Marie Antoinette

Marie Antoinette The Musical tells the story of two parallel lives, that of the infamous Queen of France and that of Margrid Arnaud, a poor woman. Both are of the same age, both are pretty, but that's where the similarities end. While Margrid is roaming the streets of Paris in rags, Marie Antoinette dances and flirts at the Phanges all that. Margrid Arnaud rises and Marie Antoinette falls, and when the two women eventually meetalais Royal.

The French Revolution c two worlds collide and the drama unfolds.

It's a mere coincidence that a new movie also portrays Marie Antoinette this year. Sofia Coppola's $40 million film has revived a centuries-old fascination with the ancien régime's last queen. In France the best-selling biography of Marie Antoinette by Lady Antonia Fraser will be listed as the No. 2 best seller for nonfiction in the weekly magazine L'Express next week. Huge advertising billboards featuring Kirsten Dunst, who has the title role in the film, hang in several Paris Métro stations. The blurb calls Marie Antoinette "a Lady Di before her time."

The musical uses the events of the French Revolution as a spectacular backdrop to the fate of the unhappy Queen. Margrid Arnaud personifies the nemesis of the monarchy, eventually leading to the extinction of Marie Antoinette and her world. Sylvester Levay has composed a thrilling score for this ambitious new show.

Already at the opening at the Imperial Theater in Tokyo November 1, 2006, the show proved to be both an artistic sensation and a commercial success. Tamiya Kuriyama, one of the best known Japanese opera directors and creative head of the New National Theater in Tokyo, turned Michael's libretto into an unforgetable emotional experience.

The European opening is scheduled for January 30th, 2009 at the Music Hall in Bremen/Germany.