"Die Welt wird dich nicht vergessen.
Du hast versagt als Königin.
Jedoch nach deinem Sturz
warst du bewunderswert.
Dein Leben war
nicht ohne Sinn!"
Translation: The world will never forget you/you failed as a queen/but after your fall/you were admirable/ Your life was/not meaningless!
from the Finale of the musical Marie Antoinette by Lévay and Kunze
Arabella has always
admired the Queen of Fashion, Marie Antoinette. She loves fashion, just like
the Queen of France did and has a good taste just like her. They even share
their interest in elegant furniture. When she got to know that there is a
musical about Marie Antoinette and even her dressmaker appears several times,
she knew she had to go. All those wonderful costumes! She wanted to see them so
badly that next time Marie Antoinette was on the program, she came along.
 |
| the theatre from the outside |
Although she has already seen the building from the ‘Victoria and her hussar’
trip, she was impressed. As she looked it over to remember every little detail,
she suddenly noticed something.
‘There are pictures
from the performance there!’ she screamed of excitement. ‘Please, please, take
me there so I can see them better!’ She was taken there but when she got there,
there was a different picture. ‘But… but… what happened? Where is Marie
Antoinette?’
‘Don’t worry, they are
not gone forever, they’ll come back within a minute. It changes so it won’t get
boring.’
‘Could… could you take
a photo of them? For our blog?’ she asked shyly.
‘Sure!’
‘And one of the
theatre as well? Please.’
‘No problem.’
 |
| the queen and Orleans the ball where the necklace changes owners (top) Margrid with her friends |
 |
| the swedish count, Axel Fersen and Marie Antoinette (top), Margrid Arnaud got something to eat and she shares it |
The photos she asked for
were taken and a few inside the building as well.
 |
| inside the building: one of the stairs |
The stairs, a window and the chandeliers
the seats were all inspected with a critical eye.
‘This is going to be
such a great post!’ Arabella exclaimed. The shyness she felt when she realized
how many total strangers were around left her completely.
 |
| Some details: a picture exjibited in honour of the 100th birthday of a different show |
At the entrance to the
auditorium, everybody got a card with a short summary of the story and a bit of
the historical background with a few pictures from the performance. On the other
side, there was a portrait of the actress playing Marie Antoinette dressed up
as Marie Antoinette, which had been a promotion picture of the show. It is a…
strong picture, as Arabella put it. Maybe even a bit scary. The real Marie
Antoinette was beheaded and that is what that picture implies. The actresses
who play the queen said that it wasn’t there when the photos were made, that
part is most likely added with a program like Photoshop.
Bella wanted to pose
with this picture nevertheless.
 |
| Arabella posing with that picture of the actrass as Marie Antoinette |
‘I really like the
roses in her hair. But I wouldn’t use powder, as she did. I like my natural
haircolor best. And those wigs! Why did she use them? Was she bald?’ Meritre
explained that at that time, everybody wore wigs in fashionable circles and as
far as she knew, the princess had thin hair. And that wigs, when they are worn
too often and for a long time, make hair fall out. They used horse hair to make
those enormous wigs back then. ‘They were even bigger than those used on the stage,
you’ll see.’ Bella looked down at the stage and noticed that there were
pictures projected on the iron curtain.
 |
| Axel von Fersen, a swedish countand Marie Antoinettes lover |
 |
| Jacques-René Hébert, a journalist with a vulgar, scurrilous style |
 |
| the prince of Orleans, the kings brother, whose son becomes king some 40 years later |
 |
| Cagliostro on the left and W. A. Mozart on the right |
‘Who are those?’
‘Those are pictures of
the real people that are characters in the show or Marie Antoinette’s
contemporaries, like the well-known composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. See,
there is Marie Antoinette and next to her is her husband.’
 |
| Queen Marie Antoinette and King Louis XVI. |
Arabella looked
disappointed.
‘She is not pretty at
all.’
‘She was thought to be
pretty then. Fashions and tastes change. There will always be some who doesn’t
think the ruling fashions and ideals are beautiful. And she is said to be
charming in a way a portrait can’t show.’
She thought about that
and then looked over the rest of the people. Louis XVI., his younger brother the
Prince of Orleans, a vulgar journalist, a count from Sweden and more. There
were a few words about each person as well to help a bit with the historical
background. And then the performance started and the Magic took little Bella
with it or at least she claimed it’s magic.
The queen goes to
parties while the folk is hungry. She doesn’t really understand. She is told
that she should spend less money. She decides not to buy a very expensive and
beautiful necklace made of diamonds. But the prince plots against her and it is
made to look like she bought the necklace in incognito and tries to put the
blame on Cardinal Rohan. They didn’t like each other from the start and this
story damages the queens reputation badly. The cardinal didn’t know he didn’t
give the necklace to the queen but to Margrid, dressed up as the queen.
The break came just at
the right time or she would have burst, she wanted to share so many thoughts.
Which dress was the most beautiful, which actor had the best voice and the
little extras the actors added to the characers. Like how to knock on a non
existing door. The prince of Orleans did this by knocking on the floor with his
walking stick. There were a few things she didn’t undstand about the story.
‘That count or price
or whatever’ she asked ‘why is he plotting against his own brother?’
‘He wants to be king
himself.’
She gazed at the
people around her for a moment.
‘I don’t like that
Orlean. I hope he’ll be punished.’ Her thoughts then wandered to another
character. ‘And that poor girl, Margrid Arnaud, who is his ally now, how come
she had sung the same lullaby the queen sang to her own children?’
‘You’ll understand
later, I don’t want to spoil it for you.’
‘Is she mean, like
this Orlean prince? She helped with that necklace trick.’
‘That will be
something for you to decide.’
She looked thoughtful.
‘They have the same
initials: M.A. I think it was a great idea to use those as a piece of
decoration. One side is golden and fancy for Marie Antoinette the other is plain
old wood for the poor and always hungry Margrid Arnaud. I jus’t can’t really
understand this girl, she seems to like this count from Sweden called Axel von
Fersen yet she treats him as an enemy. And he likes the queen. I’m sorry for
Margrid. She has a beautiful voice, just like the queen, I hope they sing
together.’
 |
| the chandelier Arabelle noticed when she bame back after the break |
A few minutes later
the break was almost over and the members of the audience took their seats again
and so did the small extra visitor. She was so excited. What was going to
happen? Oh they are so mean to her and her family! Oh, they flee, their lives
are in danger. Oh no, they are caught and imprisoned! Poor Marie! True, she was
extravagant and expensive and she had a lover but she was a loving mother and
she got on well with her husband and didn’t leave him alone in times of need,
when those people invaded the castle, she just sent her children away with a
governess. She wasn’t the right person to rule during such difficult times. Her
husband was an even less suitable ruler. He whished he could be a commoner, a
smith. He neglected his duties as he couldn’t really cope with them. And that beggargirl,
Margrid, turned out to be Marie Antoinette’s half-sister and that’s why she
knew that special lullaby, too. Towards the end Margrid realizes that the queen
has some good qualities and she is blamed even for things she didn’t do. Monstrous
things. Margrid Arnaud only wanted justice and now tries to save her but she
fails. Her initials are transformed into the guillotine, part of the big A is
moved so it looks like a big H. The queen meets her end and the performance
ends as well.
The little plastic
hands clap as hard as they can but there are still some questions left.
‘Where was the song
you showed me yesterday?’Arabella wanted to know.
‘It wasn’t there.’
‘But you claimed it
was from Marie Antoinette!’
‘But of course it is.
Only from a different version. Each version is different, not only because the
performers aren’t the same but there may be songs that have different text ore
are completely missing. The order of the scenes can be changed as well.’
The little eyes became
rounder and rounder.
‘Really? Are they
allowed to make such big changes, deciding everything by themselves?’
‘They work together
with the original composer and writer. In later verions there might be some new
songs added.’
I never knew this
could be done! I really liked the text.
(she is talking about
this one:
„The world will never forget you
you failed as a queen
but after your fall you were
admirable
Your life was not meaningless!”
you can listen to it if you would like to here: https://youtu.be/vn90L32jTwU?list=PL5Fju6x9UzEA7YjJ0b0DU_DXe5R60OKJ8
)
She had a dreamy look on her face.
’That green ballgown
was simply perfect! I don’t care for the wig but the dress and the mask! But
the dressmaker and the hairdresser were not at all like I thought they would
be. They were an odd pair.’
Meritre smiled.
'By the way, was it all ture? Did it all happen like we just saw?'
’No, for example the whole half-sister story was just made up. There were
realistic elements but if Marie was really like in this musical – I don’t know.’
In the meantime the
coats were collected and then the theater was left behind. The littlest guest
slipped into the reticule.
‘That was truly
wonderful’ Arabella sighted ‘Thank you for this beautiful memory!’
A few pictures, linked
from different websites belonging to the theatre or the actors and actresses, tI do not own them:
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| the royal family |
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| Marie Antoinette and Fersen meet after they haven't seen each other for a long time, Orleans in the background |
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| Polyák Lilla as the queen, at the summer ball the diamond necklace disappeared |
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| Orleans and Margrid dressed up as the queen, yes the costumes are a bit different for the two casts |
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| the queens hairdresser and her dressmaker |
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| Marie in the prison |
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| the king |
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| Orleans threatening the queen |
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| the end |
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| Vágó Bernadett as Marie Antoinette |
There are two complete casts for the show, the different pictures show actors from both casts, for example both actresses playing Marie Antoinette are represented but not everybody from both casts. I tried to show as many of them as possible :)
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