Empathy for the Devil
"A part of that force that always wants evil..." : With the revival of "Empathy for the Devil", Nico and the Navigators question the usual, purely negative perception and representation of the devilish. The Staged Concert not only examines the causes and origins of evil, but also asks about the necessity of such a construction, without which good would possibly be unthinkable.
“The beginning of a rousing evening has been given: … The ensemble sings and dances as if intoxicated and in between thinks about good and evil. As if possessed by the physical, singers, dancers and actors outdo each other... Evil seduces... Nico and the Navigators lead the viewer through the abyss of the soul and make it clear: The devil, that's us all. The premiere audience enjoys this parade of evil and applauds enthusiastically.”
ANNA SCHORS / WORLD OF OPERA
NICO AND THE NAVIGATORS have developed a production that examines the ambivalent relationship between the supposedly good and the supposedly evil. "Empathy for the Devil" (as a pathetic-ironic salute to the "Sympathy" of the Rolling Stones) addresses the role of that power personified in the devil, which according to Goethe "always wants evil / and always creates good".
In this staged concert, an almost unmanageable abundance of diabolical material in literature and music was viewed and set in illuminating contrasts. Classic material and pop songs that refer to the diabolical and the attraction of evil are used in their own arrangements. Benjamin Britten meets Jeff Buckley, Peter Tchaikovsky meets David Bowie and Georg Friedrich Handel meets the Beatles. And of course, in addition to Charles Gounod's seductive "Golden Calf", the demonic Samiel from Carl Maria von Weber's opera "Der Freischütz" also appears, the anniversary of the premiere of which provided the external occasion for "Empathy for the Devil".
In view of the current world situation, it goes without saying that, in addition to private contracts with the devil and his deadly sins, there will also be political alliances and end-time prophecies. .
