"The actors are fantastic. The movements in complete synergy, the singing heavenly, the intention convincing. It is all unparalleled. The highlight is the moment when the spectators on stage gaze into the audience. Truly one of the most beautiful stage images ever. The tears spring to your eyes spontaneously. Grandiose."
Nicole Beutler makes beautiful theatre. One of the highlights of her oeuvre was one of the most beautiful pieces we have ever seen Dido Dido. That sets the bar high when there is a new performance in which Purcell's work is a pillar again.
The invitation to the performance says: “The ice is melting, the climate is changing, established power relations are beginning to shift. A great uncertainty lies ahead of us. 8: METAMORPHOSIS is a dance performance and a contemporary opera about embracing the upcoming changes. Will that be a gradual process or will it happen in painful jerks? Is destruction necessary before we learn to live together in a new way. The actors are fantastic. The movements in complete synergy, the singing heavenly, the intention convincing. It's all unmatched. The highlight is the moment when the spectators on stage gaze into the audience. Truly one of the most beautiful stage images ever. The tears suddenly spring to your eyes. Grandiose.
Had that been the final chord, we could have floated out of the room. Able to think about change, and what we can do about it ourselves. And how we can break the straitjacket of gender roles. And what we actually want together. But the piece doesn't stop there. The men in their metamorphosis disappear very slowly into the mist. And then a polar bear staggers forward and dies.
It begs the question: If theater wants to challenge people, make them think, want to achieve something that makes the world more beautiful, then why an apocalyptic vision of the future as the final chord of a performance that previously so beautifully and subtly aimed for change, which touched by its splendor. This raises the question of how you want to get your message across, and how much. The fact that you can think about it and talk about it for a long time shows the strength of Beutler.