As a musical prodigy who was composing and performing for European royalty at the age of five, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of the greatest legends in classical music, and his decision to leave the Salzburg court and follow his own muse has inspired artists for generations. That struggle is captured in the hit musical Mozart! which makes its Chinese mainland debut with an extended run at Shanghai Culture Square from December 13 to January 15.
“The idea of reviving this show is to tell people that this is a story of every artist instead of just one,” says the show’s main star Oedo Kuipers. “I can definitely understand Mozart as an artist myself. There are sacrifices to make between the art you want to do and your personal life.”
Spearheaded by writer Michael Kunz, composer Sylvester Levay and director Harry Kupfer – the trio that also created the iconic German musical Elisabeth – Mozart! follows the composer as a young adult free from the responsibilities of his family and society. While the show depicts the composer’s indulgence in gambling, carousing, loving and living, Mozart! also shows his inner struggles as a result of his past as a musical prodigy.
The story unfolds in flashbacks, starting with Mozart’s wife Constance wandering around a cemetery trying to identify her husband. It then switches to a scene where a six-year-old Mozart is blindfolded and performing a piano recital next to his father.
The child Amandé is a haunting figure, tailing his adult incarnation throughout the show, silently writing scores beside him, invisible to the other performers. A symbol of both the composer’s childhood and passion towards music, it will be this incarnation that finishes the show’s last scene where he completes Mozart’s final masterpiece, the famed Requiem.
Born in a small town in the Netherlands, actor Oedo Kuipers relates to Mozart’s early passion for music. He began singing at school and church choirs before making his first stage performance in a Christmas play at age 8. He credits his father as the reason for joining a brass band, but sympathizes with Mozart’s turbulent relationship with his own composer father.
“Mozart was undoubtedly an ingenious musician, but he was also in dire need of his father’s approval for his life achievements,” Kuipers notes. “That’s his motivation for everything that he does, and for the show as well.”
This unhealthy relationship is best summed up in the show’s second scene, where his father disapproves of his son’s choices, and pledges to never see him again. The personal devastation continues as Mozart receives news of his mother and sister’s death, as well as the departure of his wife.
What followed in real life was an artistic flourishing that resulted in some of Mozart’s most well-known pieces. Also noteworthy is his wardrobe choices. To portray his rebellious spirit and his newfound artistic freedom, Kuipers is dressed in a modern coat with hole-poked jeans and ditches the wig commonly worn in that time period.
Following its 1999 debut at the historic Theater an der Wien in Vienna, Mozart! enjoyed a successful two-year production run with approximately 420,000 attendees over 419 shows. The show has lived on thanks to translated versions that have toured across Europe, Japan and Korea.
While he enjoyed success on a Dutch singing competition reality TV show, Kuipers admits that he took extra steps to ensure he would win the starring role when he was auditioning for this new production.
“My voice is somewhat lower than a tenor, which means I couldn’t hit high notes easily like Bruno Mars or Michael Jackson,” he says. “I spent a big fortune on vocal training and worked with a pianist to prepare for this audition. It turned out to be worthwhile.”
Kuipers gushes at receiving praise from the show’s composer Sylvester Levay for “channeling every artist in his performance.” He’s thrilled to be performing the show in China and is still very passionate about playing the role. He jokes, “Every time before I go on stage, I say to my dresser, ‘Time to die!’”
Dec 13-Jan 15, 7.15pm (Tues-Sun) and 2pm (weekends), RMB80-1,080. Shanghai Culture Square.
Images by Deen van Meer
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