Das gräuliche Festmahl

TIMELINE: EVERGREEN

Save the island! The island kingdom of the Great Lulus is in danger. Any day now, the as-yet undiscovered island could be colonised by the spreaders of so-called 'civilisation'. The island's leader, Häuptling Abendwind, feels forced to enter trade talks with the nearby islands, and invites Häuptling Biberhahn, the leader of a neighbouring island, to a grand feast. A political alliance is at stake at this delicate meeting - and on the menu; human steak. Jacques Offenbach's Fasching (carnival) burlesque of 1857 paints an absurd, distorted image of an 'uncivilised' and a 'civilised' world, which, through unchecked narcissism, loses sight of its deep issues. In its German-language setting, Johann Nestroy develops the material as a satire of 19th century Viennese society, which does not lose relevance through its abstruseness. In the setting by the Berlin theatre collective tutti d*amore, the 'undiscovered islands' represent the alternative cultural spaces of contemporary Berlin, the existence of which is being threatened by the forces of gentrification and displacement. The situation in the capital city is becoming ever more tense - so much so that the topic has reached the ears of politicians, who are considering putting nightclubs on the same footing as opera houses for tax purposes. This production is tutti d*amore's attempt to find an alternative way not only of approaching this polemical theme, but also of engaging with opera, which many consider to be a dead form of art. After last year's sold-out premiere at Berlin's Sisyphos club as part of the Performing Arts Festival, tutti d*amore would like to revive the production in different 'hotspots' both around Berlin and in other cities. The venues will be transformed and artistically charged in connection with the genre, and opera made accessible and popular.

Duration: 75 min

Kindly supported by Bezirkskulturfonds Berlin-Lichtenberg, Bezirksausschuss 12 München Schwabing Freimann, Kulturamt der Stadt Leipzig and Förderverein der Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin, in cooperation with the Performing Arts Festivals Berlin, Sisyphos Berlin, Heppel&Ettlich München and Neuen Schauspiel Leipzig.

© Matthias Pfänder