Name: King Arthur
Start: 2017-01-15T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2017-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Schiller Theater

Admin

Organization

Singer

Anett Fritsch

Singers

Robin Johannsen

Benno Schachtner

Conductor

René Jacobs

Stage director

Sven-Eric Bechtolf

Costume designer

Kevin Pollard

Set designer

Julian Crouch

Spoken

Michael Rotschopf

King Arthur

Max Urlacher

Oswald

Axel Wandtke

Conon

Hans-Michael Rehberg

Merlin

Oliver Stokowski

Osmond

Steffen Schortie Scheumann

Aurelius

Meike Droste

Emmeline

Sigrid Maria Schnückel

Mathilda

Bass

Tom Radisch

Grimbald

Ferdinand Kraemer

Young Arthur

Lighting designer

Olaf Freese

Video designer

Joshua Higgason

Choreographer

Gail Skrela

Dramaturge

Detlef Giese

Chorus master

Martin Wright

Soprano

Philidels Geist

Stephan Rügamer

Ténor

Mark Milhofer

Arttu Kataja

Basse

Johannes Weisser

State Opera Berlin

Orchestra

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Others

Staatsopernchor Berlin

Ein Skills Ensemble

angličtina

němčina

Berlin

Germany

Schiller Theater

Gläsernes Foyer

King Arthur was Purcell’s biggest triumph as a composer for the theatre, enjoying revivals throughout the 1690s and well into the following century. Its patriotic content was doubtless a contributory factor, but probably more telling was the way Purcell’s music so consistently hit the target in the aspects that matter most. Of his four semioperas, this is the one which engages most intimately with the emotions and situations it depicts, showing off not just his spontaneous tunefulness and compositional skill and daring at their best, but also his dramatic genius at its most inspired.

King Arthur by H. Purcell, from Staatsoper Unter den Linden, performed at Staatsoper im Schiller Theater, Berlin, 2017. Directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf Julian Crouch, conductor René Jacobs, starring Meike Droste, Tom Radisch, Michael Rotschopf, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Oliver Stokowski, Max Urlacher, Sigrid Maria Schnückel, Annett Fritsch, Axel Wandtke, Benno Schachtner, Robin Johannsen, Steffen Schortie Scheumann. Performed in English and subtitled in English, German, French, Japanese and Korean.

Staatsoper Unter den Linden

What does Henry Purcell (1659–1695) mean by “dramatick opera,” the description of his King Arthur, or The British Worthy? Conductor René Jacobs—Baroque specialist and connoisseur since his beginnings as a countertenor in the 1970s—makes it clear in a new production of the masterwork, staged by the brilliant Sven-Eric Bechtolf, which cleverly adapts the original dialogues that animated the hybrid music-theatre form in 17th-century England.

This version of the 1691 semi-opera puts a refreshing twist on the story of King Arthur, transposing the action to World War II-era England where politics and history blend with satire and fantasy to create a fascinating and polished final product. The expressive force, breathtaking variety, and inexhaustible beauty of Purcell’s score are rounded out by fragments of different works by Purcell and others, often accompanying the reshaped spoken dialogues in an almost cinematic style; the spellbinding music, coupled with magnetic stage performances, dazzling sets and costumes, panoramic video projections, and even puppets, make this a compelling interpretation of a timeless classic you'll want to watch again and again!

King Arthur Purcell

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Approved

Watch full performance here: King Arthur (2017)


King Arthur by H. Purcell, from Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin, performed at Staatsoper im Schiller Theater, Berlin, 2017. Directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf and Julian Crouch, conductor René Jacobs, starring Meik

King Arthur - Preview clip

Die Briten und die Sachsen kämpfen um die Vorherrschaft. Die Einen schöpfen Kraft aus dem christlichen Glauben wie aus der Schlagkraft ihres Heeres unter der Führung des ritterlichen Königs Arthur, die Anderen hängen heidnischen Kulten an und hoffen auf ihren König Oswald. Ohne ihre Zauberer, die sie mit weißer wie schwarzer Magie unterstützen, wären sie freilich verloren. Und zudem ist da noch die schöne, blinde Emmeline …

Mit seiner 1691 am Londoner Dorset Garden Theatre erstmals aufgeführten »Dramatick Opera« gelang dem Dichter John Dryden und dem Komponisten Henry Purcell ein veritabler Theatercoup. Sprech- und Gesangsszenen verbinden sich auf organische Weise, mit eingängigen Singstücken wie mit Dialogen, die mal ernsthaft-pathetisch, mal witzig-komödiantisch daherkommen. Das »Alte England« wird heraufbeschworen, auf zuweilen augenzwinkernde Weise, und mit ihm die Geschehnisse um den legendären King Arthur, der mit dem Magier Merlin und dem Luftgeist Philidel an seiner Seite alle Kämpfe besteht und allen Widrigkeiten trotzt. Sven-Eric Bechtolf und Julian Crouch haben in ihrer Inszenierung eine phantastische Bühnenwelt kreiert, mit einer Rahmenhandlung um einen kleinen Jungen, der seinen im Krieg gefallenen Vater vermisst und ihn in Erzählungen und im märchenhaften Spiel wieder zu entdecken scheint – in einem Spiel zwischen Traum und Realität, inmitten alter Sagen und gegenwärtigen Geschehnissen, voller Inspiration und Melancholie.

Deutsch

The British and the Saxons fight for supremacy. Some draw strength from the Christian faith and from the clout of their army under the leadership of the knightly King Arthur, others cling to pagan cults and hope for their king Oswald. Without their sorcerers, who support them with white and black magic, they would of course be lost. And then there's the beautiful, blind Emmeline...

With his »Dramatick Opera«, first performed in 1691 at London's Dorset Garden Theatre, the poet John Dryden and the composer Henry Purcell achieved a veritable theatrical coup. Speaking and singing scenes combine in an organic way, with catchy songs and dialogues that are sometimes serious and pathetic, sometimes funny and comedic. »Old England« is conjured up, sometimes in a tongue-in-cheek way, and with it the events surrounding the legendary King Arthur, who, with the magician Merlin and the air spirit Philidel at his side, survives all battles and defies all adversities. In their production, Sven-Eric Bechtolf and Julian Crouch have created a fantastic stage world, with a background story about a little boy,

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