Music and dance theater | 11. November 2024
The idea of combining Henry Purcell‘s short and only opera with dance is not new. Theaters Bern increase the impressive love story between peace and war in ancient Carthage from 60 to 90 minutes, but Christel Johannessen’s uninspired production fizzles out in the desert of North Africa. The stage designs and the graceful baroque from the pit are strong.
After the party comes the hangover for the residents of Carthage: the dance ensemble from Bühnen Bern with Toshitaka Nakamura (top left) and Romane Ruggiero (top right).Photos: Gregory Batardon
The theater audience in Bern has a hard time with baroque operas, which has to do with the demand in general, which is moderate to say the least. Therefore, a musical theater that combines two genres is obvious. The intention for this came from the former dance director Estefania Miranda. The “Dido & Aeneas” project was announced in advance as a dance and opera evening. The opus itself was based on the epic “Aeneid” by Virgil and was premiered in London around 1688; Nahum Tate wrote the libretto.
Famous opera aria
The action is set after the end of the Trojan War around 1182 BC. The hero Aeneas has survived the slaughter and flees across the Mediterranean to northern Africa, where he meets Dido, the graceful queen of Carthage. The love between the two, which appears instantaneously, does not last. In the opera, witches team up with a sorceress to bring young happiness to an abrupt end. Dido’s Lament, the protagonist’s final and dying aria, went down in opera history.
We go to the nearest disco and shake to the beat of Wackelwabdidab
Nina Hagen in «New York, New York»
In disco fever: the choir and dance ensemble from Bühnen Bern.
Shaking to the beat
In the Bern City Theater, however, the spectacle does not begin with delicate baroque music, but with pounding beats. “We go to the next disco, one disco after the other disco, and shake to the beat of Wackelwabdidab,” sang Nina Hagen in her hymn to New York in 1983. So loud is the buzz, so simple is the choreography by Christel Johannessen in collaboration with the Dancers from Bern Ballet. There is no real concept behind it.
Conductor and violinist
The wildly twitching dance performances at the beginning last too long and do not attempt to get the audience in the mood for old music. The first bars from the baroque solitaire are all the more blunt. At least for opera fans, the sounds of the Bern Symphony Orchestra, which plays in the raised pit as is customary in the Baroque period, would have been a relief. Conductor Artem Lonhinov keeps the reins tight and then plays the violin virtuoso in an inserted sonata by Giuseppe Tartini. There are truly sublime musical moments that flash through the hustle and bustle.
Conductor Artem Lonhinov keeps the reins tight and then plays the violin virtuoso in an inserted sonata by Giuseppe Tartini
One stage set, many scenes: Indar Carmona Viñas and Nikola’s wife take the plunge.
Stage great, costumes flop
Two staircase elements with different front and back sides, which can be rotated around their own axis, dominate the image in this feature-length production. “Reduce to the max,” say the Americans. In this way, stage manager Ingvar Juli creates powerful visual moments that have an impact. Christian Aufderstroth effectively provides the right light. Bregje van Balen’s washed-out costumes, on the other hand, are reminiscent of sandal films like “The Ten Commandments” in Technicolor, and mind you, we’re not talking about noble warrior armor here.
Involuntary student theater
Johannessen can’t quite decide where to place the story in time. Despite the clear assignment of the stage and the costumes, the extras loudly collect empty PET bottles, and cooler boxes and Tupperware are handled at an outdoor picnic. The story with the wolves and the deer, a story within the story, involuntarily degenerates into a silly school theater.
However, the movements sometimes seem redundant and therefore often prove to be a stopgap, which counteracts the flow of the game rather than complementing it
Opera meets dance: countertenor Elmar Hauser and dancer Andrey Alves.
Routines Together
The dance is performed routinely and with commitment by the ensemble over long stretches. However, the movements sometimes seem redundant and therefore often prove to be a stopgap, which counteracts the flow of the game rather than complementing it. The dancers Andrey Alves, Nicolas Frau, Indar Carmona Viñas, Marieke Monquil and Romane Ruggiero deserve special mention.
Beautiful voices: Belinda (Patricia Westley) (left) and Dido (Evgenia Asanova).
Climbing tour during the dying aria
Evgenia Asanova brings her timbred mezzo-soprano into position as Dido, but the final aria is a bit too loud, which is probably also because the artist has to “climb a mountain” at the back of the stage. Jonathan McGovern scores with his middle baritone and perfect diction. Patricia Westley’s soprano sounds beautifully and brightly as Belinda, Elmar Hauser impresses with his angelic countertenor as the sorceress and ghost. The Bern Theater Choir under the direction of Zsolt Czetner is also vocally strong.
The applause is always frenetic during dance performances, the most successful category at Bühnen Bern. At the premiere last Sunday, the cheers were slightly limited. It will be interesting to see how the people of Bern honor this evening of dance and opera. Some people probably expected far more emotions and passion here. But the spark doesn’t really ignite.
Peter’s culture tip
“Dido & Aeneas”
Henry Purcell
by Christel Johannessen
Bern Theaters, Bern City Theater
Kornhausplatz 20, 3011 Bern
Further performances until Sunday, January 5, 2025
Peace or War? (vlnr): Andrey Alves, Nicolas Frau, Jonathan McGovern (Aeneas), Léonard Blondel and Edoardo Deodati.
