Abu Dhabi Festival’s ‘Resurrection of Mahler’ co-produced is poignant and unforgiving

Amid rough gravel roads and red bauxite, a festival and a pandemic-hit international art industry breathes new life.

We are at the Stadium de Vitrolles in the Provence region of southern France, a near-abandoned venue transformed into a festival as part of the annual arts event, the Festival d’Aix-en-Provence A grand show.

The festival kicks off its nearly month-long program of performances with the ambitious and controversial Gustav Mahler powerful symphony resurrectionalso known as his Symphony No. 2.

First performed in 1895, the piece remains one of the Austrian-bohemian composer’s most popular works due to its existential problems.

Mahler was two years away from converting to Catholicism when he made his Berlin debut.

The symphony is seen as establishing his view of the resurrection, while death is merely a quest for the eternal beauty of the afterlife.

The backdrop for the performance of Mahler at the Aix-en-Provence festival is clear.

The event, co-produced by Abu Dhabi Music Festival and directed by Italian playwright Romeo Castellucci, conveys the message after years of performances and performances that have been cancelled and postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic message of global revival.

“It really reflects the zeitgeist and everything we humans have gone through,” said South African soprano Goda Schultz, who appears in the fifth and final chorus movement, in which Mahler concludes that death is only eternal start.

“The pandemic has not only shut down theaters and cities, it has also robbed us of the opportunity to meet family, friends and attend funerals. It robs us of the way we deal with loss and death.

“What makes Mahler’s work so poignant is that, especially in the last movement, it takes all your sadness away. You leave feeling lighter, and work takes your load off.”

Not for the faint of heart

For all its soothing qualities, the new edition featuring the Paris Philharmonic is a contemplative experience.

Castellucci combines 80 minutes of musical composition with determined, terrifying action on a dusty stage.

A dazzling white horse trotted across the barren land to open the scene. Sensing that the ground was uneven, the trainer kicked some dirt to find a body, the first of which was found in the mass grave.

The action is almost like a real-life art installation.

During the work, UNHCR staff arrived at the site with two buses, body bags and an excavator, and exhumed the bodies of more than 100 men, women and children.

From officers placing little red flags to mark the location of bodies to filling in toe labels, no effort was spared.

This grim work is done with silence and reverence, and raises the question, especially for those frustrated by the repetitive nature of the action, whether we are all immune to news of death and war.

Schultz recalled that the choreography of death was too much for some viewers, and at the end of Monday’s opening night, Castillo was bowed to some polite boos during a 10-minute standing ovation.

“Maybe some people are willing or not willing to do emotional and existential work in their lives,” she said

“I think whether you like what you see on stage or not, it’s impossible for this piece not to move you as a viewer.

“It shouldn’t be part of the art-making process, whether you like it or not. The purpose of art is to move your emotional landscape in any way.”

The value of the festival

These artistic leaps are also what differentiates the show’s premiere from the regular performance season, said Pierre Audi, the artistic director of the Aix-en-Provence festival and a Lebanese-Frenchman.

“The purpose of the festival is to discover new things,” he said.

“It does allow you to be more ambitious, and I definitely had that in mind when the festival came back last year. We wanted to make an immediate impact, that’s for sure.”

on stage resurrection Interpreted as being affected by the pandemic, Audi revealed that the concept dates back to 2019.

“I have to say that the Abu Dhabi Arts Festival, especially the artistic director Huda Alkamis-Canuwhich drives the piece,” he said.

“The two festivals have worked together in the past and we have shared an exciting rapport with their teams, once we came up with resurrection, the festival says ‘yes, we want to be a part of it. ‘”

Audi said this cross-cultural partnership is important in order to contradict some of the hatred inherent in today’s world.

“We do say it a lot, but art is a universal language that we can all understand,” he said.

“With so many political issues and heated discussions around big issues like climate change, culture can make some of the changes we need as a society.”

Abu Dhabi Music Festival builds international heritage

Abu Dhabi Arts Festival has been contributing to this conversation throughout its 22-year existence.

resurrection behind From Scheherazade to me, Carmen, Another successful co-production starring Spanish flamenco dancer Maria Pages.

After a critically acclaimed debut in Barcelona in May, the show will embark on a two-year world tour of Europe and South America.

“resurrection A perfect representation of the progressive nature of our festival” Kanoosays.

“Castrucci’s mysterious new work tackles the concept of ‘rebirth’ after a pandemic that has left the world locked down and socially isolated.”

Kanu said the international collaboration reflected some of the Abu Dhabi Festival’s goals to create works that are relevant to today’s world, while contributing to the industry’s steady recovery after the pandemic.

“In many ways, by co-producing opera and classical music, we are reviving an industry that is experiencing a steady shift in interest due to the evolving artistic tastes of the younger generation,” she said.

“As we co-produce resurrection, we show the world that opera is still very much alive and relevant in today’s modern world. “

This is an aspect that Schultz is particularly keen on.

She believes the historical art form can still be appreciated today.

“That’s what co-production and art usually do. We’re talking about relationships,” she said.

“Beethoven didn’t write music to hear beautiful harmonies, of course, he didn’t know, because he was deaf. He wrote music because it moved him, and that’s what we want to do at the most basic level.”

How to Listen to “Resurrection”

The emotional and musically intensive nature of the work requires beginners to approach resurrection In a certain way, Schultz said.

“Don’t look for a specific instrument you want to follow, just use the loudest instrument and see how you react,” she advises.

“Following the melody of a story told through various instruments, you feel something.”

Schultz recommends listening to any show resurrection Performed by the late Italian conductor Claudio Abbado and the Mahler Chamber Orchestra.

“He’s got a wonderful thing about him at the end of a wonderful performance that he’ll hold the baton for another 20 seconds at the end of the last note to keep silent,” she said.

“He did it so that you let all the feelings of the performance dissipate on you. After listening to it you feel light and new.”

Resurrection will take place on July 10th, 11th and 13th at the Vitrolle Stadium in Provence, France.For more information visit www.festival-aix.com

Scroll through the gallery below for images from “From Scheherazade to me, Carmen”

Updated: July 9, 2022 at 11:26 am