Caligula the Musical () is a tragic Argentinian musical inspired by the life of the titular Roman emperor from the Julio-Claudian dynasty. It was written by Pepe Cibrián with original music by Martín Bianchedi.
Productions
It premiered in 1983 in Buenos Aires, during the 1976-1983 dictatorship, and made a comparison between the cruelty of Caligula and Argentinian state terrorism, which ended with thirty thousand disappeared. It had a small cast of nine people. The musical was not targeted by the government due to the belief that it was just a musical. However, Cibrián and the cast did create a second, more tame version of the show, which they performed when government officials came to supervise or observe rehearsals.
In 2002 it returned for a run in Buenos Aires, in the Teatro del Globo, with a new musical adaptation by Ángel Mahler and a small cast of fourteen people and a live orchestra. It was directed by Cibrián and choreographed by Rubén Cuello. The message of the show was adapted to the December 2001 Argentinazo crisis. It received a positive review from La Nacion.
In 2005, the Premier de Buenos-Aires theater put on a version with a cast of twenty people plus a live orchestra. In September of that year it traveled to Santa Fe to perform. In 2013 it was performed at the Konex de Buenos Aires with a cast of 17 people.
Cast recording
Caligula the Musical released a cassette in 1983, and a CD in 2002, through La Isla studios. The disc contained the principle voices of Damián Iglesias and Giselle Dufour.
The 1983 recording contained the following songs:
1. Obertura
2. Toma el poder
3. Tema de Calígula
4. Pobre pueblo
5. Cesonia
6. Casamiento
7. Goza
8. Que viva
9. Pobre César
10. Venus imperial
11. Debo darle un final
12. Se acerca la luz
13. Final (Tema de Calígula)
The 2002 CD contained the following songs: