Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny – opera by Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill, Norrlandsoperan, Umeå, Sweden
Direction, stage- and costume design: Carina Reich/ Bogdan Szyber
In the desert city of Mahagonny, everything is suddenly permitted, and the residents lose themselves in consumption and pleasure. They alternate between food, games, violence and sex in plastic opulence.
What happens to us in an individualistic society? What happens when purchasing power becomes the primary propellant? These are the central questions asked by actors and directors Carina Reich and Bogdan Szyber this autumn as they stage Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill’s dizzying satirical opera Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny, which had its first performance in Leipzig in 1930.
The players involved include Lars Cleveman, one of Sweden and Europe’s most sought-after tenors, along with Susanna Levonen and Fredrik Zetterström, who were both involved in last year’s celebrated staging of Rigoletto. NorrlandsOperan’s Symphony Orchestra is led by conductor Damian Iorio. Even though 86 years have passed since the première, this work is still highly relevant today.
“Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny puts a spotlight on consumerism and depicts a political climate in which society has been individualised and factual issues are what matter. It is an anarchy of basic urges, where the residents are finally transformed into clowns on crack,” explain Reich and Szyber, who achieved great success with Alban Berg’s Wozzeck at NorrlandsOperan five years ago.
SYNOPSIS
In the American desert city of Mahagonny, life revolves around pleasure, and as long as you can pay for it, you have a place in society. A hurricane threatens to destroy the city, but it changes course and everything is suddenly permitted. The residents lose themselves in consumption and egotism.
“In many ways, it is similar to today’s society, where life in many respects has become Disneyfied, like a giant amusement park,” says Bogdan Szyber who, alongside Carina Reich, reflects on the city of Las Vegas primarily in the second act, while the first act is more stripped down and closer to Bertolt Brecht’s idea ofverfremdung, an interpretative approach aimed to make the spectator focus on the character’s actions and words, rather than identifying with the different roles.
Prepare yourself for an equally unsettling and unforgettable opera experience.
PREMIÈRE OCTOBER 6!
The show is 2 hours 50 minutes long, including a 30-minute intermission.
The opera is sung and subtitled in Swedish.
Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny
(Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny)
Music: Kurt Weill
Libretto: Bertholt Brecht
Swedish Translation: Linda Mallik
CREATIVE TEAM:
Conductor: Damian Iorio
Direction, scenography, costume design: Carina Reich/ Bogdan Szyber
Light design: Ronald Salas
Video design: MURK; Annie Tådne, Carl-Jonathan Szyber, Una Boskovic
Mask design: Janina Rolfart
Choreographer: Disa Krossness
Supplementary: stage design: Sara Torsson Szyber
Chorus Master:Kjell Oscarsson
ON STAGE
Susanna Levonen – Leokadja Begbick
Fredrik Af Klint – Jack O´Brien/ Tobby Higgins
Fredrik Zetterström – Treenighets-Moses
Jonas Duran – Fatty
Kosma Ranuer – Bill
Michael Schmidberger – Joe
Lars Cleveman – Jim Mahoney
Sanna Gibbs – Jenny Hill
NorrlandsOperan Choir
NorrlandsOperan´s Symphony Orchestra