CHESS remains one of the most unique musicals ever produced... with an unforgettable score by Benny Andersson & Bjorn Ulvaeus of ABBA, and lyrics by Tim Rice(in this version, it's redundant as it's performed in Swedish, with NO subtitles), what's fascinating is that this show never seems to be performed in a standard version. From London to New York to European tours, the score and characters and plot are constantly shuffled around. This staging is definitely one of the better framings of the story and score. The cast retains Tommy Korberg, who's played Anatoly(The Russian)forever...Helen Sjoholm as Florence is absolutely brilliant as a singer and actress, and Anders Ekborg does fine as The American. The only totally offensive performer is Rolf Skoglund as The Arbiter, who can neither sing nor act- and destroys an important role. The only other problem for me was the age of the two male leads... somehow, the romance aspects of the story come off as less passionate as they might have been by younger performers. Lars Rudolfsson should be commended for his amazing staging, and Anders Eljas did a wonderful job on the orchestrations. It's doubtful we'll ever see a film version of this unforgettable musical, so this Swedish stage production will have to do... but again, at least there IS something to represent this show. The one OTHER option you have to to find a copy of the promotional videos done for the original concept album(for info on IMDb check under CHESS MOVES...to find one of these out-of-print videos, check eBay), starring Elaine Paige- five of the shows' hit songs are featured, and convey the basic flavor of the show.
5 Reviews
Kinda Good, Kinda Bad
serts347 December 2009
I very much wanted to like this version of Chess. Having seen brief clips of it on YouTube, and this being the only recent staged production, the singing and acting seemed great, and the stage designs lavish. Well, it's a mixed bag, folks.
Tommy Körberg reprises his role as Anatoly Sergievsky, and he does a good job of acting, great job on the singing. Helen Sjöholm is fantastic as Florence, best acting and singing I have seen yet. Nobody can beat her Lämna Inga Dörrar På Glänt or Om Han Var Här. Anders Ekborg would have been included as great singing AND acting for the abusive and crude Freddie Trumper, but his overacted Pity the Child just marked him down a few notches. Jossefin Nilsson was a different matter--screechy, wailing, off- key (well, I guess technically it's on key but it's so screechy and wailing you're not sure)! In Jag Vet Vad Han Vill (I Know Him So Well), every time I heard Jossefin I got a headache, and every time I heard Helen I felt relief. I can't really say much on Molokov, but Rolf Skosglund (or however you spell his name) can't sing. He can, however, provide a most amusing caricature of this sleazy, grotesque French arbiter. Now, most of the singing was good.
The first act, the tension is wound up quite nicely, with arguments between Freddie and Florence over his inappropriate behavior and Florence's past, with dissatisfaction from Anatoly about his home life, Anatoly and Florence seeking asylum; in short, asides from the Arbiter moments and the interchanged settings, very close to the original concept album. The stage design is both appropriate and eye-catching, and you really can't beat the scene where Florence reminisces about her past in Hungary, 1956. The Arbiter's moments were just plain...weird. However, I got a laugh out of those scenes (and so did my friends).
The second act doesn't have much of a storyline. So Anatoly gets Florence, Freddie causes one last outburst, for some unknown reason Anatoly needs to go back to Russia, tearful goodbye, and it ends. Pretty much, asides from a blowup between Freddie and Florence about her leaving him and an argument between Svetlana and Anatoly (Endgame), there's not much. And Endgame drooped quite a bit, being placed in the middle of the show, instead of towards the end as a climactic song. There are a few songs that, to me, don't really have context--Jag Vet Vad Han Vill, or Om Han Var Här, for example. What's the reason for a big fight between Florence and Svetlana? Why is Florence feeling apprehensive? I don't know. And the scenes in the circus didn't fit in with the rest of the dark, brooding plot. That just did not mesh well, and in such a serious setting I wanted to laugh and blush in embarrassment for its incongruity.
There were some interesting rearrangements; sometimes it worked out really well, sometimes it didn't. I love the singing and the stage setting, which are brilliant, but sadly the meaningless second half of the plot and some really out-of-place scenes kind of blew it for me. If you can learn to set aside its flaws (which I am doing slowly), you will enjoy this version. The singing and acting and the stage production and the first act are great. Just be warned about the second act.
Oh, and did I add this has no subtitles for English viewers?
Tommy Körberg reprises his role as Anatoly Sergievsky, and he does a good job of acting, great job on the singing. Helen Sjöholm is fantastic as Florence, best acting and singing I have seen yet. Nobody can beat her Lämna Inga Dörrar På Glänt or Om Han Var Här. Anders Ekborg would have been included as great singing AND acting for the abusive and crude Freddie Trumper, but his overacted Pity the Child just marked him down a few notches. Jossefin Nilsson was a different matter--screechy, wailing, off- key (well, I guess technically it's on key but it's so screechy and wailing you're not sure)! In Jag Vet Vad Han Vill (I Know Him So Well), every time I heard Jossefin I got a headache, and every time I heard Helen I felt relief. I can't really say much on Molokov, but Rolf Skosglund (or however you spell his name) can't sing. He can, however, provide a most amusing caricature of this sleazy, grotesque French arbiter. Now, most of the singing was good.
The first act, the tension is wound up quite nicely, with arguments between Freddie and Florence over his inappropriate behavior and Florence's past, with dissatisfaction from Anatoly about his home life, Anatoly and Florence seeking asylum; in short, asides from the Arbiter moments and the interchanged settings, very close to the original concept album. The stage design is both appropriate and eye-catching, and you really can't beat the scene where Florence reminisces about her past in Hungary, 1956. The Arbiter's moments were just plain...weird. However, I got a laugh out of those scenes (and so did my friends).
The second act doesn't have much of a storyline. So Anatoly gets Florence, Freddie causes one last outburst, for some unknown reason Anatoly needs to go back to Russia, tearful goodbye, and it ends. Pretty much, asides from a blowup between Freddie and Florence about her leaving him and an argument between Svetlana and Anatoly (Endgame), there's not much. And Endgame drooped quite a bit, being placed in the middle of the show, instead of towards the end as a climactic song. There are a few songs that, to me, don't really have context--Jag Vet Vad Han Vill, or Om Han Var Här, for example. What's the reason for a big fight between Florence and Svetlana? Why is Florence feeling apprehensive? I don't know. And the scenes in the circus didn't fit in with the rest of the dark, brooding plot. That just did not mesh well, and in such a serious setting I wanted to laugh and blush in embarrassment for its incongruity.
There were some interesting rearrangements; sometimes it worked out really well, sometimes it didn't. I love the singing and the stage setting, which are brilliant, but sadly the meaningless second half of the plot and some really out-of-place scenes kind of blew it for me. If you can learn to set aside its flaws (which I am doing slowly), you will enjoy this version. The singing and acting and the stage production and the first act are great. Just be warned about the second act.
Oh, and did I add this has no subtitles for English viewers?
Fascinating production of a brilliant musical
Cadriel18 September 2004
Chess has a long and storied history, from the megahit concept album before the work ever appeared on stage, to would-be director Michael Bennett's withdrawal from the creative process five months before the London show was set to debut and Trevor Nunn's dramatic rescue of the show, to Nunn's Broadway flop and the dozen or so subsequent attempts to "fix" the show. This is, in a way, the latest of those.
The first act of the Stockholm Chess is a marvel to behold. It sets up its players in clever fashion, first bringing in dignified but discontent Anatoly (Körberg), trapped in a marriage and a state he wants little of, as we see in his relations with wife Svetlana (Nilsson) and keeper Molokov (Myrberg). Then the headstrong, brash American Freddie (Ekborg) and his long-suffering second (coach and assistant) Florence (Sjöholm) are shown as Florence has reached her breaking point with Freddie. Last, the weird comic arbiter of the match (Skoglund) is brought into the fray. After the first match, Freddie storms out; this leads to a debate and later Florence, at her wits' end, meeting with Anatoly - who defects and starts hints of a romance with Florence. The first act flows with beautiful logic, more so than any other version of Chess.
Sadly, the second act doesn't hold up half as well. It has wonderful moments, but a lot of it is just overkill (an argument between Anatoly and Svetlana uses the music that was in the original the climactic chess match) or songs for the sake of songs (Sjöholm's wonderful "Om han var här" - "Heaven Help My Heart" - is rendered almost random by lack of context). There is no single line of tension in the second act, and it goes through the songs until coming to the epilogue without any satisfactory climax. The plot, which had been so tightly wound, now disappears into the ether.
The physical production, though, is magnificent, allowing the show to capture both massive moments (a memory-recreation of the 1956 uprising in Budapest, when Florence's father was taken from her) and tender (the mixing of a lovely duet between Florence and Anatoly in the second act with an astounding, romantic trapeze act) with equal skill. Robin Wagner's genius has not dimmed a bit over the years, and there is no scene that does not have a set to fit.
The acting and singing are a mixed bag. Tommy Körberg has been playing Anatoly since before he was called Anatoly, and is still just as good at it - as good in 2003 as he was in 1986. The music suits his unique voice, and he is a strong center of the show. He is more than matched by Helen Sjöholm, who inhabits Florence as completely as I've seen any actress do it.
Her performance ranges from angry to sensual to passionate to ironic to tender, and captures every emotion (and all in between) with skill and style.
Anders Ekborg would never be mistaken for an American on the street, but he plays the ugly American (as Freddie is written here) with panache, and uses his solo to make him sympathetic. Josefin Nilsson is less fortunate as Svetlana, playing her over the top and dislike able in a very diva-esque way.
Per Myrberg is a consummate actor who takes a part that is all too often handled as a comic stage Russian and turns it into a fierce, formidable villain. Rolf Skoglund as the arbiter - usually a role handled fiercely as the straight man - tries to play it up as a comic actor, but between his unfortunate French stereotype and his awful singing voice is completely wrong for the part.
Much of the appeal of Chess is the music, and some of the best of it is here - I don't know that anybody can beat Helen Sjöholm's "Lämna inga dörrar på glänt" ("Nobody's Side"). All of it is a joy to hear (except for Skoglund's singing), and the orchestrations haven't been this good since the original London production.
If the second act were as good as the first, this would be the best production of Chess to date. As it stands, it's certainly a very good one, but not the ultimate Chess some hoped it would be.
[Note: The show is in Swedish and the DVD that is available lacks subtitles.]
The first act of the Stockholm Chess is a marvel to behold. It sets up its players in clever fashion, first bringing in dignified but discontent Anatoly (Körberg), trapped in a marriage and a state he wants little of, as we see in his relations with wife Svetlana (Nilsson) and keeper Molokov (Myrberg). Then the headstrong, brash American Freddie (Ekborg) and his long-suffering second (coach and assistant) Florence (Sjöholm) are shown as Florence has reached her breaking point with Freddie. Last, the weird comic arbiter of the match (Skoglund) is brought into the fray. After the first match, Freddie storms out; this leads to a debate and later Florence, at her wits' end, meeting with Anatoly - who defects and starts hints of a romance with Florence. The first act flows with beautiful logic, more so than any other version of Chess.
Sadly, the second act doesn't hold up half as well. It has wonderful moments, but a lot of it is just overkill (an argument between Anatoly and Svetlana uses the music that was in the original the climactic chess match) or songs for the sake of songs (Sjöholm's wonderful "Om han var här" - "Heaven Help My Heart" - is rendered almost random by lack of context). There is no single line of tension in the second act, and it goes through the songs until coming to the epilogue without any satisfactory climax. The plot, which had been so tightly wound, now disappears into the ether.
The physical production, though, is magnificent, allowing the show to capture both massive moments (a memory-recreation of the 1956 uprising in Budapest, when Florence's father was taken from her) and tender (the mixing of a lovely duet between Florence and Anatoly in the second act with an astounding, romantic trapeze act) with equal skill. Robin Wagner's genius has not dimmed a bit over the years, and there is no scene that does not have a set to fit.
The acting and singing are a mixed bag. Tommy Körberg has been playing Anatoly since before he was called Anatoly, and is still just as good at it - as good in 2003 as he was in 1986. The music suits his unique voice, and he is a strong center of the show. He is more than matched by Helen Sjöholm, who inhabits Florence as completely as I've seen any actress do it.
Her performance ranges from angry to sensual to passionate to ironic to tender, and captures every emotion (and all in between) with skill and style.
Anders Ekborg would never be mistaken for an American on the street, but he plays the ugly American (as Freddie is written here) with panache, and uses his solo to make him sympathetic. Josefin Nilsson is less fortunate as Svetlana, playing her over the top and dislike able in a very diva-esque way.
Per Myrberg is a consummate actor who takes a part that is all too often handled as a comic stage Russian and turns it into a fierce, formidable villain. Rolf Skoglund as the arbiter - usually a role handled fiercely as the straight man - tries to play it up as a comic actor, but between his unfortunate French stereotype and his awful singing voice is completely wrong for the part.
Much of the appeal of Chess is the music, and some of the best of it is here - I don't know that anybody can beat Helen Sjöholm's "Lämna inga dörrar på glänt" ("Nobody's Side"). All of it is a joy to hear (except for Skoglund's singing), and the orchestrations haven't been this good since the original London production.
If the second act were as good as the first, this would be the best production of Chess to date. As it stands, it's certainly a very good one, but not the ultimate Chess some hoped it would be.
[Note: The show is in Swedish and the DVD that is available lacks subtitles.]
Incredible!
barberic-695-57413514 August 2018
This was the first musical we ever saw live, 30 odd years ago and it is still as good today as it was then. Brilliant story, fabulous music. The songs stir emotions and have not suffered by not being sung by the original cast. Really well acted. Serious entertainment. Select surround sound and turn it up loud, just incredible. Will we be watching it again? Absolutely.
Bordering on awful
sarastro711 July 2008
You know what burns my ass? That there is no proper filmed version of this musical. Why? It is one of the single most popular musicals in the world, being staged over and over again from 1986 and up to the present, and yet no wholesome and representative performance has been released, with the original English lyrics. Why? With all the performances that have taken place, it certainly can't be because none were ever filmed! I'm sure some were. Do the ones who have the film rights have some kind of money phobia? I sure can't think of any other explanation.
I'm asking these questions because I am a huge, huge fan of the originally recorded album, and like millions of other fans I am absolutely thirsting for a release of a version that lives up to the album's level.
However, the only film version we have is this 2003 Swedish version. And it's just not very good. It's watchable, but it has a lot of things going against it, including the language. Sure, it's got good things. Körberg and Sjöholm are both very impressive. And I don't mind the fact that some of the music has been switched around; I think it's fine that it's an evolving musical. (Sometime back in the late '90s I went to some kind of special Olympic opening ceremony in Copenhagen where one of the acts were a handful of songs from Chess - that's the only reason I attended -, incl. one or two completely new ones - and they were great! More cool stuff that for no adequately explained reason HASN'T BEEN RELEASED!!)
Anyway, this 2003 DVD version has got far more bad things than good ones. Many of the remaining cast are not very good, the Swedish versions of the songs frequently sound like gibberish (esp. in the chorus pieces - and I'm Danish and by and large *understand* Swedish!), and the stage choreography is, in my opinion, horrid. The comical dancers and other comic relief scenes are completely wrong for the story's mood and setting, and reduces the musical to a frivolous operetta, which really isn't what it is. What's wrong with using a Cold War setting today? Nothing! Why do people think it's somehow completely improper to have a historical setting? The story of Chess loses all its meaning if it's not set in a tense Cold War atmosphere.
So this DVD was a disappointment to me. It does not add anything in particular to the original album, but only detracts from it.
5 out of 10.
I'm asking these questions because I am a huge, huge fan of the originally recorded album, and like millions of other fans I am absolutely thirsting for a release of a version that lives up to the album's level.
However, the only film version we have is this 2003 Swedish version. And it's just not very good. It's watchable, but it has a lot of things going against it, including the language. Sure, it's got good things. Körberg and Sjöholm are both very impressive. And I don't mind the fact that some of the music has been switched around; I think it's fine that it's an evolving musical. (Sometime back in the late '90s I went to some kind of special Olympic opening ceremony in Copenhagen where one of the acts were a handful of songs from Chess - that's the only reason I attended -, incl. one or two completely new ones - and they were great! More cool stuff that for no adequately explained reason HASN'T BEEN RELEASED!!)
Anyway, this 2003 DVD version has got far more bad things than good ones. Many of the remaining cast are not very good, the Swedish versions of the songs frequently sound like gibberish (esp. in the chorus pieces - and I'm Danish and by and large *understand* Swedish!), and the stage choreography is, in my opinion, horrid. The comical dancers and other comic relief scenes are completely wrong for the story's mood and setting, and reduces the musical to a frivolous operetta, which really isn't what it is. What's wrong with using a Cold War setting today? Nothing! Why do people think it's somehow completely improper to have a historical setting? The story of Chess loses all its meaning if it's not set in a tense Cold War atmosphere.
So this DVD was a disappointment to me. It does not add anything in particular to the original album, but only detracts from it.
5 out of 10.
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