Scenes from the monastery

The Berliner Philharmoniker's so-called Education Program has set itself the task of awakening an enjoyment of classical music across all generations and social classes. The means of this form of musical education are many and varied: there are concerts for children and young people, workshops, projects with marginalized people - this season it is prisoners - and there are the vocal heroes: Amateur choirs for all ages that participate in professional events. And the driving forces are always top musical talents, first and foremost Sir Simon Rattle, who initiated the program furiously almost 20 years ago with the dance spectacle Le Sacre du printemps, and most recently conducted modern operas tailored to the concept. His successor Kirill Petrenko continues the commitment. As his debut, the new Philharmonic leader chooses Suor Angelica, the lyrical centerpiece of Giacomo Puccini's three-part Il Trittico, which he has already conducted in its entirety in Munich. The tragedy of a young woman who, after the birth of her illegitimate son, is banished by her family to a convent, where she learns of his death through her aunt and then seeks suicide, is unusual in terms of material for an education program. But the timelessness of the mother-child theme may have been decisive for the choice, especially since the short opera offers many small roles for young female artists. Nicola Hümpel, director of the renowned performance troupe Nico and the Navigators, who just had a huge success in Hannover with Rossini's Barbiere di Siviglia in Hanover, subtly updates Suor Angelica to include the fate of children threatened by war and hunger, along with a call for donations for a war children's project in the Congo printed in the program booklet. The nuns are a community of outsiders. In an added piano prologue of Puccini motifs, they introduce themselves one by one. Then follows the opera, in which Hümpel visualizes the confining convent life by means of synchronized movements, ritual actions and dance sketches. For this purpose, the faces are superimposed on a screen in close-up - a characteristic of the Navigators and their stage designer Oliver Proske. Faith to Face, that is, after all, the subtitle. The appearance and departure of the aunt is also seen on video. via video. She gets out of a cab and wanders through the foyer of the Philharmonie until she finally enters the stage. Later, after her tense duet with Angelica, she will get drunk in the bar. But basically, so much scenic actionism is not necessary at all. Because it distracts from the music and yet one wants to absorb every beat intensely. Because under the hands of Kirill Petrenko, Puccini's score becomes the main attraction. If only because the conductor celebrates it with so much devotion. The way he lets the music flow organically, bringing out the finest dynamic gradations and tonal colors: That makes the performance an event. It goes without saying that the scholarship holders of the Karajan Academy follow Petrenko's markings with the greatest attention and translate them into a magical sound. Ann Tomey's Angelica, after a restrained beginning, rises to poignant vocal and acting intensity, crowned by luminous high Cs. Katarina Dalayman exudes majestic authority as the Aunt and impresses with a profound contralto. The nuns are sung by up-and-comers, some of whom are still students. Representative of the high vocal level of the soloists is Daniela Vega's Abbess. And also the vocal heroines distinguish themselves by absolute homogeneity. Great jubilation in the sold-out Philharmonie after a memorable educational performance.

<< Back to press overview