The 2017/18 Season: 70 Years of the Komische Oper Berlin - 70 Years of the Future of Opera
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Press release | 30/3/2017 | acr | Updated: July 2017 The 2017/18 Season: 70 Years of the Komische Oper Berlin – 70 Years of the Future of Opera 10 premieres for this major birthday, two of which are reencounters with titles of legendary Felsenstein productions, two are world premieres and four are operatic milestones of the 20th century. 70 years ago, Walter Felsenstein founded the Komische Oper as a place where musical theatre makers were not content to rest on the laurels of opera’s rich traditions, but continually questioned it in terms of its relevance and sustainability. In our 2017/18 anniversary season, together with their team, our Intendant and Chefregisseur Barrie Kosky and the Managing Director Susanne Moser are putting this aim into practice once again by way of a diverse program – with special highlights to celebrate our 70th birthday. From Baroque opera to operettas and musicals, the musical milestones of 20th century operatic works, right through to new premieres of operas for children, with works by Georg Friedrich Handel through to Philip Glass, from Jacques Offenbach to Jerry Bock, from Claude Debussy to Dmitri Shostakovich, staged both by some of the most distinguished directors of our time as well as directorial newcomers. New Productions Our 70th birthday will be celebrated not just with a huge birthday cake on 3 December, but also with two anniversary productions. Two works which enjoyed great success as legendary Felsenstein productions are returning in new productions. Barrie Kosky is staging Jerry Brock’s musical Fiddler on the Roof, with Max Hopp/Markus John and Dagmar Manzel in the lead roles, and the magician of the theatre, Stefan Herheim, will present Jacques Offenbach’s operetta Barbe- bleue in a new, German and French version. All up, the program boasts nine full premieres of new productions and one as a concert performance, including Pelléas et Mélisande and The Nose (both staged by Barrie Kosky), Die Gezeichneten (staged by Calixto Bieito) and Philip Glass’ Satyagraha (staged by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui), a series of four unique and outstanding works of the 20th century. Additionally, there will be two world premieres: The Town Musicians of Bremen, a new German- Turkish children’s opera, and a production with the mezzo star Anne Sophie von Otter, the actor Wolfram Koch, and songs from the 1920s and ’30s. Märchen im Stiftung Oper in Berlin/Komische Oper Berlin Dr. Andrea C. Röber Behrenstraße 55–57, 10117 Berlin, Germany Press Officer Phone +49 (0)30 202 60 370 a.roeber@komische-oper-berlin.de Fax +49 (0)30 20260 366 www.komische-oper-berlin.de
Grand Hotel (with Max Hopp, musical direction by Adam Benzwi) opens a five- part series of concert operettas by Paul Abraham – and further sharpens the focus on the field of musical theatre from the 1920s and ’30s. Handel’s Semele continues the run of Baroque operas, and in November, the successful silent film festival Kino Varieté returns. Repertoire and Concerts After an extended absence, Calixto Bieito’s production of The Abduction from the Seraglio returns, as does Stefan Herheim’s Serse. The repertoire includes the successful productions The Pearls of Cleopatra, Il barbiere di Siviglia and Petrushka/L’Enfant et les Sortilèges from the current season, as well as Eugene Onegin, La belle Hélène and of course, the internationally acclaimed Magic Flute. In the 2017/18 season, the Komische Oper also welcomes two high-profile Kapellmeisters, in Ivo Hentschel and Jordan de Souza. For the symphony concerts, the orchestra of the Komische Oper Berlin is excited to welcome soloists and conductors such as Fazıl Say, Mischa Maisky, Daniel Hope, Nicola Benedetti, Chrisoph Eschenbach, Kristjan Järvi, and Katia and Merielle Labèque. The Projects Young and Selam Opera! Beyond our German-Turkish children’s opera premieres, Young Komische Oper and the intercultural project Selam Opera! are continuing with our successful work, enriching our existing project components with the addition of the Berliner Sing Along and the Pop-Up Opera. Every year, around 40,000 children and teenagers from all different backgrounds travel from Berlin and neighbouring Brandenburg come to see performances at the Komische Oper Berlin. The proportion of visitors from a non-German background is close to 10%. Advanced Ticket Sales and Streaming Advanced ticket sales for the 2017/18 season begins on 31 March 2017 at 11 a.m. In the new season, the Komische Oper will once again be live-streaming three premieres on the internet, free of charge (Pelléas et Mélisande on 15.10.2017, Die Gezeichneten on 21.1.2018 and Barbe-bleu on 17.3.2018). To date, more than 185,000 people have been reached by the streams of the previous and current season. Stiftung Oper in Berlin/Komische Oper Berlin Dr. Andrea C. Röber Behrenstraße 55–57, 10117 Berlin, Germany Press Officer Phone +49 (0)30 202 60 370 a.roeber@komische-oper-berlin.de Fax +49 (0)30 20260 366 www.komische-oper-berlin.de
The season 2017/18 New Productions................................................................................... .............. 1 Festivals...................................................................................... .......................... 7 Repertoire, revivals, concerts...................................................... ....................... 8 Tours, livestreamings...................................................................... .................... 9 70th anniversary celebrations........................................................... .................. 10 Facts and figures.......................................................................................... ........ 11 Komische Oper Young!............................................................................... ........ 18 Selam Opera! ............................................................................................ ........... 22 Barrie Kosky, Artistic Director ................................................ ......................... 26 And why »comic«?............................................................................ ................... 34 Stiftung Oper in Berlin/Komische Oper Berlin Dr. Andrea C. Röber Behrenstraße 55–57, 10117 Berlin, Germany Press Officer Phone +49 (0)30 202 60 370 a.roeber@komische-oper-berlin.de Fax +49 (0)30 20260 366 www.komische-oper-berlin.de
Season 2017/18 New productions, Festivals, Revivals, Concerts, Tours, Live streamings Premieres Die Bremer Stadtmusikanten (Bremen Mızıkacıları) (The Town Musicians of Bremen)– World Premiere Children's opera in two acts [2017] by Attila Kadri Şendil (age 6 and older) Opera in German and Turkish A work commissioned by the Komische Oper Berlin Musical direction: Ivo Hentschel Staging: Tobias Ribitzki World premiere: 24 September, 2017 The famous tale by the Brothers Grimm about four displaced characters who take fate into their own hands and discover how much stronger they are as a group. The creator of this new German-Turkish children’s opera, in which bilingualism is presented as a natural part of our day-to-day lives, is the Turkish composer Attila Kadri Şendil. Born in İzmir, the composer Attila Kadri Şendil studied the clarinet and composing in İstanbul, Paris and Memphis/USA, and today teaches at the Akdeniz Üniversitesi in Antalya. Although based on Oriental tonal systems, his music – whose style is extremely wide-ranging – also sounds extremely familiar to Western European listeners. Although the sound of the orchestra is enriched with Turkish instruments such as the zurna, bağlama, oud and qanun, Sendil’s score for the Grimm’s fairytale (which is also known in Turkey) is also influenced by a whole variety of different musical sources. Pelléas et Mélisande Drame lyrique in five acts [1902] by Claude Debussy | Opera in French A co-production with the Nationaltheater Mannheim Musical direction: Jordan de Souza Staging: Barrie Kosky Premiere: 15 October, 2017 Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 1 | 19
With his deeply moving Eugene Onegin, Barrie Kosky took audiences and the press by storm – now he is once more peering into the ominous abyss of the human soul and tackling one of the most symbolic Fin de Siècle masterpieces. Nadja Mchantaf, who conquered the public’s heart as Cendrillon, Tatjana and Rusalka, will play Mélisande at the side of Dominik Köninger, the darling of the audience. Debussy congenially captured the ambiguous currents of the Maurice Maeterlinck’s play in a musical chamber play in the Impressionist style. This production by Barrie Kosky conjures up the psychogram of a moribund, late- bourgeois society which has nothing with which to counter a world out of balance other than the solace of a finely chiselled melancholy. The musical direction is provided by Canadian-born Jordan de Souza, the new Kapellmeister of the Komische Oper Berlin and a rising star in the international conducting scene. Satyagraha Opera in three acts [1980] by Philip Glass | Opera in Sanskrit A co-production with the Theater Basel and the Opera Vlaanderen Musical direction: Jonathan Stockhammer Staging and choreography: Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui Premiere: 27 Oktober, 2017 Born in the USA in 1937, the composer Philip Glass is an established member of the Avant-Garde. First performed in Rotterdam in 1980, Satyagraha – Glass’s piece of musical theatre – is many things: a theatre of ideas, a multimedia work of historic art, a political statement and an attempt to unite spiritual inwardness with modern Enlightenment through artistic ritual. Glass takes Mahatma Gandhi’s youth, his studies of key Hindu texts such as the Bhagavad-Gītā and the places, battles and developments described therein, and unites these with the social conflicts of the twentieth century to create a meditatively minimalist piece of musical-theatrical reflection in the name of peace and of political and spiritual reconciliation. With Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui an artistic pioneer, a crossover artist par excellence, presents one of the twentieth century’s most enigmatic works.»His work is extremely multi-layered, at times disturbing and highly theatrical!«, the New York Times wrote enthusiastically about the Flemish-Moroccan dancer and choreographer, who together with the Eastman company which he founded, has long since become a star of the international dance scene. »Performances which seem to absorb and spit out every new trend in contemporary dance theatre.« Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 2 | 19
ANATEVKA (FIDDLER ON THE ROOF) Based on the Sholem Aleichem Stories | By Special Permission of Arnold Perl Book by JOSEPH STEIN | Music by JERRY BOCK | Lyrics by SHELDON HARNICK German Translation by Rolf Merz and Gerhard Hagen Produced on the New York Stage by Harold Prince Original New York Stage Production Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins Musical Direction: Koen Schoots Staging: Barrie Kosky Premiere: 3 December, 2017 The German actors Max Hopp and Markus John will star alternately as the milkman Tevje and the well-know German actress and singer Dagmar Manzel, who has lately excelled in the title role of Barrie Kosky’s productions of Die Perlen der Cleopatra (The Pearls of Cleopatra), will be his resolute wife Golde. Thanks to Walter Felsenstein’s 1971 production The Fiddler on the Roof entered the annals of the opera house in the Behrenstraße, with over 500 performances. Following the triumph of his West Side Story, Barrie Kosky is bringing one of the world’s most successful musicals back to the stage of the Komische Oper Berlin for the first time since 1988. The book for Anatevka, titled Fiddler on the Roof in the original English version, was written by Joseph Stein using motifs from the famous Yiddish tales by Scholem Alejchem, which were penned between 1894 and 1916 under the title Tewje, the Milkman. With over 3,000 performances on Broadway alone, Jerry Brock created one of the most successful yet also tragic musicals in the history if the genre. Anatevka tells the story of the humour and suffering of heart-rending characters caught between catastrophe and the joy of survival, in what is probably the twentieth century’s most life-affirming tragi-comedy about the complications of love, life and marriage. Märchen im Grand-Hotel (Fairytale at the Grand Hotel) Concert performance Comedy operetta in two acts by Paul Abraham With a prelude and epilogue [1934] based on the work of Alfred Savoir Musical Direction: Adam Benzwi Premiere: 17 December, 2017 After five years dedicated to Emmerich Kálmán, another Jewish-Hungarian maestro is now providing the annual operetta surprise at Christmas: Paul Abraham, the composer of the jazz operetta Ball at the Savoy. The necessary Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 3 | 19
oomph in the orchestral pit will be provided by the Abraham specialist Adam Benzwi. As Albert the waiter, multi-talented Max Hopp guides us through the evening – he has been a favourite among operetta fans ever since his brilliant performance in A woman who knows what she wants! As with his Ball at the Savoy, Abraham’s brilliantly orchestrated score for Fairytale at the Grand-Hotel provides a colourful blend of waltz, tango, jazz and Hungarian folk music. The operetta, which premièred in Vienna in 1934, is a delightful mix of Hollywood, aristocracy and hotel ambience, and joyfully plays on the clichés of the genre. Die Gezeichneten (The Branded) Opera in three acts [1918] by Franz Schreker Musical Direction: Stefan Soltesz Staging: Calixto Bieito Premiere: 21 January, 2018 With widely sweeping waves of melodies and experimental harmonic developments ranging to the edge of tonality, Franz Schreker created scintillating portraits of the human soul in this work, which premièred in 1918. Schreker, who during his lifetime was the most frequently-performed German composer but was then defamed as “debased” from 1933 onward, here created a piece of musical theatre which – inspired by symbolism and psychoanalysis – dissolves both musical and dramatic boundaries. His characters are literally branded by one another. Under the direction of the grand-master of interpreting human spiritual suffering Calixto Bieito and under the musical direction of the internationally successful conductor Stefan Soltesz, the protagonists search for salvation through love and beauty, but lose themselves in the abyss of political intrigues, erotic excesses and terrible betrayal. The internationally celebrated soprano Ausrine Stundyte, the English tenor Peter Hoare, and the former ensemble member Michael Nagy, a regular performer at all the major opera houses, return to the Komische Oper Berlin in Franz Schreker’s masterpiece, Die Gezeichneten. Blaubart (Barbe-bleu) Opéra bouffe in three acts [1866] by Jacques Offenbach Textual adaptation by Stefan Herheim and Alexander Meier-Dörzenbach Operetta predominantly in German Musical Direction: Clemens Flick Staging: Stefan Herheim Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 4 | 19
Premiere: 17 March, 2018 Over 50 years since the legendary production by Walter Felsenstein and in time for the anniversary year, Stefan Herheim – the Norwegian wizard of the theatre who most recently enchanted Berlin’s audiences with his crazy and opulent Xerxes – presents his version of what might be Offenbach’s most combative operetta. With Wolfgang Ablinger-Sperrhacke in the title role, one of the most versatile character tenors of our age will give his début at the Komische Oper Berlin. The Barbe-bleue (Bluebeard) of this fairytale can be etymologically traced to the old French word Barbeu (werewolf), who might in turn reveal himself as a sheep in wolf’s clothing. The success of Offenbach’s opéra bouffe in decadent Paris during the dawning of the second imperial era is rooted in precisely this interplay between horror and comedy – one laughs at one’s own inadequacy as if one had already internalised Karl Kraus’ dictum: »Love and art do not embrace what is beautiful but what is made beautiful by this embrace.« Ich wollt’, ich wär’ ein Huhn! (I wish I was a chicken) World premiere A Berlin evening | Musical cabaret in German Music by Kurt Weill, Paul Dessau, Peter Kreuder, Theo Mackeben and others Musical Direction: Adam Benzwi Staging: Barrie Kosky World premiere: 30 April 2018 »Ich wollt’, ich wär’ ein Huhn« (»I wish I was a chicken«), »Ich steh’ im Regen …« (»I’m standing in the rain …«), »Nur nicht aus Liebe weinen« (»Don’t weep for love«) – absurdly surreal and soberly romantic texts set to timeless melodies are the hallmark of Berlin hits from the 1920s and 1930s. Their composers are Kurt Weill, Paul Dessau, Hanns Eisler, Friedrich Hollaender, Peter Kreuder, Theo Mackeben and Michael Jary, whose fates could not have been more different: while some were persecuted due to their heritage or convictions, others collaborated with the fascist regime. Yet all of them have their musical roots in notoriously liberal Berlin. An evening of contrasts and contradictions which, irresolvable and unadorned, laugh in each other’s’ faces. The Swedish mezzo-soprano Anne Sofie von Otter sings at all the world’s major opera houses. Narrow-minded genre definitions mean nothing to her, something which has led to spectacular collaborative projects with pop icons such as Elvis Costello and Benny Andersson (ABBA). Following her guest performance with her programme of chansons, Douce France (Grammy Award 2015), the word-class singer is once more taking to the stage of the Komische Oper Berlin – to be Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 5 | 19
directed for the first time by Barrie Kosky and performing together with Wolfram Koch, who has achieved cult status playing a Frankfurt-based police detective in the popular Tatort TV series. Yet his great passion is the stage, which has led him to collaborations with pioneering directors such as Dimiter Gotscheff and Herbert Fritsch. Semele Musical drama in three acts [1744] von Georg Friedrich Handel Baroque opera in English Musical Direction: Konrad Junghänel Staging: Laura Scozzi Premiere: 12 Mai 2018 Despite the splendid choirs typical of oratorios and the expressive arias which did not have to adhere to the rigid formula of opera seria, Handel’s contemporaries turned their noses up at the saucily erotic and more than a little humorous subject matter, which they deemed to be wholly inappropriate for an oratorio. Yet that all quickly changed. Today, Semele is one of the most popular works penned by Georg Friedrich Handel. Baroque specialist Konrad Junghänel, and director and choreographer Laura Scozzi – who will be giving her Berlin stage début with this dramatic oratorium – discover the female will to power in the Ovidian myth. Nicole Chevalier, the winner of the Faust Award who last turned the heads of men and women during her sensational performances in Les Contes d’Hoffmann and La Belle Hélène, now enchants the father of the gods himself as the titular heroine Semele. As Jupiter, ace Baroque performer Allan Clayton – who is already experienced in the world of the ancient Gods thanks to his leading role in Barrie Kosky's production of Castor et Pollux – here displays his full acting and singing prowess. Die Nase (The Nose) Opera in three acts by Dmitri D. Shostakovich based on the story of the same name by Nikolai W. Gogol [1930] A co-production with The Royal Opera House Covent Garden, the Opera Australia and the Teatro Real, Madrid German translation by Ulrich Lenz Musical Direction: Gabriel Feltz Staging: Barrie Kosky Premiere: 16 June 2018 Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 6 | 19
As Don Giovanni, he played the evil, exalted clown; as the young Onegin, he poisoned his own luck in love – now ensemble member Günter Papendell reveals another facet to his skill: as the vain, noseless collegiate assessor Kovalev in Dmitri Shostakovich’s idiosyncratic musical adaptation of Nikolai Gogol’s grotesque and absurd story. Following its run in Sydney, Barrie Kosky’s celebrated début production at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden is now coming to Berlin. Tap-dancing noses, riding rickshaw tables, colourful costumes somewhere between folklore and historicism in a cold room which, despite its size, seems claustrophobic – Barrie Kosky stages the surreal story about the fear of loss and the paranoia of a small-minded upstart as a revue-like kaleidoscope of vanities, a disturbing blend of Wozzeck and Alice in Wonderland. Festivals Silent Movie Festival – Kino Varieté 11–12 November, 2017 Following their overwhelming success during the 2015/16 season, the Komische Oper Berlin and ZDF/arte are continuing their Cinema Varieté silent film festival. On two evenings, the silent film will be presented in the same way that drew the masses into the cinemas in the early twentieth century: as a wild, revue- like blend of newsreels, short travel reports, adverts, cultural and action films, interludes of live dancing, singing and music performances, and an approximately 70-minute-long feature film. The central films are the animated silhouette movie Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed by Lotte Reininger (11 Nov) and Arsenal, the 1929 Ukrainian film on the Russian Revolution (12 Nov). In their dramaturgy, the two evenings follow what today seems the somewhat curious sequence of cinema revues at the time, while simultaneously bringing them into the present day through the use of newly composed film music and live performances by artists of the Komische Oper Berlin. The first festival day will end with a party in the foyer, on November 12 the same foyer will host a symposium on the Russian Revolution in cooperation with the Deutsche Historische Museum Berlin. Komische Oper Festival 10–15 July 2018 At the end of the season, we invite you to a week-long festival. Across six consecutive days, you can look back at the new productions of this season Semele, Die Gezeichneten, Pelléas et Mélisande, Blaubart, Die Nase and Anatevka. An accompanying musical and culinary programme awaits the audiences each Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 7 | 19
evening, as does an introductory lecture before the performance and an exciting discussion with those involved in the production afterwards. In the introductions, our dramaturgists will provide background information, put audiences in the mood for the production, and place the respective work within a wider context. Guest Performances The Komische Oper Berlin is continuing its successful guest performances, above all with The Magic Flute, but also with La belle Hélène. Full ensemble guest performances of The Magic Flute will take the Komische Oper Berlin to Budapest and Moscow in the spring of 2017. Guest performances with local orchestras will head to Beijing in July with The Magic Flute, and to St. Pölten in September with La belle Hélène. In November, the entire opera house will make a guest appearance at the Parisian Opéra Comique with eight Magic Flute performances. Followed in April 2018 by a tour of Japan, with stops in Tokyo, Hiroshima and Osaka. With this, the production of The Magic Flute – which celebrated its premiere at the Komische Oper Berlin in 2012 – continues its triumphal procession. In its fifth straight season, the production continues to play to full houses in Berlin. The ensemble has already given more than 100 performances, both in our home theatre in the Behrenstrasse and in guest performances, including Shanghai, Edinburgh and Barcelona. Additionally, the production has been licenced or leased out to be performed in places such as Los Angeles, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Madrid and Warsaw. To date, right across the globe, more than 330,000 people have seen the production in around 250 performances. Livestreams This season, three premieres will once again be streamed live and free of charge on the internet. Our Intendant and Chefregisseur Barrie Kosky will guide the viewers through the evening, allowing them to get a glimpse behind the scenes during the intermission. Contextualising commentaries on directing, musical direction and visits to rehearsals take the viewer inside the world of the productions. Since the first livestream in October 2015, the Komische Oper Berlin has reached more than 185,000 viewers in more than 100 countries. Dates Sun, 15 October, 2017, 6 p.m. – Pelléas et Mélisande Sun, 21 January 2018, 6 p.m. – Die Gezeichneten Sat, 17 March 2018, 7 p.m. – Blaubart Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 8 | 19
Season 2017/18
70 Years of Musical Theatre – An Overview
70 years young! For an entire season, the Komische Oper Berlin is celebrating
this major birthday with the following activities:
• New anniversary productions: as part of its anniversary program, with
Fiddler on the Roof (premiere: 3.12) and Barbe-bleue (premiere: 17.3), the
Komische Oper Berlin is presenting new productions of two works that
enjoyed legendary success in productions by Walter Felsenstein. Jacques
Offenbach’s Ritter Blaubart celebrated its premiere in 1963, and was in the
repertoire until 1992, with a total of 369 performances, including
numerous guest performances (including Warsaw, Vienna, Copenhagen,
London and Tokyo). The Fiddler on the Roof was featured in a production
by Felsenstein from 1971 as a GDR premiere. Until June 1988, the
Komische Oper famously gave 506 performances in Berlin and elsewhere
as guest performances. With this new production of Fiddler on the Roof,
Barrie Kosky is fulfilling a long-held desire, and is entrusting a new
version of Barbe-bleue to the successful Norwegian director Stefan
Herheim, who has already registered a huge hit at the Komische Oper
Berlin with his Serse.
• Official birthday party and panel discussion on 3 December:
Though the Komische Oper Berlin was opened on 23 December 1947, we
are officially celebrating our birthday early on 3 December 2017, with the
premiere of Fiddler on the Roof, the first of our anniversary productions. In
the afternoon, a panel discussion will be held (including Thomas Flierl
and Barrie Kosky, moderated by Knut Elstermann). After the premiere,
the party starts, with DJ Ipek and, of course, a huge birthday cake.
• Digital exhibition: in collaboration with the University of Applied
Sciences Potsdam and Potsdam University’s combined European Media
Studies course, the Komische Oper Berlin is producing a digital
anniversary exhibition. The aim of the exhibition on the homepage of the
Komische Oper Berlin is not so much to represent a precise and
complete chronology of the past 70 years, but rather to put the
philosophy and thematic orientation of the organisation in the spotlight;
and at the same time – just like to motto 70 Years of the Future of Musical
Theatre suggests – to build a bridge with the present, and with the future.
Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 9 | 19• Anniversary announcements: A small reminder about the anniversary for
the audience before every performance! Previously, the announcement
for people to turn off their mobile phones came from the lips of Max
Hopp (Eine Frau, die weiß, was sie will!, My Fair Lady). In our anniversary
season, we’re changing things up: with announcements by well-loved
artists who have a connection to the Komische Oper, personally wishing
the house a happy birthday, including Anny Schlemm, Maria Bengtsson,
Dagmar Schellenberger, Andreas Homoki, Barrie Kosky, Hartmut
Haenchen – and of course Max Hopp.
• 2017 New Year Concert: »Happy Birthday, altes Haus!« (»Happy
Birthday, old house!«) The New Year’s concert will also celebrate the
building in the Behrenstrasse’s special day. With overtures, arias and
ensembles commemorating the biggest successes of the past 70 years –
sung and played by the current members of the ensemble and the house
orchestra, moderated by the man of the house himself. Come and raise
your glass with us – to the new year, and to another 70 years of the
Komische Oper Berlin!
• Artist Talks with Former Performers: As part of the festival, the
Komische Oper Berlin is inviting our former artists to public discussions
in the foyer of the Komische Oper Berlin, before and after the festival
performances. In a relaxed atmosphere, the artists will tell stories about
their experiences in the eras of Felsenstein, Herz, Kupfer and Homoki,
and maybe deliver a musical highlight or two.
Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 10 | 19Season 2017/18 Komische Oper Young The Komische Oper Berlin offers young opera and concert-goers the ideal conditions for a successful introduction to the fascinatingly complex art form that is opera. We invite children and their families as well as kindergarten and school groups to come and enjoy some exciting hours in the beautiful auditorium of the Komische Oper Berlin, with the première of the children’s opera The Town Musicians of Bremen by Attila Kadri Şendil and with Snow White and the 77 Dwarves by Elena Kats-Chernin. Komische Oper Berlin looks back on a unique tradition in the German speaking countries: For more than ten years the theatre has presented operas for young visitors aged 6 and older - one new and one repertoire production each per season - on the »big« stage, considered equal to the regular productions. Children and young people are also more than welcome at all other opera performances, children’s concerts and symphony concerts! Over 40,000 children and young people use this formative cultural offering each year. More than 350 workshops, the traditional Children’s Festival to mark the opening of the new season as well as Peter und der Wolf, a project with refugee and mainstream classes in Berlin, and the Berlin Sing Along complement the profile of the musical pedagogy section of Komische Oper Berlin. The many and varied projects are made possible through the generous support of various partners. For additional information regarding educational services and projects, please see the brochure »Komische Oper School«, or get in touch directly with: Anne-Kathrin Ostrop Director of Musical Theatre Education T +49 (0)30 202 60 375 / F 377 E a.ostrop@komische-oper-berlin.de Workshops In around 350 introductory workshops, children, young people, students, families and adults use the method of scene interpretation to prepare themselves in an age-appropriate manner for their visit to the opera. Here, participants slip into the roles from the piece they are to see, feel their way into the music of the work, and independently explore key scenes. In the process, what were hitherto unknown opera characters become people whose motives participants can empathise with, and complex events are transformed into comprehensive sequences of actions. This allows participants to leave behind the role of passive Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 11 | 19
observer and to actively experience the piece for themselves. Workshops are held for all of the schedule’s operas. They are offered free as part of the preparations for an introductory opera visit. Children’s Festival Tues 3 October 2017 10 am –4 pm; German Unity Day The Town Musicians of Bremen at the Komische Oper Berlin! A donkey, dog, cat and cockerel make music on the rehearsal stages; bandits lurk in the foyer; and in the Great Hall, children and their families can enjoy beastly-good music during concerts with the orchestra. Masters of disguise from the make-up, costume and directorial departments help children to slip into their roles, find their way to music-filled spaces of longing, and to playfully master adventures. A day musically dedicated to the new German-Turkish children’s opera The Town Musicians of Bremen, which is rounded off with a performance of the piece at 6 pm. Entry to all events of the Children’s Festival is free. Tickets are required for performances in the Great Hall. Paid tickets for the 6 pm performance are available from the usual advance booking offices. Peter und der Wolf A music-based and integrative language-learning project for refugee and mainstream classes Launched during the 2016/17 season, the focus of this project is on working together with children and their parents from refugee and mainstream classes in Berlin’s primary schools. Over the course of a school year, the children engage with the concert work Peter and the Wolf by Sergei Prokofiev. The aim is for the refugee children to learn German through play, be introduced to Western music, and also to engage with the themes of the piece. The project culminates in the bilingual (German and Arabic) performance of Peter and the Wolf at the Komische Oper Berlin. All parents and children from the refugee and mainstream classes to which the refugee children have transferred are invited to this concert experience. The project is made possible through the generous support of the Karl Schlecht Stiftung and the Heinz und Heide Dürr Stiftung. Children’s concert 6 Fri 25 / Sun 27 May 2018 11 am Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 12 | 19
Berlin Sing Along A sing-along project for primary-school children In collaboration with Berliner Sparkasse bank, the project Berlin Sing Along will take place for the second time during the 2017/18 season and involve three Berlin primary schools. Dilek Kolat, Senator for Health, Care and Equality, has become the patron of the programme. Over the period of half a school year, the children will work together with their music teachers and the Komische Oper Berlin’s experts in musical theatre education to prepare a programme of songs. Together with employees of Berliner Sparkasse and the Berlin state senate, the 900 school students will then give a concert in the Great Hall of the Komische Oper Berlin. They will be supported by the venue’s musicians and ensemble members. The aim of the project is to instil a love of communal singing in the children, and to provide cultural access to school children from many different backgrounds. Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 13 | 19
Season 2017/18 Selam Opera! The intercultural project of the Komische Oper Berlin In 2011, the Komische Oper Berlin launched the intercultural project »Selam Opera!«.»Selam Opera!« takes literally the Komische Oper Berlin’s self- definition as an opera house for everyone, and seeks to create occasions for encounters between the city’s inhabitants and the opera. The intention is to strengthen the links between the opera house and the people of Berlin in the long term and thus contribute to a better culture of peaceful co-existence. Sensitising people with regard to »self« and »other« acts as a stimulus to shed ingrained patterns and to become open to a wider definition of cultural learning. Here the focus is not on the traditional »educational mandate«, which frequently seeks to »elevate« those being educated to a »higher level« – instead, the emphasis is on communal experimentation and action. This cultural self- definition is reflected not only on the stage of the opera house, but also in the composition of the artistic staff and culturally sensitised employees. The audience is invited to share this journey. To the Komische Oper Berlin, »open to the city« doesn’t just mean opening wide the gates to the opera house, its music and its truly special artform for each and every person regardless of their cultural, social or financial background – it also means crossing our own threshold and going out into the city, including through projects such as the »opera dolmuş« (see below). The work on stage also reflects the results of our continued engagement with the topic of »multicultural (city) society«, whether that’s in the previous season’s »Türk Müzik Festivali« with the celebrated performance of the famous group Kardeş Türküler and superstar Candan Erçetin, or in the première of the children’s opera The Town Musicians of Bremen (Bremen Mızıkacıları) written by the Antalya-based composer Attila Kadri Şendil. Here, not only has a contemporary Turkish composer set to music a German fairytale which is also popular in Turkey – the characters also sing together side by side in Turkish and German, in a completely natural way. »Selam Opera!« is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Robert Bosch Foundation, the Deutsche Bank Foundation and Mercedes-Benz Berlin. Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 14 | 19
»Opera dolmuş« Since the 2012/13 season, the »opera dolmuş« (the name is a play on the description for the group taxis typical of Turkey) minibus has been taking singers and musicians from the Komische Oper Berlin on regular visits to institutes in city districts with a high percentage of residents from all manner of cultural backgrounds, in order to locally present a condensed, acting- and music-based journey through 500 years of operatic history. To complement this project, the »opera dolmuş for children« was launched in 2014. Its programme is aimed at a young audience (and their families), and is performed at schools, parents' cafés and intercultural family centres. Pop-up opera Opera meets the city, and vice versa. With our pop-up opera, selected scenes from our current opera repertoire are brought to urban settings in Berlin, in order to engage in dialogue with local residents both before and after the performance about what they have seen, heard and experienced. The performances in every-day settings will be filmed by a camera crew and made accessible to a wide audience as short video clips via social media channels. Translation system – opera for everyone Virtually every seat in the Komische Oper Berlin is equipped with an individual display on which the text of the performance can be optionally read – and in several languages too (excluding concerts, concert-based performances and children's operas). While the translations into English, French and German highlight Berlin's importance to international culture tourism, the translation into Turkish is also intended to serve as an important signal to the city. After all, Berlin is the city with the world's largest Turkish community outside of Turkey. In this regard too, the Komische Oper Berlin sees itself as the »opera house for everyone«. Contact: Mustafa Akça »Selam Opera!« project manager T +49 (0)30 202 60 492 E m.akca@komische-oper-berlin.de Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 15 | 19
Season 2017/18 Barrie Kosky General Director Barrie Kosky is the Intendant and Chefregisseur (Artistic Director) of the Komische Oper Berlin. At the end of his first season for 2012/13, the Komische Oper was voted »Opera House of the Year« by Opernwelt magazine and in 2016, Barrie Kosky was voted »Director of the Year’ by Opernwelt. In 2014, Kosky was voted »Opera Director of the Year« at the International Opera Awards in London and at the same awards in 2015, the Komische Oper was voted »Opera Company of the Year«. His most recent work at the Komische Oper Berlin has included The Magic Flute (co-directed with 1927) which has been seen by over 350,000 people in three continents, The Monteverdi Trilogy, Ball im Savoy, West Side Story, Moses and Aron, Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Jewgeni Onegin, The Pearls of Cleopatra and his production of Castor and Pollux (co-produced by the English National Opera) which won the Laurence Olivier Award for best opera production in 2012. Barrie Kosky has directed opera productions for the Bayerische Staatsoper (Die Schweigsame Frau and The Fiery Angel), Glyndebourne Festival Opera (Saul), Oper Frankfurt (Dido and Aeneas/Bluebeard's Castle and Carmen), the Dutch National Opera (Armide), Opera Zurich (La Fancuilla del West and Macbeth) and Royal Opera House Covent Garden (The Nose). He has also presented his productions at the Los Angeles Opera, Teatro Real Madrid, Gran Liceu Barcelona, Vienna Staatsoper, English National Opera, Oper Graz, Theater Basel, Aalto Theater Essen, Staatsoper Hannover, Deutsches Theater Berlin and Schauspielhaus Frankfurt and is a regular guest at the Edinburgh International Festival. Barrie Kosky was Artistic Director of the 1996 Adelaide Festival and has directed opera and theatre productions for Opera Australia, Sydney Theatre Company, Melbourne Theatre Company and the Sydney and Melbourne International Festivals. From 2001-2005 he was co-Artistic Director of the Vienna Schauspielhaus. His Glyndebourne Festival production of Saul opened the 2017 Adelaide Festival at the beginning of March. As the second new production for the 2016/17 season at the Komische Oper Berlin his staging of The Fair at Sorochintsi opens on April 2. Barrie Kosky will make his Bayreuth Festival debut with Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg in July, 2017. Future plans include invitations to the Bayerische Staatsoper, Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Opera National de Paris, Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 16 | 19
Metropolitan Opera New York, Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and Glyndebourne Festival Opera. New Productions 2017/18 Pelléas et Mélisande Claude Debussy Musical Direction: Jordan de Souza Staging: Barrie Kosky Premiere: 15 October, 2017 Anatevka Jerry Bock Musical Direction: Koen Schoots Staging: Barrie Kosky Premiere: 3 December, 2017 Ich wollt’, ich wär’ ein Huhn! – A Berlin evening Musical Direction: Adam Benzwi Staging: Barrie Kosky World premiere: 30 April, 2018 Die Nase (The Nose) Dmitri D. Shostakowitch Musical Direction: Gabriel Feltz Staging: Barrie Kosky Premiere: 16 June, 2018 Revivals 2017/18 Eine Frau, die weiß, was sie will! (A woman who knows what she wants!) Oscar Straus Musical Direction: Adam Benzwi Staging: Barrie Kosky Wiederaufnahme: 23. September, 2017 La Belle Hélène Jacques Offenbach Musical Direction: Ivo Hentschel / Stefan Soltesz Staging: Barrie Kosky Revival: 1 October, 2017 Die Zauberflöte Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Musical Direction: Ivo Hentschel / Jordan de Souza / Hendrik Vestmann Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 17 | 19
Staging: Suzanne Andrade und Barrie Kosky Revival: 15 December, 2017 Die Perlen der Cleopatra Oscar Straus Musical Direction: Adam Benzwi Staging: Barrie Kosky Revival: 31 January, 2018 Jewgeni Onegin Pjotr I. Tschaikowsky Musical Direction: Jordan de Souza Staging: Barrie Kosky Revival 29 March, 2018 Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 18 | 19
Season 2017/18 And why »komisch« (comic)? When he chose the name Komische Oper (»Comic Opera«), Walter Felsenstein was making a reference not only to the immediacy and popularity of the French Opéra comique but also to the old Komische Oper in Berlin, at Weidendammer Bridge on Friedrichstrasse, which had been destroyed during the war. Hans Gregor, who was General Director there from 1905 to 1911, had been inspired by similar ideas and demanded »art without conventions, prejudices or artistic vanity«. Felsenstein noted in the program book for the opening premiere of the Komische Oper: »Although Komische Oper is the literal translation of Opéra comique, if it is taken literally it is misleading, suggesting a meaning which is not completely appropriate for the genre of musical theatre so unmistakably described by the French term. What is generally known in Germany as Singspiel, Opera Buffo, Operetta or Spieloper does in part fit into the category that is meant here, but it is largely lacking in terms of both musical and intellectual aspiration. The Komische Oper has set itself the task of cultivating the most artistically exquisite and at the same time popular works of international musical theatre from the past, present and future in a varied repertoire. And in doing so, equal emphasis will be placed on both parts of the term musical theatre. For music which does not grow out of a process of performance has nothing to do with theatre, while at the same time a performance which does not identify with the music precisely, in terms of artistic validity, would be better off without music.« In keeping with Felsenstein’s vision, the Komische Oper Berlin remains centered around a set ensemble of virtuosic singer-actors, who present the entire breadth of opera, from the oldest operas of Claudio Monteverdi through to premieres of contemporary works, from the operas of Mozart to the Berlin jazz operettas of the ’20s and ’30s. Last updated: July 2017. Subject to change. 19 | 19
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