… we wanted to depict the noises and sounds in Döblin's language and descriptions – his polyphony of a big city in its most diverse facets.
Vivan & Ketan Bhatti
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Salzburg version) by Vivan and Ketan Bhatti receives its world premiere on April 11 performed by Salzburger Landestheater and conducted by Leslie Suganandarajah, with stage direction by Nuran David Calis. Five performances follow the premiere until May 21.
With a libretto by Christiane Neudecker, the opera is based on Alfred Döblin’s social novel that is still one of the most important pieces of literature from the early 20th century. The interdisciplinary work is combining opera, drama and dance. It tells the story of Franz Biberkopf who is released from prison – trying and failing to live an honest life, he gets mixed up in criminal activities once again.
Vivan and Ketan Bhatti move between borders and genres, using techniques such as mimesis and adaptation where the orchestra mimics electronic synthesizers and delay effects. The speech is broken down into its component parts – from operatic singing to naturalistic drama texts. They mix different musical styles and traditions, combining electronic club music and contemporary classical music, explaining: ‘In this way we pay tribute to the Berlin of the 1920s, in which the piece is located, and at the same time transfer the (musical) themes to today's expressive worlds.’
For more information, please see the website of Salzburger Landestheater.
