My Fair Lady
New Year’s Eve Concert
High spirits in the Grand Hall. Fireworks outside the windows. And dancing in the foyer. New Year’s Eve at the Elbphilharmonie is a real hit! The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra supplies the perfect background music, with masterpieces of light entertainment for the end of the year. After a witty and sparkling performance of »Die Fledermaus« on New Year’s Eve 2018, the end of 2019 and the start of 2020 sees the next rocket fired full of catchy tunes. This time, the programme features a brilliant musical: Alan Gilbert conducts »My Fair Lady«.
The foyers, with special access to the Plaza, remain open until after midnight with an extensive offering of food and drink for all concertgoers. In the Recital Hall Foyer, a bar area and DJ and provide a party atmosphere until the early hours of the morning.
The Broadway classic from the pens of Frederick Loewe and Alan J. Lerner tells the story of the love affair between a college professor and a simple flower girl. The eccentric Higgins, a professor of phonetics, makes a bet with a colonel friend that he’ll manage to turn the little »plant from the gutter«, as he calls Eliza Doolittle, into a lady by teaching her to speak properly.
But there’s one thing he hasn’t reckoned with when performing his experiment with a human subject: Eliza turns out to be an enchanting personality in her own right, with plenty of common sense and a big heart. Frederick Loewe set this entertaining and touching story to music, creating delightful evergreens like »I Could Have Danced All Night«, »The Rain in Spain« and »Get Me to the Church on Time«.
Please note: The German translation of »My Fair Lady« will be performed at the Elbphilharmonie.
Performers
NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester
NDR Vokalensemble
Michael Maertens acting
Sarah Maria Sun soprano
Jens Larsen bass
Kai Maertens acting
Simon Bode tenor
Edith Clever acting
Josefin Platt acting
Michou Friesz acting
Ethan Freeman voice, human beats
Sophie Blümel, Birgit Busse, Melanie Gebhard, Janneke Thomassen, Birgit Widmann, Katharina Wollmann ensemble ladies
Matthias Graf,Marvin Kobus Schütt, Philipp Lang, Max Niemeyer,Martin Rönnebeck, Frederik Stuhllemmer ensemble gentlemen
conductor Alan Gilbert
Michael Sturminger stage direction
Renate Martin costume design
Ute Mai makeup
Heiko Hentschel lighting
Manuel Horstmann sound design
Sophie Blümel choreography
Rena Donsbach assistant costume design
Frédéric Buhr, Heiko Hentschel assistant stage direction
Programme
Frederick Loewe
My Fair Lady (Text: Alan Jay Lerner)
Buch und Liedtexte von Alan Jay Lerner
Aufführung in deutscher Sprache
Halbszenische Aufführung in deutscher Sprache
Series
Operas and Oratorios