sissy
That is why the empress is more popular today than ever
RTL series “Sisi”
© Armand’s Virbulis / RTL
Novel, film, series – why the story of the legendary Austrian empress fascinates everyone right now.
Romy Schneider jumps over a meadow with Karlheinz Böhm, the sun is shining, the couple laugh and fall into the grass. Amazing: Although the “Sissi” films are set in summer, they belong to Christmas like the Christmas tree. Karen Duve, 62, feels the same way.
“The pomp, the magnificent costumes and the star cast down to the smallest roles create a festive atmosphere,” says the author, who has just published a novel about the legendary Austrian empress. 65 years after the popular trilogy with Romy Schneider, Elisabeth von Austria is more up-to-date than it has been for a long time.
Netflix, RTL and Co. – everyone wants Sisi!
A film about her was released in the summer, there is a series on Netflix, and the long-awaited second season of “Sisi” is now running on RTL. how come “The need for Sisi – as for fairy tales in general – is probably greater than ever due to the present we are experiencing,” explains Karen Duve.
In her opinion, the life of the empress is far from over. “On the one hand, because the archives are still full of unknown letters and documents. And then society changes. Every new generation would like to have their own Sisi.” The fairy tale of the lovely girl who marries her prince still enchants us today, says the author. “It fulfills our naïve longings for a man who will make us his empress.” However: Sisi not only quickly outgrew her Emperor Franz Joseph physically.
When she then senses that she will never be able to live out her own personality at court, she begins to withdraw more and more from all representative duties. Karen Duve thinks it’s a bit like Princess Diana. Both women were the most important influencers of their time, everyone wanted to be like them. “I also had this famous Diana haircut in the 1980s,” Duve reveals. “Besides, everyone was wearing those awful puff sleeves.” And it can’t really be a coincidence that hair accessories in a brooch look are all the rage right now, just like Sisi loved them.
Romantic retreat: holiday like Sisi
Whenever she could, Sisi traveled to England to take part in wild par force hunts. In 1881 and 1882 she rented Combermere Abbey for the hunting season, even bringing her own horses. For her, the former monks’ abbey south of Liverpool was “the most romantic place in Europe”. While the empress suffered from the strictly regimented life at the Viennese court and fell downright ill, she thrived at Combermere Abbey. Today everyone can spend their vacation in the place they long for: in the former stable and in the north wing there are luxurious holiday apartments and suites.
The Story of the Empress: Also a success as a film and Netflix series
“The Empress”
The Netflix series is based entirely on the love story between Sisi (Devrim Lingnau, below) and Franz Joseph (Philip Froissant). However, the young empress soon realizes that life at court in Vienna is full of intrigues. How it goes on? A second season should reveal that.
“corsage”
The empress was not always cute 15 years old and a tomboy in love. Marie Kreutzer’s film, which was released in cinemas in early July and is now available as a pay stream, shows 40-year-old Sisi (great: Vicky Krieps) – sobered up and struggling with her age. Austria has sent this character drama as its candidate in the 2023 Oscar race.
“Sisi”- The novel
Even as a little girl, Sisi was an intrepid rider. The Empress’s passion for horses is a central theme in Karen Duve’s excellently researched novel.