LOVABLE CHAOS

Because it promises to be so good and there are still places available, we are taking one last look in February to recommend that you visit the opera Artaserse by Johann Adolf Hasse at the Rudolf Steiner Haus.
Love and loyalty, deceit, betrayal and forgiveness are negotiated as the usual opera ingredients, in this case against the backdrop of Persian royalty around 5oo centuries BC with not a little ancient emotional worlds to which we can establish immediate access regardless of time and origin.

For inspiration and to get you in the mood, we have linked an interview on operawire with Isolde Kittel-Zerer and Mark Tucker, who are the joint artistic directors and introduced the students to opera as part of the Historical Performance Practice seminar. The work was also enriched by Catharina Lühr with her baroque dance workshops and her contribution to scenic design as well as the coloratura mezzo-soprano and specialist in the baroque bel canto repertoire Vivica Genaux with a three-day master class in November.

Artaserse on February 27 and 28 at the Rudolf Steiner Haus

Christoph Dobbitsch - cineaste through and through, music-loving film scholar, tireless and enthusiastic project organizer, who has been regularly presenting us with cinematic delicacies with musical references for around three years. Sometimes here, sometimes there, sometimes blockbusters, sometimes niche art, sometimes with an audience, sometimes without, always glowing, always positive, always with a personal introduction.
And absolutely every film sounds from his mouth as if it were THE film.
The Movies meet Music series will feature the Muppets on March 1:

"The Muppets are and remain a cross-generational phenomenon that has influenced me since I was a child. The lovable chaos that Kermit, Piggy and the rest of the gang brought to TV screens and big screens is still unparalleled today. The special thing about the movie we're showing is that it's ideal for Muppet fans and newcomers alike. On the one hand, it is a love letter to the show's beginnings, which date back 50 years, and on the other, it is an update for a modern, young audience. Even if you've never seen a Muppet on the big screen, this is a great place to start.
It's also one of the best (and funniest) comedy musicals imaginable: Bret McKenzie (of Flight of the Conchords comedy duo fame) has written great feel-good songs that are lavishly brought to the screen by a gigantic ensemble of Muppets and humans. For me, an absolute feel-good movie, with heart, humor and of course lots of Muppets, that no one should miss!"

The Muppets at the SAVOY Filmtheater on March 1

As expected, the jazz section hardly takes a break and continues to provide us with good concerts. In March, we recommend guitarist Juan Pablo Ortiz from the Dr. Langner Jazzmaster with his latest project Tief Traum: it's about the beauty of biodiversity, the threat of environmental destruction, forces of communal resistance, South American landscapes, current realities and historical issues.
For his "Artist in Residence" project, Juan has invited Argentinian saxophonist Camila Nebbia. Together with his band, they combine collective improvisation, odd meters and visual art.

Tief Traum on March 4 at the JazzHall

It's that time again: for the third time, we are opening our doors to the amateur pianists among you and inviting you to indulge in your hobby with like-minded people, exchange ideas, get valuable tips, try out techniques, refine your sound and finally perform as an active participant in the final concert. Passive participants are also welcome. Registration is still possible until February 28.
We look forward to eventful days!

Piano days for amateur pianists on March 7 and 8

Preparations for Tamina Alex's final production are in full swing. The program includes the English-language, one-act opera Fête Galante by British composer, conductor, writer and committed women's rights activist Ethel Smythe.

We spoke to director Tamina Alex...
...about the topicality of the subject matter
"What I find particularly interesting about it is the historicized examination of patriarchal, heteronormative power structures. Also the question of how queer people break up this system with dazzling performances of identity. The plot itself is a relatively archetypal story from the commedia dell'arte, but in my understanding of directing, this offers us a lot of scope for interpretation."

...on the adaptation of the material
"The opera from the 1920s was written in a historicist style by Ethel Smyth herself. A good hundred years later, we try to remain as timeless as possible and have set the plot in a fictitious time and space, while at the same time retaining some historicizing markers of an absolute court, whose systemic nature is also reminiscent of current social tendencies. The aesthetics also combine elements of past and present, e.g. in the costume design with the combination of baroque hoop skirt silhouettes with modern denim fabric."

...about the special appeal of
"The first thing that struck me about Fête Galante was the music, how playful and dreamy it sounds and then suddenly becomes very grand and tragic, especially towards the end. I also found it exciting that the cast of characters has an ensemble character, with a fairly even distribution of appearances and vocal parts for all the characters. I therefore decided to have everyone on stage for almost the entire play. In addition, Pierrot and King are very interesting characters whose relationship to each other and to the world of the Fête Galante is perhaps more than meets the eye."

...on the challenges of the production
"In our production, the opera is expanded with drag, which we see as a modern continuation of the typical Fête Galante motif of a (masked) ball. One challenge is to combine these queer show elements with the rigid plot structure of the opera. In our cast, in addition to the six singers, there are three performers who have to be integrated into the dramaturgy of the evening in a comprehensible way.
In the original, Pierrot dies at the end, but we will have a happy ending. Of course, this requires us to create a meaningful structure for it."

Get on your feet. The Forum may bubble at our gallant fete :-)
FêteGalante by Ethel Smythe on March 20, 21 and 22 at the Forum

Most recently they were on display at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, and from the end of March they will be making a stop at a pop-up gallery in Eimsbüttel for six weeks: the Moving Sound Pictures by multimedia artist and VR developer Konstantina Orlandatou combine painting, music and virtual reality to create an interactive experience. Classical and contemporary works are transformed into immersive soundscapes that can be playfully discovered and reinterpreted.
For example, you can juggle with colorful shapes from the paintings of Henri Mattise or Wassily Kandinsky, make music with Pablo Picasso's abstract depiction of a guitar and mandolin, and not only see but also hear colors - and transform entire visual worlds into sound with a single movement.

VR Pop-Up Gallery: Moving Sound Pictures from March 28 to May 2
Wednesdays to Fridays (13-19) and Saturdays and Sundays (11-17)

...can be found as usual in our calendar of events