FIASCKO (2016-2018)A feature film opera by K.A.U. & Wdowik (Philipp Bergmann, Thea Reifler, Matthias Schönijahn, Małgorzata Wdowik)Urauffürhung with compositions by Wojtek Blecharz (UA),Hans-Joachim Hespos (UA), Giuseppe Verdi, Richard Wagner, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and others.Premiere on 29 March 2018Darmstadt State Theatre, Großes Haus
Opera Staging - Pictures: Killa Schuetze
FIASKO is an opera with a film as libretto, for an opera choir without prima donna, a "Urauffürhung" without a completed work. Above all, however, it is an invitation to the audience to embark on a journey through a Europe in a state of limbo, through strange sound and image landscapes, and to listen to opera music in a different way. The focus is on a personal story with political potential: an opera singer loses her voice and sets off from Germany through Poland to Kaliningrad, through deserted regions and places where she meets musical traditions and changing (sound) landscapes. As a ghostly echo, they accompany opera quotations from times when she still possessed her voice. In FIASKO, this dystopian story forms the framework for the most diverse voices and stories that we encounter along the way. With their songs and dances, traditional clubs from Germany and Poland allow us to take a look at their past, their future, their region, their country. FIASKO is not a world premiere in the classical sense. It is a "Stückentwiklung" (new creation) development in opera.
Research Trip - Pictures: Dino Osmanovic
Movie Shots - Dino Osmanovic
FIASKO uses original sounds, foreign texts, musical quotations and the means of collage. Compositional ready-mades from the classical opera repertoire as a living archive of various works are juxtaposed with new compositions by Wojtek Blecharz. In between, highlights of Hans-Joachim Hespos' composition "CHE" appear. The orchestra plays a Polish folk song together with the original sound of the film's musicians. The film becomes the background for choral passages by Verdi and an accordionist finds musical expression for the lost voice. In addition, the choir, in its diversity and its full potential of polyphony, takes centre stage. FIASKO is a prototype, the search for another form of opera.
CONTRIBUTORSMusical: Direction Johannes HarneitIdea, text, direction, film: Philipp Bergmann, Thea Reifler, Matthias Schönijahn, Małgorzata Wdowik Composition: Wojtek BlecharzDramaturgy: Matthias MohrStage and costume design: Rahel KesselringStage video, video editing, light design: René LiebertChoir arrangements: Alessandro ZuppardoChoir production: Elena BeerSound Design: Sebastian FrankeVideograding: Daniel HollerwegerAccordion: Stefanie MirwaldCorrepetition: Irina SkhirtladzeExtras: Ewald Jeutter, Pasquale PonziPolish voice: Magdalena BojanowskaFolklore Group: Zespół Pieśni i Tańca Krakowiak Darmstadt e.V. Production Management Theresa Willeke Assistant Director: Yannic BlauertWith: The Opera Choir of the State theatre Darmstadt, The State Orchestra DarmstadtContributing film: Idea, text, direction Philipp Bergmann, Thea Reifler, Matthias Schönijahn,Małgorzata VdovikActress: Magdalena KoleśnikCamera: Dino OsmanovicSet Design: Rahel boiler ringCamera Assistant: Benjamin SchmidProduction Management: Silvia DudekFolklore groups: Biskupiański Zespół Folklorystyczny z Domachowa i Okolic,Biskupiański Zespół Folklorystyczny z Domachowa i Okolic,Die Fröhlichen Harzgebirgler, Jadgdhornbläser der Jägerschaft Peitz, Kapela Dudziarska„Manugi“, Wolfshäger Hexenbrut, Zespół Pieśni i Tańca Ziemia Bydgoska, Ludwik Choszcz,Supported by the Fonds Doppelpass der Kulturstfitung des Bundes, the Kulturfonds Rhein-Main, the hessian Ministry of Science and Art and the State theatre Darmstadt.