MEMETERIA by Thomas May

Music & the Arts

June 8, 2021 • 12:20 pm Comments Off on Lear from Bayerische Staatsoper

Lear from Bayerische Staatsoper

Bayerische Staatsoper is making the stream of Christoph Marthaler’s new production of Lear by Aribert Reimann available until 1 July here.

Synopsis:

King Lear intends to distribute his kingdom among his three daughters. Those that love him the most will receive the most. As Cordelia only describes her love in plain, simple words, she disappoints her father and leaves empty-handed. The kingdom is divided between the other two, and discord and scheming set in immediately. Lear is broken by it, becomes a powerless beggar and loses his sanity.
Aribert Reimann composed his opera Lear based on William Shakespeare’s tragedy, King Lear, with a libretto by Claus H. Henneberg. It celebrated its world premiere at the Nationaltheater in the 1978 as a work commissioned by the Bayerische Staatsoper. Reimann’s composition illustrates a dramaturgy that moves the game of power obsession along at breakneck speed. Lear’s vocal line, characterised by exorbitant virtuosity, illustrates the broken King with his manner of speaking only appearing confused on the surface. The instrumental cluster structures of this monumental work create a breath-taking atmosphere, and are the reason why, as an opera classic of the 20th century, this metamorphosis is an indispensable mirror image of our age.

Cast:

König Lear Christian Gerhaher 

König von Frankreich Edwin Crossley-Mercer 

Herzog von Albany Ivan Ludlow 

Herzog von Cornwall Jamez McCorkle 

Graf von KentBrenden Gunnell 

Graf von Gloster Georg Nigl 

Edgar Andrew Watts

Edmund Matthias Klink 

Goneril, Tochter König Lears Angela Denoke 

Regan, Tochter König Lears Ausrine Stundyte

Cordelia, Tochter König Lears Hanna-Elisabeth Müller (

Narr Graham Valentine

Bedienter Dean Power 

Ritter Marc Bodnar 

Bayerisches Staatsorchester

Chorus of the Bayerische Staatsoper

Creative Team:

Conductor Jukka-Pekka Saraste

Production Christoph Marthaler

Production Assistant Joachim Rathke

Set Design Anna Viebrock

Costume Design Dorothee Curio

Lighting Michael Bauer

Choruses Stellario Fagone

Dramaturgy Benedikt Stamp

Filed under: Bayerische Staatsoper

July 24, 2016 • 6:52 am Comments Off on Rameau to the Rescue

Rameau to the Rescue

Today brings the premiere of a new production of Jean-Philippe Rameau’s 1735 “ballet héroïque” Les Indes galantes, being streamed live from Bayerische Staatsoper (staged by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and conducted by Ivor Bolton).

A little background from Deborah Kauffman:

Les Indes galantes (1735) belongs to a different operatic genre, the opéra-ballet, which featured independent—but loosely connected—plots separated into several entrées. As the genre’s name suggests, dance played an important part in the opéra-ballet, and Les Indes galantes is no exception; each entrée closes with a divertissement, a collection of dance movements and dance songs that tie into the plot of the entrée.

Here’s an interview in the Süddeutsche Zeitung with the Belgian choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui:

Es handelt sich um vier verschiedene Nationalitäten in vier Akten. Wie bringt man die in einer schlüssigen Handlung zusammen?

Indem wir, und daran arbeiten wir sehr hart, schauen, was sie alle verbindet, wie jede, jeder von ihnen Teil eines größeren Ganzen werden könnte. Jede einzelne Figur könnte genauso gut eine andere sein, was in unserer Annäherung an das Stück tatsächlich passiert: Phani und Fatime werden zum Beispiel von derselben Sängerin gesungen. Alle Charaktere könnten letztlich zu einer einzigen Person verschmelzen. Ich entwickle ein Narrativ, wonach ihre Geschichte eine Doppelung erfährt. Diese Methode, die handelnden Personen zu betrachten, macht aus dem Werk ein in sich geschlossenes Ganzes und bewahrt es davor, in vier Teile zu zerfallen.

See Bayerische Staatsoper blog post (also in German).

 

 

 

 

Filed under: ballet, Bayerische Staatsoper, Rameau

December 12, 2015 • 2:45 pm Comments Off on Feurig and Fiery

Feurig and Fiery

I can’t get enough of Barrie Kosky:

Filed under: Bayerische Staatsoper, directors, Prokofiev

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