Unexpected!! Kim Junsu - The Shadows Grow Longer (from 'Elisabeth') Composer's Honest Reaction

[@animearigatoo]

I was so happy to find this reaction. I do agree that Junsu is able to really bring his character out in his voice. I LOVE musicals in general, and have seen many live. I have seen "Elisabeth" several times. Both with Junsu and with 2 other kpop idols playing the role of "Death". Junsu just embodies the role so perfectly. One of the others I saw acted well, but I didn't feel the role all the way out through his voice, like Junsu does, if that description make any sense... I love this song, but "The last dance" is my favorite along with another song between Death and Elisabeth that I don't know the name of.

[@moniwols]

@@animearigatoo - I just read your comments and I feel we should become friends lol (no please don’t stress - I simply enjoyed all the positivity from you about Junsu). I am so jealous you have seen these masterpieces live because I only have the 2012 Elisabeth Musical soundtrack to go by and the clips on KZbin and discussing it with people who have seen it. And after having listened to that soundtrack a million times (it’s on iTunes) I think you are referring to the song “When I want to dance” (as your second fave?). The English named soundtrack on iTunes has some errors with respect to incorrectly crediting some artists against some tunes but i don’t care. I am so grateful it’s available and it’s a live recording as opposed to a studio version. Junsu’s voice is so powerful in that performance! When I listen to first solo rendition of “Shadow Grows Longer” I get goosebumps - it’s so haunting and soulful. Are you still interested in Junsu or have you moved on (which is perfectly fine too!).

[@1605daisy]

Thank you for reacting to Junsu. He's awesome!!

[@wenl5892]

Thanks for the reaction and detailed sharing. My favourite by far is The Last Dance from the same musical 😊

[@moniwols]

OMG!! I was so excited when I saw your upload!! You are a Master reviewer ….It was a pleasure to listen to you. “Evil…seductive…vibe” (….my fave comment and what a perfect choice of words to describe Junsu’s take on the role). As to live & studio versions, of course nothing will beat a live theatre performance BUT I actually love Junsu’s Last Dance studio version (2018). There’s an MV of that on Junsu’s channel. He packs so much oomph! in that performance. And we can only dream of seeing the actual live Elisabeth musical in person …

[@1224thetami]

Thanks for reacting to Junsu❤ I hope to see more reactions to him : D

[@farbenrausch]

My ten cents on this piece: The arrangement is a bit thin due to the conditions of the theater the musical was originally composed for. (no room for a big orchester) There were discussions to change to a full orchestral version after the success but they kept like ist was, apart from special open air airings. The musical lost a a bit in translation to korean and again to the english translation (which refers to the korean lyrics). The chorus first refers to the ignorant mindset of the upper classes (Rudolf was in contact with intellectuals and comoners and was the only one in the circle of the emperor to be aware of the changes of the time, the emperor never listened to him, his mother at this point had left the court, his marriage was unhappy) "mankind can never see it" is even lacking the "of course, people don't see it, (because they don't want to) of the korean version represented through the ending -지. (what an efficent language!) At the ending the german version doesn't say Rudolf will light it up, but states that a big change (WWI) will come and as it can not be avoided that the old world of aristrocracy will die, Rudolf will (for once, because has been powerless all his life) thake matters in to his hand and "walk towards the end of time" "Kaiser Rudolf wird der Zeit entgegen gehen". The song is not the point where R. dies as shown in this clip. In the musical version Death tries to kiss Rudolf multiple times but Rudolf hesitates. After, there is an other song where Rudolf asks his mother for help but she refuses. Then death comes dressed as a woman (Mary Vetsera), they dance and then they kiss. At this point his abusive childhood, his sensitivity (a trait from his mother's side), his intellect that he was not allowed to use, his unhappy marrige, syphilis, drug abuse, and a political scandal (he was involved in activities that eaqualed high treason) made him a murderer and the commit suicide. Thank you for this analysis, I usually do not like reactions, but with this musical I could not resist. The quality of the reaction was.. unexpectedly high. As a german version I recommend the one with Fritz Schmidt as Rudolf an Maté Kamaras as Death. There is a version with english subtitles.

[@belgian.musicals]

omg an elisabeth das musical reaction yesssss

[@MrTMVB]

Ohhhh yeah!!! 👍

[@riaglitta]

What a random suggestion and hilarious for to pop up in my recommended - it was this casting that got me into KPop in 2013 haha! Have been a huge fan of Elisabeth since the 90s, was so excited about a Korean production because their musical theatre scene improved so much in the 2000-2010s. While I knew they double/triple cast, it was when the guy all these people made a huge deal about -wasn't- on the released cast recording that I looked more into him. While he's not my favorite der Tod/Death in the Korean production by far, he's a decent performer and showman; and like I said, I branched out from seeing his solo videos to kinda getting into other KPop groups (of the 2nd Generation, as they are known) for quite a while. Even ended up going to a concert in 2015 for one group. :) The standout performance for me in this production though, is Ock Joohyun as Elisabeth - who was in a 1st Gen KPop group herself back in the day, with Lee Hyori. :) But also was cast as Aida, Elphaba, and Mrs Danvers. This was fun and kind of a weird throwback for me! Thank you!

[@riaglitta]

Also, if you're not familiar with this musical, I do recommend checking out the original concept/cast album from 1992, Austrian production - Uwe Kroeger and Andreas Bieber as der Tod and Rudolf respectively. Uwe pretty much set the standard for the role. :)

[@doctortalisman9861]

hahaha, oh my god, i had literally the same experience of getting into kpop as a european musical fan (though only a couple of years ago)! i definitely second this as a fan of uwetod! andreas bieber's takes on elisabeth are king behaviour too.

[@riaglitta]

@@doctortalisman9861 Haha, I spy a Douwes video on your channel! :) It's so funny tho, her voice tone/color is not my favorite yet I adore most everything she does. Fantine to Evita to Pocahontas and on. :) Yeah, it was when Kim Junsu/XIA said he based his 'most recent music video' on the aesthetics of his character in Elisabeth that I got sucked in - the video being Tarantellagra. From there I checked out his groups JYJ and TVXQ, found Mirotic; then found VIXX and Voodoo Doll; Everybody by SHINee (RIP Jonghyun); MAMA by EXO; and then eventually to Fantastic Baby and Blue and Love Song by BIGBANG and I was lost. 2NE1 helped there as well. ;) I sorta fell out of listening to it as a whole by 2017; though I certainly love how well BTS has done, I remember when they debuted and watching them on some of the variety shows and such.

[@doctortalisman9861]

@@riaglitta ahhh, that's so funny because i'm literally the same! neither she nor uwe actually have the type of vocal tone i like, almost the opposite really, but they're so talented that they're some of my favourite singers and performers anyway 😭. i'm obsessed with pia as mrs danvers in rebecca. yesss, i find tarantallegra's elisabeth inspiration so interesting, honestly, especially that he was so inspired by the genderless/genderfluid nature of the character. i don't really go in for stanning specific groups i guess, i mostly just find kind of random songs i like LOL, but i like shinee too :). i mostly listen to songs from around the 2nd or early 3rd generation or sometimes earlier. actually, despite being a fan of junsu's musical work i only listen to a few of his and tvxq's songs hahaha.

[@2yify]

It would be awesome if you could reac to yunho's solo music adn chanming's too