My Fair Lady, a musical in two acts - production of Oper Köln premiered 27th October 2012
Dietrich W. Hilsdorf, Director
Dieter Richter, Stage design
Renate Schmitzer, Costumes
Giorgio Madia, Choreography
Andreas Grueter, Light design
Ancient Greek mythology already told the legend of the sculptor Pygmalion, who carved a female of such overwhelming beauty that he could not help but fall in love with it. Goddess Aphrodite showed mercy and breathed life into the statue and made her his wife.
George Bernard Shaw transformed the ancient tale into the enchanting comedy »Pygmalion«, which provided the basis for Alan J. Lerner's and Frederick Loewe's 1956 hit musical »My Fair Lady«. Melodies like »The Rain in Spain« or »I could have danced all night« also became famous worldwide because of the film adaptation starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.
While Pygmalion carved a statue, Henry Higgins, professor of phonetics, transforms the poor flower girl Eliza Doolittle into a lady. After several months of fighting hard with vowels and consonants, he presents her at a ball. Eliza's beauty, her speech, and her demeanor make her pass for a duchess. Nevertheless, the professor, a confirmed bachelor, persistently fights the love for his creation…
Director Dietrich W. Hilsdorf, who already successfully presented Monteverdi’s »L’incoronazione di Poppea« as well as Wagner’s »The Flying Dutchman« and Tchaikovsky’s »Eugene Onegin« at the Cologne Opera, is charged with the task of adapting the world-famous musical for the opera stage.
