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2012 October 12th

 

 

President Jekyll
A music theatre by Frido Mann, Christoph Reiserer and Martina Veh


for the election event at the Amerikahaus


Premiere (world premiere): 17 October 2012, 7.00 p.m. - Theatersaal, Amerika Haus München, Karolinenplatz 5, 80333 München

Further performance: 19 October 2012, 7.00 p.m.

Libretto, idea: Frido Mann
Music, concept: Christoph Reiserer
Director, concept, version: Martina Veh

Musical direction: Florian Appel
Set design: Christl Wein
Lighting: Benedikt Zehm
Video: Marc Stephan



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Singers/performers
Stephanie Marin (mezzo-soprano), Olaf Becker (actor), Christopher Robson (countertenor), Christian Schleicher (Tenor)

Orchestra:

Tobias Weber (guitar/e-guitar), Georg Karger (double bass, electric bass), Florian Appel (piano, Hammond organ), Anno Kesting (drumset, vibraphone) as well as 4 radio stations


Choir:
Franziska Kaupper, Marion Kühn, Nikolaus Maier, Berta Rieder, Daniela Ries, Wolfgang Scheerer, Johannes Zirngibl, Jakob Arnold

Sound engineering: Stephan Ebertshäuser
Stage construction: Stefan Wintersberger
PR: Simone Lutz
Project management: Monica Fauss

Assistants: Gwendolin Lehnerer (direction), Jasmin Graev, Hannah Schlien (set design)
Internship: Xueyang Liu (set design)

Photos: Regine Heiland

 


About the piece:


What is theatre if not election campaigning in the USA: the candidates are lined up, the race is on! In October 2012, the American presidential election campaign has reached its hot final phase and the premiere of the German/English-language musical theatre "President Jekyll" by Frido Mann (libretto), Christoph Reiserer (music) and Martina Veh (staging) is running at Amerika Haus Munich. A visionary world-political parable that revolves around the question of the relationship between power and morality - including ironic side-swipes at our media-driven and optimisation-addicted society.

Based on R. L. Stevenson's classic "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", the triple transformation and re-transformation of the president of a world power into a ruthless dictator is told by means of neuroscientific experiments. Initially driven by the scientist Dr. Weiss and the ambition of his advisors, the transformation of President Jekyll into the "New Man" eventually develops into a self-perpetuating process that ends in a global apocalyptic catastrophe.

"President Jekyll" is not an abstract-philosophical musical treatise, but an opera of and with the present time, an opera of 2012. And so the production interweaves the English-language plot with a German commentary level that reflects the course of the plot and increasingly merges with it. Director Martina Veh takes an ironic approach to our "optimisation society", because don't we all want to be new people - more beautiful, smarter, more efficient, equipped with the best, the latest and the most innovative? And so models stroll down the catwalk praising blood pressure-lowering jackets, tank tops with integrated personal trainers, emergency-sending ski suits and implanted rejuvenation chips - no wonder the President grabs hold when Dr. Weiß promises him functional clothing for the better politician! Who could have guessed that the big what-if show would end in a showdown with dead models in the fish fountain and a darkening sky over Munich?

The music for "President Jekyll" is by the Munich composer Christoph Reiserer, who brings the story to life with a choir, three singers, an actor, four instrumentalists and four radio stations. Composed throughout, the two theatrical levels of the piece (plot/commentary level) nevertheless differ greatly from each other. In the English-language action, the singing is in the foreground, working with a seemingly simple, musical-like song character. A simplicity that turns out to be a mirage; the clarity of the singing dissolves through overlays with the same material, a dreamlike blurriness emerges that refuses an unambiguous reading and does not direct the audience as a mass, but leaves room for the individual.

A task that the choir, musical embodiment of the people, also faces: At certain points in the polyphonic notation, no tempi are prescribed for the singers - they have to make their own choice until they are finally replaced by the radio set and their voices only emerge from the ether. The commentary level, on the other hand, is dominated by spoken language, under which - similar to the concept of film music - lies sound. A sound that creates spaces and occupies different spaces, because although the four instrumentalists are always present in the hall, only the sound of the acoustic instruments seems to come from here. The amplified ones, on the other hand, burst in through the doors of the theatre hall with acoustic pressure - an atmosphere of threat that grows in the course of the piece.

 

 

After the 2nd performance, Frido Mann, Christoph Reiserer and Martina Veh discussed power and morality, decisiveness and democracy, identity and truth. Moderated by Till Keil (biologist and science editor).


An event by B.A.Z. Amerika Haus Munich and Fauss und Veh GbR " Jekyll".
With the kind support of Casa Mann e.V., the Cultural Foundation of the Stadtsparkasse München, the Cultural Department of the City of Munich, the Amerika Haus Association and the German Master School for Fashion in Munich.

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