An angel for Rossini

We are used to singers being able to sing, play and dance in all situations. But that a pianist continues to play even when an actor is ruffling her hair, and that a conductor also turns out to be a passionate actor, is unusual. This is the third time that the Berlin troupe Nico and the Navigators have been guests at the Bregenz Festival as part of Kunst aus der Zeit (KAZ). Their multi-layered approach to Gioachino Rossini and his "Petite Messe Solennelle" captivated the audience on two evenings on the Werkstattbühne. There's a softly purring man in a brown hooded cloak with Buddhist-inspired recommendations and a mocking doubter named Benedict - they talk past each other in a whimsical English-German dialogue. There are many allusions, image quotations and cross-references, for example when the dancer Yui Kawaguchi with her gifted body language makes two carved "praying hands" bob like angels' wings. A variably used stage set, sometimes a choir podium, sometimes an altar, a prison or a confessional, can be disassembled into a psycho couch or a balancing seesaw. Twelve joyful singers unite to a homogonous choir, from which the solo voices (Laura Mitchell, Ulrike Mayer, Milos Bulajic and Pauls Putnins) emerge.

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