anticipating the now ubiquitous vampire boom in popular culture (Twilight, The Vampire Diaries, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, etc.) by many years, DANCE OF THE VAMPIRES has its finger right on the audience’s pulse – or rather, their vein. Let the dance begin!

The original Viennese production, directed by international movie legend Roman Polanski himself, premiered in October 1997 at the Raimund Theater in Vienna – a lavish production featuring sophisticated set design by Olivier Award recipient William Dudley and sumptuous costume design by Sue Blane (THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW) – and closed in January 2000.

From Vienna the vampires went on to conquer Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany (Berlin, Cologne, Hamburg, Munich, Oberhausen, Stuttgart), Hungary, Japan, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Switzerland and the USA (Broadway – albeit in a revised version).