About the musical:

Elisabeth is an Austrian musical by hit writers Michael Kunze & Sylvester Levay. It tells the dramatic and touching story of the life, activities and suffering of Empress Elisabeth; her struggle to gain independence, to maintain that  independence at all costs, and the death of the Austrian empire. It is a heavily symbolic show that allows the audience to rediscover the historical world of the Habsburgs time and time again.

In Elisabeth's struggles for liberty and personal happiness, traveling across Europe where she cannot be reached by anyone, not even her son or her husband, she becomes absorbed in her own world, constantly accompanied by a mysterious force – Death.

Rudolf is Elisabeth's only son; a smart, but troubled young man, growing up in a life neglected by his mother and with strict training.

The story comes to a tragic ending, with the suicide of the prince, Elisabeth realizing how empty her life is and her subsequent murder by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni, Franz Josef losing control over the empire, and its eventual downfall.

Evolution of the musical:

The musical has suffered many alternations over the years and productions, naturally. Originally, little Rudolf's only scene was "Mama, wo bist du?".

By the second production, in the Netherlands in 1999, little Rudolf not only gained an ensemble role in the prologue, along with the 'dead', but also a reprise of "Mama, wo bist du?/Mama, waar ben je?"; it was entitled "Moeder, waar ben je", and featured a slightly older Rudolf, now in his teenage years. This extra scene took place in the second act, the original spot of the first song, which, in turn, was moved to the first act.

The next stop for the show was in Essen, Germany, very similar to the Dutch production. It did not bring along the reprise, so "Mama. wo bist du?" took back its sport in the beginning of act 2. However, it introduced a new scene, "Kind oder Nicht", which furthered the audieces understanding of Rudolfs background; in it, the young boy, who hadn't seen his mother in weeks, tried going for a visit, only to be stopped by grandmother, claiming he was too soft and required heavier training to be a proper 'soldier'. It took place in the first act, where the, in the Dutch production, "Mama, waar ben je" had been moved to.

"Kind oder Nicht" is now a set scene in the Vienna and tour productions.

The 2012 Vienna revival also brought little Rudolf to the prologue, but instead of just dancing and singing with the ensemble like in the Netherlands, he had solos in the song ("Allein, immer Allein!").