On November 16, in the frameworks of the International Festival "Digital Opera 2.0. Opera of the digital age”, chamber theatre “St. Petersburg Opera” will present the audience the opera “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” (W.A.Mozart) staged by the artistic director of the theatre Yury Alexandrov.
The festival “Digital Opera 2.0. Opera of the digital age” is a new milestone in art. How does modern technology transform a musical performance? How does the classic take on a new meaning? Answers will be given at the forum “Digital Opera 2.0.”, which takes place in St. Petersburg from October 01 to November 30, 2019.
The play “Die Entführung aus dem Serail” is a vivid example of how the usage of video art in sets helps to turn the stage space into a fantastic world of an oriental fairy tale.
“In the challenging labyrinth of the play, the honoured spectator will see not only an exciting funny story about the adventures of young loving each other people in fabulously unpredictable Turkey of the XVIII century. It is lyrical narration of the difficult relationship between Mozart and his wife Constance”.
“Die Entführung aus dem Serail” is the first national opera written in the tradition of the singspiel, which now remains in the world repertoire the oldest opera in the German language. The genre singspiel which is a fun play with music, was distributed in Germany and Austria in the late XVIII - early XIX centuries. All the action is supported with conversational dialogues, and musical acts reveal the feelings of the characters.
Along with the melodies of the Austrian and German folk songs, there is a buffoon patter is shown, virtuoso roulades are combined with an expressive, intonationally truthful recitative.
Mozart's work on the opera coincided with the composer's marriage to Constance Weber. Mozart's father was against this marriage, but the situation was resolved instantly: Mozart kidnapped Constance. The marriage took place three weeks after the premiere of the opera. It was the happiest period in the life of Mozart, which is reflected in the music. In addition, the main character of the opera has the same name as Wolfgang Amadeus' wife.