20th and 21st December
9.30pm
Teatro Nacional S. João
Peter Stein / Madalena Crippa
(Alemanha / Itália)
Schonberg Kabarett
Arnold Schonberg
Voice Maddalena Crippa
Costumes Moidele Bickel
Production by Teatro Massimo di Palermo
in collaboration with Accademia Filarmonica Romana (Italy), Opera de Nice and Théâtre de Nice (France)
Performed in German, with Portuguese subtitles.
Approximate length: 2 hrs (with interval)
Schönberg's Pierrot Lunaire, composed in 1911 for a
singer-actress and an instrumental quintet, is a 20th century landmark. For the first time
in Portugal, Peter Stein, one of the most significant names in post-war theatre, offers us
a limpid version of this piece. This is complemented by the Brettl-Lieder, composed by
Schönberg for a Berlin literary cabaret. Eight songs deriving from Wedekind, Biernbaum,
Sahl and Schikaneder, the poet of The Magic Flute, are the inspiration for eight
small-scale stagings.
"Stein turns a piece generally presented in
concert form into a theatrical work. It was, however, Schönberg himself who composed his
Pierrot for an actress, in the Sprechgesang tradition, the spoken song, in contrast to
singing. Making it theatrical in this way keeps me in constant movement and creates a
continuous game with the musicians on stage. Schönberg's music becomes more accessible,
his structural path and the density of his writing is clarified."
Maddalena Crippa - La Repubblica