Ludwig II (musical)
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Ludwig II: Longing for Paradise (Ludwig II: Sensucht nach dem Paradies) is a German musical in five acts with music by Franz Hummel and book and lyrics by Stephan Barbarino and Heinz Hauser.
The musical was presented at the lavish Festspielhaus Füssen, which was built for it at the edge of the lake below Neuschwanstein Castle. The musical was directed by Barbarino.[1] The story concerns Bavaria's "Mad King" Ludwig II of Bavaria, who came to power in 1864 at the age of 18, lost a war against Prussia and spent his kingdom's fortune and sovereignty, and accumulated debts, to build extravagant castles and palaces and to sponsor Richard Wagner and other artists. Ludwig was declared insane and deposed in 1886, at the age of 41. He died the next day under suspicious circumstances.[2]
The show immediately sold out to more than half a million tourists and Germans by the time of its premiere on April 7, 2000,[2] and it was played year-round and seen by an additional one million audience members by 2003.[3] The musical was performed in German with supertitles in English and other languages.[2] The theatre is now used for other productions.[4]
