Carousel premieres in Solingen, Germany

The musical will premiere on 16 May

Billy, a well-known crier in an amusement park, and the worker Julie fall in love. The easy-going womanizer is fascinated by this woman, who in turn is willing to give up everything for the attractive Billy. For their love and the longing for a life without exploitation, both immediately put their jobs at risk. When Julie is expecting a child, her existential hardship increases. In order to get money, Billy tries to break free. He is persuaded to commit a robbery, but it fails. Billy dies, but is allowed to return to Earth for a day to put things right. 

Carousel is the musical adaptation of the play "Liliom" by Ferenc Molnár. It tells of a time of social upheaval in which poor and exploited people begin to emancipate themselves. Rodgers and Hammerstein, however, moved the action from Budapest to a small town in New England. The musical follows the Hungarian playwright's original with typical American lightness and adds a changed, optimistic ending to the events in addition to many great songs and sophisticated dance ensembles. 

"At the end of the storm there's a golden sky – and the sweet silver song of the lark." A wonderful promise hovers over these words. "You'll never walk alone" is one of the most beautiful musical ballads ever, a hopeful hymn of solidarity. What today moves thousands of hearts in football stadiums or was sung by opera star Renée Fleming at the inauguration of US President Obama, comes from this Broadway musical from 1945, like the melodious and rousing "Carousel Walz". In 1994, "Time Magazine" named "Carousel", whose revivals won several Tony Awards, the best musical of the 20th century. 

Carousel is a production of the Theater & Konzerthaus Solingen and the Folkwang University of the Arts. Music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, German version by Robert Gilbert. Original production on Broadway produced and directed by Benjamin Glazer 

The conductor is Stephan Kanyar of the Bergische Symphoniker, directed by Kay Link, stage and costume design by Britta Tönne, choreography by Andrew Chadwick, video by Nikolay Schröder