Musical premiere

“Gib eam!”: Otto Jaus rocks Easter as Judas

Otto Jaus and Lukas Perman(Bild: Zwefo)

Next weekend, "Jesus Christ Superstar" will be performed in a slightly different way at the Wiener Stadthalle. We asked neo-musical producer Lukas Perman and Otto Jaus for an interview!

While Falco is rocking at the Ronacher in Vienna and the Phantom is up to mischief at the Raimund Theater, the musical that is probably best suited to Easter awaits next weekend at the Wiener Stadthalle: Lukas Perman is acting as musical producer there for the first time and is putting on a concert performance of the Webber hit "Jesus Christ Superstar". "It was important to me to present a completely different concept for once," says the father-of-four, "and I've already succeeded with the cast" - for example, Otto Jaus slips into the role of Judas:

"I immediately thought of Otto for the role because, as an Austropopper, cabaret artist and actor, he doesn't come from the typical musical background, but approaches the role in a completely new way. The combination with a musical-branded Mark Seibert as Pilate and Oedo Kuipers as Jesus was an extremely refreshing combination and an interesting mix."

"I trained in musicals and that's why I know Lukas," says Jaus, "but I quickly turned towards operetta and cabaret, and then came 'Pizzera und Jaus'. But when Lukas asked me, I said yes very quickly, because the role of Judas has always appealed to me, as it is an incredibly exciting character and one of the most challenging roles in the musical genre in terms of singing".

Jesus Christ Superstar

• Rock opera that premiered on October 12, 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theater in New York City
• The music was written by the then unknown Andrew Lloyd Webber
• Tim Rice wrote the lyrics based on the Bible stories of the last seven days of Jesus
• The premieres met with protests from Christian conservative groups, who criticized above all that Judas was portrayed as a sympathetic figure
• Nevertheless, the rock opera was a great success and was performed 720 times in its original staging. It was only banned in South Africa and was even played on Vatican Radio
• In 1970, a first version was released on record (even before the first performance on stage), with Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan as Jesus, Murray Head as Judas and Yvonne Elliman as Mary Magdalene
• The material was made into a film by Norman Jewison in 1973
• "Jesus Christ Superstar" at the Wiener Stadthalle - Hall F: Easter Sunday, March 31, to Tuesday, April 2
• Info & tickets: oeticket.at and lukas-perman.at

And there's another challenge awaiting Jaus, who has taken extra singing lessons: "Maintaining calm and letting it flow into my voice, because normally when I go on stage, the adrenaline kicks in straight away and I'm on 'Gib eam! Unfortunately, that's counterproductive in this role!"