Wednesday 10 September 2008

Muziek Expres, 1983: Frida doesn't always want to be the star

Björn and Benny are writing hit after hit for ABBA. But now they’ve tried their hands at something completely different: a real musical. Recently, the premiere of Abbacadabra took place in London. And who was present as well? Frida!
“Don’t these songs by Björn and Benny sound fantastic?” ABBA’s own Frida sighs after the premiere of the musical Abbacadabra. She smiles for a while and then continues: “Yes, that may sound very strange coming from me, after all, I’ve sang them myself for years now, but when you’re suddenly in the audience and hear them being sung by different people, that’s really a very extraordinary experience!”
And of course that’s true! Frida was one of the guests of honor at the premiere of the musical, a showpiece in which several fairy-tale figures make an appearance such as Cinderella – played by Finola Hughes who also played a leading part in ‘Staying Alive’ – and Pinochhio. But, among others, a robot and a pirate-queen as well, a part played by Elaine Paige, who became known for her part in the musical Evita a few years ago. So, a multi-coloured company.
The songs and the music are all by ABBA’s Björn and Benny. Apart from old ABBA-successes, a couple of songs written especially for the musical can be heard. Together with the Scottish singer B.A. Robertson, who’s responsible for the part of ‘The Beast’ in Abbacadabra, Frida has recorded one of the songs from the musical: ‘Time’. But apart from that, she’s not taking part in the musical. Smilingly, Frida confesses: “Actually, I like it much better to sit in the audience, listening to the songs that we’re usually singing ourselves!” Still chuckling, she disappears in the festive crowd.

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