Kristina

[alece10]

Just revisited the CD of Kristina and wondered if any forum members have listened to it or even seen the musical.
It's very epic and something that I dip into every now and again rather than listen straight through.
Do you think it would ever be done in the UK?

[anthony40]

Was done as a concert version at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years back.

it is my understanding that in Sweden it was fully staged, however when the lyrics were translated it was then performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, where the CD was recorded. it was then performed over here.

I was there that night. Benny & Bjorn were there and (honestly) I have never seen so many blonde heads. They must have been in touch with the Embassy and I reckon every Swede in London was there!

[alece10]

Feb 19, 2017 20:44:53 GMT anthony40 said:

Was done as a concert version at the Royal Albert Hall a couple of years back.

it is my understanding that in Sweden it was fully staged, however when the lyrics were translated it was then performed in concert at Carnegie Hall, where the CD was recorded. it was then performed over here.

I was there that night. Benny & Bjorn were there and (honestly) I have never seen so many blonde heads. They must have been in touch with the Embassy and I reckon every Swede in London was there!

Ah yes you are right. I remember now it was done at the RAH. I'd have liked.to have seen it.

[anthony40]

On a personal level, I have been aware of this show for many years.

There was a documentary made about ABBA, called The Winner Takes It All, discussing the four individuals, how the got together and where are they now, that sort of thing and of course the mentioned how Benny & Bjorn went onto write Chess and then Kristina.

My sister also had a Swedish boyfriend and it was actually playing at the Gothernberg Opera House at the time I was visiting, but of course it was pointless me seeing it. I can't understand Swedish.

I suppose the next option was to have it translated into English to reach a wider audience.

So, again this is my understanding, it was translated by Herbert Kretzmer, the guy who translated Les Miserables from French to English.

[ali973]

I've owned the Swedish cast recording (triple disk!) since the '90s, I'd say '98. Happy to say I still have it. And I think I have a souvenir brochure of the original production in Sweden, which I believe was bought for me by a fellow forum member (yes, we've been pals since the 90s!).

I believe a concert version (in Swedish) was performed in the late '90s in Minneapolis, Minnesota since that's where "the immigrants" actually immigrate to in the story. I also believe Minnesota has the highest number of Swedish immigrants. I believe there was a new revival in Sweden about two years ago or so.

TBH I like the concept in general, but it's a bit too bleak and the good songs are far and few in between. There are of course the big numbers that are very good.

Kerry Ellis sang a "rock" version of it on her Anthems album, and a more orchestral version of it at an ABBA tribute concert a few years ago.

[viserys]

Was that fellow forum member me?

I did see Kristina in its very first incarnation in Malmö back in the 90s with Helen Sjöholm, Peter Jöback, et al.

I did enjoy it when I saw it live. Despite being nearly four hours long it swept along well. But as Ali says, the good songs are far and few in between and it is a very bleak show overall.

I was never a big fan of Kristina's big song "Du maste finnas" which has always been hyped up and the whole last part of the show doesn't sit well with me these days. Basically Kristina pops out baby after baby because sex is awesome (that old cliche about Swedish girls), then the doc tells her another baby may kill her, so she has a good wail at God about how he's took her country from her and is now taking nookie from her as well, decides that she's in God's hands, has nookie after all, gets preggo and promptly dies. You'd think even poor Swedish peasants in 19th century would know there are plenty ways to be intimate without the risk of pregnancy and generally Kristina strikes me as one of the typical whiny "my liiiiife sucks" heroines of the 80s and 90s blockbusters which have been replaced by a generation of much stronger independent female leads, so I'm honestly not sure how today's audiences would respond to her.

Considering that Benny & Björn are incredibly loaded, money to mount a London or Broadway production wouldn't have been a problem, but apparently they always knew that it didn't really appeal to international audiences. I know there were some revivals in Sweden, so it have changed from what I saw in Malmö anyway, but I think if it were shortened quite a bit and maybe had a couple of rewrites, it could do a shortish run in one of the smaller places like Menier.

[Scswp]

Yes, I saw the concerts, both at Carnegie Hall and at the Royal Albert Hall. There are many good songs in it IMO. I was also lucky enough to see a fully staged version in Stockholm a couple of years ago. I enjoyed it. I understood the story as I read up on it beforehand. The performances were good and the acoustics at the Cirkus arena were fantastic. The staging was also fairly simple, but very effective. A long, but enjoyable evening whilst on a city break in Stockholm.

[Deleted]

I attended the RAH concert and was really disappointed... I had been prepared for something a world away from anything else the ABBA Boys had done, but this was just one long, tedious evening for me. We splashed out and treated ourselves to a posh box, only to be surrounded by youngsters wearing lanyards, so presumably related to the cast/crew/production team, who spent the whole evening talking to each other in-between checking their phones and texting. I was pleased I'd seen Helen Sjoholm whose voice I love on some of Benny's Band songs, but I wasn't so enamoured with the casting of Russell Watson.

[Deleted]

Feb 20, 2017 5:29:37 GMT ali973 said:

Kerry Ellis sang a "rock" version of it on her Anthems album, and a more orchestral version of it at an ABBA tribute concert a few years ago.

I LOVE 'Kristina'!

Kerry Ellis isn't fit to lick the Minnesota mud off Helen Sjöholm's boots. No-one, but NO-ONE, can sing 'Du Måste Finnas' ('You Have To Be There') like she can.

Also, 'Guldet Blev Till Sand' has to be one of THE most glorious musical theatre songs for a man to sing. It's just so heartstoppingly lovely - one of the very best B&B melodies. No-one can do it like Peter Jöback of course.

[ali973]

The girl who sings Kristina in the revival (there's a badly filmed bootleg of that version on YouTube) does a fairly good job.

[chess]

I have seen the prodiction in stockholm (the original one) and the new production in Helsinki. That production was shorter, with a smaller orchestra, but with the same set. This version was replayed in Gothenborg and Stockholm and I have seen it there too. Kristina has probably the best score ever written for theatre. Most of all the sets, and direction of the show are amazing. Everything builds towards the big song which is fantastically staged and very cleverly done. It's story is highly relevant today.

[49thand8th]

There was a workshop here in the US maybe about 10 years ago (a Canadian acquaintance was in it), but obviously it's stalled out since. There's an old recording somewhere of Alice Ripley singing Du måste finnas (in English), but I don't know if she was involved with that particular workshop.

[Jon]

Feb 20, 2017 5:29:37 GMT ali973 said:

TBH I like the concept in general, but it's a bit too bleak and the good songs are far and few in between. There are of course the big numbers that are very good.

Kristina makes Les Miserables seem jolly in comparison. American Man seems to be the equivalent of Master of the House, a light song to break up the misery. 

[ali973]

Feb 23, 2017 3:10:12 GMT 49thand8th said:

There was a workshop here in the US maybe about 10 years ago (a Canadian acquaintance was in it), but obviously it's stalled out since. There's an old recording somewhere of Alice Ripley singing Du måste finnas (in English), but I don't know if she was involved with that particular workshop.

According to Ripley, she "played Ulrika, the village whore." She talks about it in the track right before You Have To Be There. I love that Town Hall recording of Ripley/Skinner. Before Ripley totally lost her voice. and mind.