Axel at Heaven’s Door

Volksoper Vienna, Vienna, Austria

Scene 2 from the operetta "Axel at Heaven’s Door", photo 2

Scene 3 from the operetta "Axel at Heaven’s Door", photo 3

Scene 4 from the operetta "Axel at Heaven’s Door", photo 4

Scene 5 from the operetta "Axel at Heaven’s Door", photo 5

Scene 6 from the operetta "Axel at Heaven’s Door", photo 6

Scene 7 from the operetta "Axel at Heaven’s Door", photo 7

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7 PM

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Important Info

Type: Operetta

City: Vienna, Austria

Starts at: 19:00

Acts: 2

Intervals: 1

Duration: 2h 45min

Sung in: German

Titles in: English

Ticket delivery: E-Tickets

E-tickets: Print at home or at the box office of the event if so specified. You will find more information in your booking confirmation email.

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If you order 2 or 3 tickets: your seats will be next to each other.
If you order 4 or more tickets: your seats will be next to each other, or, if this is not possible, we will provide a combination of groups of seats (at least in pairs, for example 2+2 or 2+3).

Overview

Would-be reporter Axel leads a hand-to-mouth existence and is waiting for his grand opportunity. A story about the legendary movie star Gloria Mills would grant him his breakthrough, or so he thinks. It turns out he has to come up with more ideas before he finally reaches heaven’s gate. Ralph Benatzky’s operetta had its world premiere at Theater an der Wien in 1936 and turned the young Zarah Leander into an overnight star with hits such as „Movie star, You Idol of the Century“ and „Tied Hands.“

History

Premiere of this production: 01 September 1936, Theater an der Wien, Vienna

Axel an der Himmelstür (Axel at Heaven’s Door) is a Singspiel by Ralph Benatzky . It premiered in 1936 and made the then-unknown Zarah Leander an overnight star in the role of Gloria Mills. Max Hansen, who had recommended his colleague, was on stage as Axel Swift.

Synopsis

Act I
The penniless reporter Axel Swift is always on the lookout for a story that could finally give him his big break. Gloria Mills would be just such a story, he thinks. But the legendary film diva is not giving any interviews at the moment, not least because of her unhappy knack of picking the wrong men.

Axel sneaks into the office of Scott Film Production, where his girlfriend Jessie works as a secretary. He is hoping to get to Gloria through Jessie. But the rascally Axel has stood Jessie up once too often and she gives him the cold shoulder. She is certainly not going to facilitate an interview with the man-eating Gloria Mills.

Gloria storms into the office in one of her legendary rages, demanding that her contract be dissolved. She feels alone and misunderstood. Her producer Scott tells Gloria to her face that her moods are caused solely by her affair with the socialite Prince Tino Taciano. Gloria discovers Axel and unloads all her rage on him. Axel’s ambition is aroused: he is going to get his interview with Gloria.

Axel gets his best friend and roommate, the makeupartist Theodor, to disguise him as an old man and throws himself in front of Gloria’s car. To avoid a scandal, Gloria is forced to invite the – presumed – old man to supper at her villa.

At home, Theodor and Jessie are waiting for Axel. The clumsy and blundering Theo has also fallen in love with Jessie, but feelings between Axel’s girlfriend and his best friend are naturally a taboo subject. Jessie already suspects that Axel has once again forgotten their rendezvous and so she is not quite so resistant to Theodor’s advances as she ought to be. The situation Axel bursts in on is therefore equivocal. But in any case he has only come home in order to spruce himself up. He soothes the furious Jessie with an outrageous pack of lies and secretly makes off to Gloria’s villa. A short time later, however, Gloria’s chauffeur rings the doorbell to collect Axel. Furious, Jessie realises what has been going on. Without hesitation she pretends that Theodor is Axel and has herself driven with Theodor to Gloria’s villa.

The gossip reporter Randy Racebottom and his colleagues are skulking around the villa, on the lookout for any new information about Gloria. And indeed Police Commissioner Morton has had a tip-off that a thief has his eye on the legendary Mills-Fairbanks diamond that Gloria keeps in her villa. Randy greets his unsuccessful colleague Axel with derision. But to everyone’s astonishment the door to Gloria’s abode is opened to him. Axel enters the Gates of Heaven …

Act II
In Gloria’s villa. Gloria is desperately unhappy. Is her prince perhaps only interested in her wealth and the precious diamond? Gloomily she welcomes the old man for the supper together which she has promised him.

Axel boldly reveals his true identity and uses all his charm to persuade Gloria to give him an interview. She is surprisingly open to the idea. But Gloria is not an actress for nothing. When Commissioner Morton bursts in on them, she calmly hands Axel over to the police, saying that he has tried to steal her diamond. However, Axel succeeds in giving Morton the slip and hides in the villa.

But it is not just Axel who is in Gloria’s villa without permission. There are indeed some dubious characters skulking around the house. And Jessie and Theodor have also arrived and are exploring the diva’s mysterious domicile for themselves.

Gloria learns from her producer Scott that her beloved Prince Tino Taciano is in fact a fraudster. In despair, she wants to end her life, but Axel is able to stop her just in time. Against her wishes, he resolves to spend the night with her and watch over her. Gloria and Axel become increasingly close – considerably aided in this by a power cut.

Alerted by the power cut, the police storm Gloria’s villa. But they are too late: the famous diamond has disappeared! Axel is seized as he tries to leave the house and is accused of the theft. Gloria could give him an alibi, but her reputation would be ruined. She watches in silence as Axel is led away.

The lawyer Bab Peppermint offers his services to Axel. During the questioning that follows in Gloria’s villa, all the other uninvited guests, apart from Jessie and Theo, are also exposed. Finally, Gloria has to admit that Axel did spend the night with her. But only for an interview, of course.

And indeed the morning edition does contain a detailed interview with Gloria Mills, seemingly by a certain Axel Swift. But Axel did not write it …

Venue Info

Volksoper Vienna - Vienna
Währinger Strasse 78

The Vienna Volksoper is a major opera house in Vienna, Austria. It produces three hundred performances of twenty-five German language productions during an annual season which runs from September through June.

Volksoper Vienna was built in 1898 as the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater (Kaiser's Jubilee Civic Theatre), originally producing only plays. Because of the very brief construction period (10 months) the first director Adam Müller-Gutenbrunn had to start with debts of 160,000 gulden. After this inauspicious startup the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater had to declare bankruptcy five years later in 1903.

On 1 September 1903 Rainer Simons took over the house and renamed it the Kaiserjubiläum-Stadttheater - Volksoper (public opera). His intention was to continue the production of plays but also establish series of opera and operetta. The first Viennese performances of Tosca and Salome were given at the Volksoper in 1907 and 1910 respectively. World-famous singers such as Maria Jeritza, Leo Slezak and Richard Tauber appeared there; the conductor Alexander Zemlinsky became the first bandmaster in 1906.

In the years up to and through the First World War the Volksoper attained a position as Vienna's second prestige opera house. In 1919, Felix Weingartner became Artistic Director and Principal Conductor. He was followed as Director by Hugo Gruder-Guntram. After 1929, it focused on light opera, and under Gruder-Guntram undertook a number of summer tours to Abbazia in 1935, Cairo and Alexandria in 1937 and throughout Italy in 1938, with guest appearances from Richard Tauber. After the Second World War, the Vienna Volksoper became the alternative venue to the devastated Vienna State Opera. In 1955 the Volksoper returned to its former role of presenting opera, operetta, and musicals.

From September 1991 to June 1996 the Vienna Volksoper was under a collective leadership with the Vienna State Opera. In 1999 the Volksoper became a 100% subsidiary of the Bundestheater-Holding. Since 1 September 2007 Robert Meyer has headed the Volksoper as artistic director together with the business manager Christoph Ladstätter. Each season includes about 25 productions, a total of approximately 300 performances—a performance almost every day. In addition to opera, operetta, musicals and ballet, there are special performances and children's programs.