supported by the Hauptstadtkulturfonds
Pierre Boulez memorably declared in 1971 that the future of opera lay in the destruction of all opera houses, but in the very same year, Mauricio Kagel presented a revolutionary vision of the clean-up operation that could follow. The première of Staatstheater at the Hamburg State Opera disassembled the traditional operatic institution and indeed the whole genre into its constituent parts, creating a much sought-after path for new music theatre which is as relevant today as it was almost half a century ago. In creating the score, Kagel gathered hundreds of theatrical, instrumental, vocal and physical miniatures; certain rules govern their usage, but they are fundamentally intended to be combined freely into a unique production. A new interpretation of the work therefore presents a compositional jigsaw whose pieces have neither clear edges nor, when combined, can present an overall picture. Kagel's music theatre however operates beyond simple representation; one finds no acts and figures or beautiful songs about emotions or feelings. It rather creates a kaleidoscope of distorted quotations rotating lewdly around themselves, presenting a grotesque representation of a damaged world. If Opera Lab Berlin is to devote itself to recreating Kagel’s classic yet rarely performed magnum opus, then it must also design a kaleidoscope-like musical theater world which interested in more than itself. In Opera Lab's version, the elderly Staatstheater will become a Theatre of the Elderly State...
Composer: Mauricio Kagel
Director: Michael Höppner
Musical Director: Antoine Daurat
Stage Design: Martin Miotk und Cristina Lelli
Costume: Günter Hans Wolf Lemke
Choreography: Margaux Marielle-Trehoüart
Light Design/Technical Director: Fabian Eichner
Make-up: Martin Rink
Assistant Director: Anna Weber
Production Director: Anna Crespo
Intern to the Director: Nadja Sühnel
Costume Assistant: Pujan Shaheb
Dresser: Irene Anglada Espadaler
Sound Installation: Björn Erbach
Instrument Building: Marjam Schaal
Technical Assistance: Gustav Kleinschmidt
Photography: Vincent Stefan
Graphics: Sophie Natta
Compositional Editor and Artistic Director: Evan Gardner
Catherine Gayer: Soprano
Klaus Lang: Bass
Gina May Walter: Soprano
Enrico Wenzel: Bass
Angela Braun: Soprano
Magnus H. Jonsson: Tenor
Antonie Daurat: Musical Director
Mia Bodet: Violin
David Eggert: 'Cello
Shin Joo Morgantini: Flute
Jone Bolibar Núñez: Clarinet
Evdoxia Filippou: Percussion
Alexandros Giovanos: Percussion
Alba Gentili-Tedeschi: Piano