Speere Stein Klavier (Spears Rock Piano)
Composition commissioned by The City of Munich for the Munich Biennale
A production of the Munich Biennale and Theater Augsburg
Sponsored by the Carl Orff Foundation, Dießen am Ammersee
composition: Genoël von Lilienstern; direction: Christian Grammel; stage and costume design: Yassu Yabara; dramaturge: Elisabeth Tropper; musical direction: Domonkos Héja;
The Erich Schulze fountain towers in front of the administrative building of GEMA in Munich: a giant, shining tuba made of brass. Under it, hidden under cobblestones, is the debris of the Bürgerbräukeller beer hall: the remains of a failed attempt to assassinate the »Führer«.
The archeological search for traces – an expedition through the horn – brings buried artifacts to light, objects from Munich's history, in particular after 1933: sound documents, blueprints and layout plans, models, wheat beer, granite slabs. Three men – are they father, son, and grandfather? – start working to classify the found objects and assign them. Carl Orff's »Reigen und Einzug der Kinder«, composed for the Olympics in 1936, finds a counterpart in »Gruss der Jugend«, composed for the Olympics in 1972 – Ralph Maria Siegel's post-war feel good hit is compared to his song »Schlager ABC« from 1942.
The analytical, sober undertaking gets more and more out of control: the fragments develop an independent existence, unexpected contradictions and continuities come to the surface – the exorcised spirits become visible. They are the filtered, repudiated part of a historic connection.
Christian Grammel director
A freelance director and dramaturge, he studied applied theater studies at the Justus Liebig University in Gießen under, among others, Heiner Goebbels; Rabih Mroué; and Laurent Chétouane, where he received his diploma in 2011 with a thesis work on the body in contemporary music. In 2012 Grammel celebrated the world premiere of his production of »Josefine« at Theater Mönchengladbach; the concept to this piece won the open competition announced by »Fonds experimentelles Musiktheater NRW«. In addition, the piece »the phantom piper of corrieyairrack« from the year 2009, which had already been performed at Kampnagel Hamburg and HAU Berlin, was invited to the Tonlagen Festival in Hellerau in 2012. He had already produced numerous projects during his studies with, among others, Ensemble Modern Frankfurt; Ensemble musikFabrik Köln; and the International Ensemble Modern Academy.
Genoël von Lilienstern composition
Born in 1979 in Monschau in the Eifel region of Germany, he lives as a freelance composer in Berlin. Genoël von Lilienstern studied composition in Bremen, Berlin, and Den Haag under, among others, Younghi Pagh-Paan; Clarence Barlow; and Hanspeter Kyburz. He attended master classes taught by Georges Aperghis; Douglas Repetto; Brian Eno; and Peter Eötvös, and he received grants from the Ensemble Modern Academy in Frankfurt; Darmstädter Ferienkurse; the Berlin University of the Arts; and Cité Internationale des Arts Paris. He won the Hanns Eisler Award for contemporary music composition and interpretation; the Ring.Award.off in 2008; a special award from Komische Oper Berlin for his opera "Rigolator"; and the Gargonza Arts Award in 2012. In 2013 he was a guest lecturer at the Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics (CCRMA) at Stanford University. His works are performed by, among others, Ensemble Intercontemporain; SWR Orchester; and Ensemble Modern.
Elisabeth Tropper dramaturge
Elisabeth Tropper, born in 1984 in Graz, studied German and journalism at the University of Graz and the University of Klagenfurt. She worked as a freelancer for the arts and entertainment section of a regional daily newspaper, completed internships in the area of culture (among others, at steirischen herbst 2003), and worked as a trainee in direction and dramaturgy, and as an assistant director and assistant dramaturge at opera houses and theaters. In 2007 she was hired as an assistant dramaturge and freshman dramaturge by Schauspielhaus Graz, where she worked with, among others, Patrick Schlösser; Georg Schmiedleitner; and Bernadette Sonnenbichler. In addition she was responsible for supervising different formats at Spielstätte Ebene 3. In 2007 she took part in the International Exposure of Israeli Theatre in Tel Aviv. She has been working as a freelance dramaturge since August 2009, and she worked most recently at Hebbel am Ufer (»Man braucht keinen Reiseführer für ein Dorf, das man sieht« [»You don't need a travel guide for a village you can see«] by Tim Staffel, directed by Nurkan Erpulat), as well as at Heimathafen Neukölln (»Sisters« by Andreea Clucerescu, directed by Nicole Oder).
Yassu Yabara stage and costume design
Yassu Yabara is a freelance set and costume designer in Berlin, and she works with different teams on developing works, on experimental music theater concepts, and on opera performances.
Since she received her diploma in 2011 from the University of the Arts (UdK) in Berlin she has had a multitude of different experiences working with diverse artistic teams on independent productions in Berlin, Switzerland, and at municipal theaters in Germany. She has worked with, among others, Nis-Momme Stockmann at Schauspiel Frankfurt and Stadttheater Heidelberg; Georg Schütky at Oper Leipzig and Staatstheater Mainz; and Julia Lwowski at Sophiensäle, Ballhaus Ost, Galerina Steiner, and Neuköllner Oper.
She recently worked with Beate Baron on »Drei Einakter« (»Three One-acts«) by Bohuslav Martinu at Oper Frankfurt in the Bockenheimer Depot, and she worked with Nele Jahnke and Theater Hora on »Normalität - ein Musical« (»Normality – a musical«) in Zurich at Rote Fabrik.
Cast & credits
composition: Genoël von Lilienstern
direction: Christian Grammel
stage and costume design: Yassu Yabara
dramaturge: Elisabeth Tropper
musical direction: Domonkos Héja
light design: Kai Luczak
choir study: Katsiaryna Ihnatsyeva-Cadek
assistant to the director and stage manager: Theresa Lydia Seraphin
prompter: Anke Musetescu-Burmester
solists and actors: Kerstin Descher, mother (mezzo-soprano); Samantha Gaul, daughter (soprano); Georg Festl, friend (bass baritone); Gerd Lohmeyer; Florian Innerebner
Choir of the Theatre Augsburg
Augsburger Philharmoniker
Composition commissioned by The City of Munich for the Munich Biennale
A co-production of the Munich Biennale and Theater Augsburg
Sponsored by the Carl Orff Foundation, Dießen am Ammersee
further performances: 6. 7.2016 and 13. 7. 2016 - Theater Augsburg, Brecht Bühne