Scenes from Giacomo Rossini „Il barbiere di Sevilla“ (06.12.2016)
A lucky trip to Berlin. Sunday morning Museum Berggrün; paintings and drawings of George Condo in the neighborhood of Picasso, Matisse and Paul Klee. I like his paintings and the relaxed use of some of their stylistic features. And I realize that his approach to the older masters is very different from my approach to the dutch baroque painter Jan Steen (1626-1679). My point is to investigate basic structures of Jan Steens art – composition, characters, space, symbols, accessories, hidden meanings, relationship with other artists, influence of literature. The curators of Condo’s show focused on comparisons. A problematic decision because this is not the interest of Condo. And the viewer asks „so what?“
Maybe that this sunday morning experiences had consequences for my reception of a ravishing ‚barbiere ‚ in the Komische Oper. Stage director Kirill Serebrennikov and conductor Antonello Menacorda had created a new opera based truly on the original libretto and music. When the conte Almaviva sings the famous cavatina in the way of Eros Ramazotto in front of a TV- camera you feel the analytical power of this team. This is not burlesque, this is illuminating! Maybe I react too strong but I felt a relationship with this artistic spirit. Creative actions as arguments. There are moments when you really feel good with the benefits of our great cultural heritage.
Ein glücklicher Sonntag in Berlin. Morgens eine Ausstellung mit Werken von George Condo eingebettet in großartige Bilder von Picasso, Matisse und Klee. Condo kommt schlecht weg, weil der Eindruck erzeugt wird er wolle mit den Grossmeistern konkurrieren. Trotzdem interessant für einen, der sich selbst mit einem alten Meister (Jan Steen 1626-1679) herumschlägt. Abends mit Rossinis „Il barbiere di Sevilla“ eine ästhetische Offenbarung. Dem Regisseur Kirill Serebrennikov und Dirigent Antonello Menacorda ist gelungen mit einem Feuerwerk parodistischer Einfälle Rossinis großartige Oper begeisternd zu aktualisieren. Für mich war das eine Anhäufung kreativer Argumente. Bilder ästhetischer Aufklärung.