Version Orchestra and Narrator, 1787 - Music Joseph Haydn
«Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do».
ABOUT
This theatrical rendition of Haydn’s landmark work connects modern-day Jerusalem with the universality of the 7 Last Words. Our performance reinvents the 1787 original ritual, initially conceived for Good Friday celebration, here reinterpreted for modern-day secular audiences, and with a theatrical twist: a secular Narrator « guides » the meditation of the audience through 7 musical sequences. By doing so, the Narrator helps the audience to understand the ongoing significance of Haydn’s message.
Filmed in Jerusalem, the video follows the Narrator as he delivers 7 brief speeches combining the Holy Scriptures with excerpts of classics by European poets and novelists. In 7 short films he meets with 7 inhabitants of Jerusalem, wearing headphones… Facing the camera, 7 silent characters stare at the spectators, while listening to the same music. The atmosphere is theatrical, deeply poetic and meditative, using 7 anonymous faces as emotional landscapes for Haydn’s masterpiece.
CAST
Installation and scenic design, Jean-Philippe Clarac & Olivier Deloeuil
Lighting Design, Christophe Pitoiset
Video, Julien Roques
Editing, Jean-François Hautin
Dramaturgy, Luc Bourrousse
PREVIOUS PERFORMANCES
Staatstheater Hannover, March 2020 (cancelled) - Opéra National de Bordeaux, April 2019 - Opéra de Rouen Normandie, March 2019 - Cantiere Internazionale di Montepulciano, July 2017 - Casa da Musica Porto, November 2015 - Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian Lisbon, March 2015.
PRODUCTION
Clarac-Deloeuil > le lab, Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon
With the support of Institut Français + Ville de Bordeaux
