We were greeted with what appeared to be a completely empty, grey stage, the cavernous performance area of the Festspielhaus stripped to the walls, with only an occasional lighting instrument visible. Altman’s setting for Medea ultimately recalls the minimalist but enormously powerful settings he created for previous Thalheimer productions, especially the Oresteia, but this similarity was by no means apparent as the production opened. The powerful minimalist style of Thalheimer is one of the most distinctive on the present German stage and has exerted a significant influence on other directors.Īs is the case with many leading German directors, Thalheimer works almost exclusively with a single designer, Olaf Altman, who is clearly co-equal with Thalheimer in creating the distinctive world of their productions. Thalheimer has had six productions selected for the Theatertreffen, most recently the Oresteia in 2007 and Hauptmann’s The Rats in 2008 (both reviewed in WES). The 2013 festival began spectacularly with a production of Euripides’ Medea, created by a number of the most highly regarded artists of the contemporary German stage. In acknowledgement of this increasing internationalization of the Theatertreffen audiences, the administration began several years ago regularly offering English supertitles over the performances. Its success has been such that virtually every performance is sold out long in advance and a theatre public from around the world is attracted to its offerings. In 2013 this festival, one of the outstanding annual theatre events in Europe, celebrated its fiftieth year. 2013 was a very special year for the Berlin Theatertreffen, the annual festival presenting the outstanding works from the previous year presented in the German-speaking world.
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