Christian Spuck, artistic director of the Staatsballett Berlin from the next season, will introduce himself to the Berlin audience on 14 April 2023 with his successful production of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Messa da Requiem”. The demanding choral part will be performed by the Rundfunkchor Berlin, which, together with the Staatsballett Berlin, the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin and an ensemble of renowned vocal soloists, will bring Verdi’s masterpiece to life in Spuck’s scenic and dance realisation.
Image above: MESSA DA REQUIEM, P. Semionova, D. Soares, Foto: Serghei Gherciu
Giuseppe Verdi’s MESSA DA REQUIEM is not only one of the most moving works of his compositional oeuvre, but also a choral-symphonic masterpiece in its musical range from submerged intimacy to dramatic monumentality. In impressive images, the dancers of the Staatsballett Berlin, the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the quartet of soloists become part of a monumental work of art in which dance, song and scene merge with each other: “Chorus, singer soloists and dancers inspire each other, give each other energy and pay respect to each other, which is reflected in scenic tension,” says choreographer Christian Spuck. The musical direction is in the hands of Nicholas Carter, the choral rehearsal is by Justus Barleben.
First performed in Milan in 1874, Verdi’s Mass for the Dead, which sets the Latin text of the Catholic liturgy to music, aims far beyond the ecclesiastical ideas of death and resurrection to the ultimate questions of human existence. Thus, choreographer Christian Spuck does not place the religious interpretation of the text at the centre of his 2016 production for Zurich Opera, but moments of mourning, consolation, fear and hope: “In general, the Requiem is about man’s confrontation with death, about the big questions: Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going? In the reflection on the finiteness of existence, we are confronted with ourselves,” says Spuck.
WHAT?
Staatsballett Berlin
MESSA DA REQUIEM – Giuseppe Verdi
Choreography and staging Christian Spuck
Stage design Christian Schmidt
Costumes Emma Ryott
Light Martin Gebhardt
Dramaturgy Michael Küster, Claus Spahn
Soprano Olesya Golovneva
Mezzo Sopranp Karis Tucker | Annika Schlicht
Tenor Attilio Glaser | Andrei Danilov
Bass Lawson Anderson
Soloists and corps de ballet of the Staatsballett Berlin
Rundfunkchor Berlin (Radio Choir Berlin)
Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Orchestra of the Deutsche Oper Berlin)
Choral production Justus Barleben
Musical direction Nicholas Carter
WHEN?
Premiere: Friday, 14. April 2023, 7.30pm
Further dates: 17. & 29. April, 4., 6.& 12. May, 2., 19. 22., 27. June 2023 | each 7.30pm
WHERE?
Deutsche Oper Berlin
Bismarckstraße 35
10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg
