Second act, the musical Elisabeth..in Korfu the Empress refuses to help her desperate son: "I never say please, and I won't do it for you either!" A little later, he kills himself. A moment for goosebumps. The scene changes. In the foyer of the Colosseum Theatre with the actors. At first sight Pia Douwes and Jesper Tydén are an unequal pair. She is young, he's younger still. She can already look back on a considerable career, he's just begun. Nevertheless, on closer inspection, there are things that connect them, such as the mix of natural ease and moving representation that they bring to the stage.
Pia Douwes, as Elisabeth, is the star of the show. The Dutchwoman has already appeared on stage in London, Vienna and Moscow. "I've already played most of the big female musical roles," she says simply and without a trace of arrogance. "I used to want to be a nurse," says Pia, "but in the disco I realized: this is it, you want to dance!"
For the Swedish Jesper Tydén, Elisabeth is his second show in Germany. He plays Rudolf, Elisabeth's son, a comparatively small role. But Jesper Tydén makes it into a small sensation. Because, apart from the title part, it is the unfortunate duke that lingers on in the audience's memory. "I want and will always want to do something with music. What exactly, I don't know. I kind of go blindly into the future," says the admitted 80's freak, who, besides playing the cello and piano, also writes pop music. His goal now is his own CD. "But so far, I haven't had the time."
Time will continue to be scarce in the future. In June, Jesper Tydén will play Death, and will be an ideal partner for Pia Douwes. "We are both Leos. When I look in Jesper's eyes, I see a lot of honesty there. That is very important" Pia Douwes says, with unexpected earnestness. And as they both leave the foyer, they put their arms around each other's shoulders and go outside. Pia Douwes and Jesper Tydén. The star, and the man who will soon be one.