"What happens here musically is of the utmost magnificence, Titus Engel conducts this highly complex construct with stupendous naturalness," the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper wrote about the premiere of the unusual production, the creation of which can be seen in the film documentary Der mit den Vögeln singt.
Hardly any work in the history of music demands a larger orchestration than Olivier Messiaen's only opera, premiered in 1983. "There is a very large string section, lots of wind instruments, a large percussion arsenal and then Messiaen's special instruments, the three Ondes Martenot. These are prototypes of electronic instruments," explains Titus Engel, who conducted Saint François d'Assise at the five performances on 11, 22 and 25 June and 2 and 9 July. Baritone Michael Mayes sang the highly demanding title role; the role of Engel was taken by soprano Beate Ritter.
"Because we want to create a whole day, an experience day for this work, we have thought of different locations - thereby also different sound environments, so that one sees and hears and perceives this music in completely different ways," Titus Engel continues. Directed by Anna-Sophie Mahler and with a huge cast of more than 200 singers and musicians, the production was thus entering new territory in the literal sense of the word. After the first part in the opera house, the journey continued by underground and on foot, with up to 1400 audience members in tow. The highlight was the bird sermon in the open-air theatre on the Killesberg, where real birds also joined in the music, alongside the many bird calls composed by the renowned ornithologist Messiaen.
The fact that an opera house prepared a packing list for the audience for a performance is certainly unusual, but quite appropriate here: sunscreen, provisions, rain jacket, suitable footwear prove useful for the eight-hour pilgrimage day, during which about four and a half hours were allotted to the actual performance of the music. The Stuttgart State Opera team guided the audience through the day in groups.
In any case, Olivier Messiaen's scenes about St. Francis of Assisi are not an opera in the usual sense. Without a stringent plot, the work is an overwhelmingly colourful approach to the saint. Messiaen himself said of the work, which has not yet been performed in Stuttgart, that he wanted to portray "the progressive stages of grace in the soul of St. Francis".
Despite its opulence, the opera house has committed itself to sustainability, especially in this production about the saint who lived in self-chosen poverty and preached renunciation. In the run-up to the production, participatory campaigns called for donations of hooded jumpers, the stage set was made up as much as possible from the inventory, and the public transport system was a cooperation partner.
