Elisabeth - The Musical

In the beginning, we see Elisabeth's assassin defending himself in a fantasy trial from "the other side". The Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni had long before on Earth been executed for his crime. He claims to have only fulfilled Elisabeth's life-long death wish...

Austrian Emperor Franz Josef falls in love with the 15-year-old Elisabeth and makes her his Empress wife on August 24, 1853. Soon thereafter, life at the Viennese Court becomes unbearable for the young Elisabeth, especially under the tyranny of her mother-in-law. Extreme demands for discipline, sacrifice, and constant criticism drive Elisabeth into depression and a longing for death. When the Emperor's mother removes Elisabeth's children from her influence, Sisi confronts her husband with the ultimatum - take my side or you will lose me!

Although Franz Josef takes a stand against his mother, Elisabeth decides to break free from her old life. She finds new joy in living through travels and shopping sprees across Europe. But when her son Rudolf commits suicide, the Empress seeks again the nearness of death...

Elisabeth of Bavaria (24 December 1837 - 10 September 1898) was Empress of Austria and Queen of Hungary and Bohemia as spouse of Francis Joseph I. From an early age, she was called "Sisi" by family and friends.

While Elisabeth's role and influence on Austro-Hungarian politics should not be overestimated (she is only marginally mentioned in scholarly books on Austrian history), she has undoubtedly become an icon. Elisabeth was considered to be a free spirit who abhorred conventional court protocol; she has inspired filmmakers and theatrical producers alike.

She was born in Munich, Bavaria as Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria. She was the fourth child of Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria and her mother was Princess Ludovika of Bavaria. Her family home was Possenhofen Castle.

Elisabeth accompanied her mother and her 18-year-old sister, Duchess Helene, on an 1853 trip to the resort of Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, where they hoped Helene would attract the attention of their maternal first cousin, 23-year-old Francis Joseph, then Emperor of Austria. Instead, Francis Joseph chose the 15-year old Elisabeth, and the couple were married in Vienna at St. Augustine's Church on 24 April 1854.



On 10 September 1898, in Geneva, Switzerland, Elisabeth, aged 60, was stabbed in the heart with a sharpened file by a young anarchist named Luigi Lucheni, in an act of propaganda of the deed. She had been walking along the promenade of Lake Geneva about to board steamship Genève for Montreux with her lady-of-courtesy, Countess Sztaray, when she was attacked. She boarded the ship, unaware of the severity of her condition. Bleeding to death from a puncture wound to the heart, Elisabeth's last words were, "What happened to me?" The strong pressure from her corset had kept the bleeding back until the garment was removed.

Reportedly, her assassin had hoped to kill a prince from the House of Orléans and, failing to find him, turned on Elisabeth instead. As Lucheni afterward said, "I wanted to kill a royal. It did not matter which one."

Please continue reading all the fascinating in-between details of Elisabeth's entire true life story here on the Wikipedia site - Elisabeth of Bavaria