Every work of art must be understood within its historical framework, as it contains meanings that were unknown and unpredictable at the time of its production. This is what happened to composer David Lang when he attended a performance of Fidelio , Ludwig van Beethoven's only opera. In Prisoner of the State there is an active appropriation of Fideliofrom its post-revolutionary context that results in a new opera conceived for a concert hall, where the orchestra is a scenic element. Starting from the existence of gaps in an opera that was rewritten several times, Lang emphasizes, from the libretto itself, the most dramatic aspects and the concepts of love and freedom, as well as the fate of political prisoners, who pass to a foreground feeding on quotations from thinkers such as Rousseau or Bentham, leaving aside the romantic plot and addressing the current viewer. The work has been defined as a fascinating contemporary singspieland has obtained a positive reception on both sides of the Atlantic, achieving a rare unanimity in newly created scores. In conclusion, a celebration of musical hermeneutics in which three horizons merge: that of Beethoven, that of Lang and that of the audience attending its national premiere in 2023.
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