forum:lockenhaus have taken over as promoter of the project, which had
been originally planned to be launched in Berlin, but was then
unexpectedly and suddenly halted due to the singing ban imposed by the
Corona-infection protection regulations of the Berlin Senate.
At a time when performing great opera is impossible, COSÌ.20 gathers
together a complete opera company in a compact format, benevolently
exploiting the versatility of its members. In addition to a fantastic
handpicked line-up – including soprano Johanna Winkel and tenor Benedikt
Kristjánsson – the cast includes artistic director, baritone and
pianist Dietrich Henschel and conductor Gabriella Teychenné as well as
the Vogler Quartett.
In their work, the artistic team addresses the question of how to deal
creatively with the new conditions caused by the Covid 19 pandemic. "The
health threat is real", the COSÌ.20 members say and add:
“Viral infections that take place via droplet transmission and aerosols
can only be fought by protective measures such as spatial distance and
masks. If you take that seriously, it doesn't mean that performative art
is impossible. However, performances have to change: reduced
orchestras, shorter performance times, safety distances, respiratory
masks, these are new conditions that theatre and concert events have to
adapt to.” COSÌ.20 goes one step further: “We are not simply
reducing ourselves to a Corona format, we are accepting the new
conditions, taking them as the basis for our artistic examination of an
ingenious opera from the repertoire. COSÌ.20 gains its actual
strength from the apparent reduction. We look at Da Pontes theatre
laboratory through the eyes of our current laboratory situation and we
transfer the research results from Da Ponte and Mozart into our pandemic
present”, says the production team.
The production is performed in a version compressed to 140 minutes, and
includes music by György Ligeti, György Kurtag und Ghostly Kisses. In
this isolation scenario, the public is intended to play its own role
under all the necessary precautions for infection protection. All
contributors provide their labour and creativity without a fee, and the
operators of Lockenhaus Castle and Kühlhaus Berlin, where the first
rehearsal weeks took place, provided their venues for free as well. The
production is funded by the German Federal Cultural Foundation in the
reload.Stipendium for free groups programme. Any funds and revenue serve
to cover the expenses. Tickets are available on startnext.de, linked to
a crowdfunding campaign.
Nina Rohlfs, 7/2020
