Organization

Conductor

Johannes Zahn

Ines Kaun

Stage director

Franziska Angerer

Set designer

Valentina Pino Reyes

Costume designer

Dramaturge

Isabelle Becker

Video designer

Fabio Stoll

Carolin Müller-Dohle

Singer

Georg Festl

Prisoner

Jana Baumeister

Soul

Staatstheater Darmstadt

Others

Kinder- und Jugendchor des Staatstheaters Darmstadt

Chor des Staatstheaters Darmstadt

Orchestra

Staatsorchester Darmstadt

Extras of the Darmstadt State Theater

The Prison

Darmstadt

Germany

Staatstheater

Großes Haus

Public

Approved

The Prison Smyth

Zeit ihres Lebens widersetzte sich Ethel Smyth den Normen der Gesellschaft: Sie etablierte sich in einer Männerwelt als finanziell unabhängige und erfolgreiche Komponistin und war Wortführerin der Frauenrechtsbewegung. Im Alter von 72 Jahren schuf sie mit der Vokalsinfonie „The Prison“ ihre letzte große Komposition. In einer Zelle sitzt ein namenloser Gefangener und wartet auf die Hinrichtung. Seine ausweglose Situation reflektiert er in einem Zwiegespräch mit seiner Seele,
Echostimmen aus dem Jenseits kommentieren das Geschehen. Das Werk handelt von Verwandlungsprozessen und Grenzüberschreitungen – vom Leben zum Tod, von der Gefangenschaft im menschlichen Körper zur Auflösung in einem größeren Ganzen. Mit „The Prison“ kehrt die Regisseurin Franziska Angerer zurück ans Staatstheater Darmstadt und entwirft ein überzeitliches Panorama von mythologischen Totenriten bis hin zu futuristischen Fiktionen, in denen die Grenzen zwischen Geschlechtern und Spezies verschwimmen

Deutsch

Ethel Smyth, born in 1858, defied the norms of society throughout her life: in her patriarchal environment, she established herself as a financially independent and successful composer and was the spokesman for the women's rights movement. At the age of 72 she created her last major composition, the vocal symphony "The Prison". An unnamed prisoner sits in a cell awaiting execution. He reflects on his hopeless situation in a dialogue with his soul, echoing voices from beyond comment on what is happening.

In her production, director Franziska Angerer tells “The Prison” as a reflection on how the human individual enters an endless network in which the boundaries between life and death, gender and species dissolve. The evening she designed is a feminist journey that interweaves the scenic premiere of Smyth's composition with two accompanying performative-musical parts.

The first part of the evening is created in collaboration with the artists Anna McCarthy and Manu Rzytki. In a public procession on Georg-Büchner-Platz, together with a female choir ensemble and members of the children's choir, they evoke memories of Ethel Smyth's work as a suffragette and bring her musical legacy to life. The audience then experiences the scenic premiere of "The Prison" on the spatial stage of the Staatstheater Darmstadt. Franziska Angerer's hybrid production between live installation and theater deals with processes of transformation and crossing borders - from life to death, from imprisonment in the human body to dissolution in a larger whole. Elsa M'bala's music, which will be heard in the third part of the evening, combines field recordings with powerful groove and experimental sound design. M'bala expresses considerations of race, cultural background, gender and spirituality in her compositions, challenging prejudices about how a person's music should sound based on their origin and gender.

English

The Prison by Smyth, From (2023/2023), Directed by Franziska Angerer,, Conductor Johannes Zahn, Ines Kaun, Staatstheater, Darmstadt, Germany

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues