Organization

Singer

Tenor

Christoph Homberger

Trimalchio

Soprano

Ursula Langmayr

Criside

Johanna von der Deken

Quartilla

Bass

Colin Mason

Niceros

Bass-baritone

Gerd Kenda

Eumolpus

Conductor

Emilio Pomárico

Mezzo-soprano

Janina Baechle

Fortunata

MusikTheater an der Wien

Others

Klangforum Wien

Satyricon

Vienna

Austria

Theater an der Wien

Approved

In his only partially preserved novel Satyriconthe Roman senator Titus Petronius castigates the perverted debauchery of the nouveau riche upper class in Rome at the time of Nero. Petronius, nicknamed the “arbiter” because he was Nero's “arbiter” of elegance, portrays the political and social decadence of a society on the edge of the abyss with apparent naivety. In 1973, the year he died, Bruno Maderna set the satirical inventory of a society that was dissolving to music. The focus is on the Trimalchio's feast. The former slave has achieved immeasurable wealth, which he flaunts on display in a feast. Maderna worked on this part musically and uncovered the parallels to the twentieth century by means of contemporary expression. The piece avoids any moralizing statement, but creates cross-references through the musical collage technique to the present day. Maderna self-deprecatingly claimed that not a single note was from him. In disordered, loosely arranged scenes, which can be supplemented by recordings, he paints the picture of a society that is bound to perish due to its own decadence. In complete isolation, only music can comfort the broken souls.

English

Satyricon by Maderna, From (2013/2013), Conductor Emilio Pomárico, Theater an der Wien, Vienna, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Program, About & Synopsis

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues