Like a truffle pig in search of love and meaning

Nico and the Navigators interpreted Gioachino Rossini's "Petite messe solennelle" imaginatively and wittily Nico and the Navigators, the successful and original music theater troupe around Nicola Hümpel, gave a guest performance of Rossini's "Petite messe solennelle" at the Bregenz Festival. During the performance, singers, musicians, actors as well as a dancer interpreted the extraordinary mass composition by Gioachino Rossini with an imaginative visual language. Rich in associations and with a playful musical approach, religious-philosophical questions were posed in the space, which allowed a variety of individual interpretations. The twelve choristers performed admirably, demonstrating their great mastery not only in singing but also in acting. Gioachino Rossini set a monument to himself with his late work, the "Petite messe solennelle", which also distinguished him as an artist with a pronounced sense of self-irony and humor. At the same time, this unusual mass composition radiates a serene seriousness that is unparalleled. The Berlin music theater group "Nico and the Navigators" made use of these compositional qualities for their individual interpretation of this "small festive mass". Outstanding singers Above all, the twelve singers under the direction of Nicholas Jenkins impressed with their musical performance. Soloists were Laura Mitchell, soprano; Ulrike Mayer, mezzo-soprano; Milos Bulajic, tenor; and Pauls Putnins, bass. Despite a multi-layered choreography and countless acting cues, they came across as relaxed and confident. The musically demanding mass parts sounded humorous, sometimes with almost too much ambiguity, and the contrapuntal voice-leadings were particularly noteworthy. Unusual instrumentation The "Petite messe solennelle" is set for two pianos and harmonies, and it was in this instrumentation that "Nico and the Navigators" presented the work. Thus, the singers and musicians stayed very close to the original version and achieved a pronounced stringency. Well solved was the positioning of the instruments, which could be variably positioned on the stage on rolling tableaus. SooJin Anjou and David Zobel on the pianos as well as Jan Gerdes on the harmonium made music in the service of the choristers and highly concentrated. Ironic social criticism To translate the mass composition into a music theater performance, director and ensemble leader Nicola Hümpel introduced three protagonists and a dancer. In whimsical, witty and sarcastic dialogues, Peter Fasching, Adrian Gillot and Patric Schott addressed a search for meaning. Among other things, religious representatives were experienced as seducers and people who talk about wanting to listen, but are most concerned with themselves. All protagonists were corrupt in their own way and in different contexts. An abstruse esotericism and the wellness boom as well as the longing for the idyll in the countryside were presented as a substitute for religion. A simple but extremely refined stage design and a grandstand construction, which contained numerous surprising elements of use, enriched the performance. Dancer in a class of her own The dancer Yui Kawaguchi was in a class of her own. Her dance contributions seemed entirely inspired by the music, infused with an infectious humorous streak and an acrobatic lightness that significantly enriched the performance. Thoughts on the direction of KAZ "Nico and the Navigators" made a guest appearance as part of the Bregenz Festival's "Art from Time" track. They offered profound entertainment at the highest level and received much acclaim on the workshop stage. However, this performance does not seem to me to be appropriately placed within the framework of "Kunst aus der Zeit" (KAZ). As is well known, this "third mainstay" of the festival has been massively cut this year, with only three events taking place as part of the KAZ. It is symptomatic that precisely the advanced art forms have fallen victim to the austerity programs. Immediately after the 2011 festival season, Laura Berman, the artistic director of Art from Time, was - to put it casually - "immobilized." From the "Art out of Time" program track, I expect music and music theater forms that are truly at the cutting edge of our time, that do not point backward into the future, but are actually forward-looking.

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