Bonifatius - The Musical
| Musical dates | |
|---|---|
| Title: | Bonifatius - The Musical |
| Original language: | German |
| Music: | Dennis Martin |
| Book: | Zeno Diegelmann |
| Lyrics: | Dennis Martin |
| Premiere: | June 3, 2004 |
| Place of premiere: | Fulda |
| Roles / people | |
Bonifatius - The musical was premiered on June 3, 2004 in Fulda on the occasion of the 1250th anniversary of Bonifatius' death .
The musical was created on the initiative of the spotlight musical production -Produzententeams Dennis Martin (composition, lyrics), Zeno Diegelmann (libretto), Peter Scholz (music production, vocal coach) and Michael White (production management, † July 2006).
The musical was voted Musical of the Year 2005.
content
The musical is about Boniface , who was sent to Germania by Pope Gregory II in 722 to convert the heathen to the Christian faith. Together with his student Sturmius , supported by the Frankish caretaker Karl Martell , he sets off for Buchonia , accompanied by his sons . The siblings Luidger and Alrun run a tavern there. Alrun dreams of the big wide world and immediately falls in love with the young Sturmius. Boniface learns from Radbod , the Frisian duke. He made a great impression on the pagans when he prevented Radbod from making a human sacrifice for the god Donar and, in addition, the Donar kingdom , sacred to the Frisians , fell without being struck by lightning. During the subsequent wave of baptisms, a mother accuses the church, which enriches itself with the people and has her husband on her conscience. Boniface is horrified when he learns about the life of Bishop Gewilip of Mainz. He rules with fear and intimidation in order to be able to lead a decadent life himself. Bonifatius sends Sturmius to Rome with the request for the removal of Bishop Gewilip and the request to be allowed to found a monastery. Both are allowed. Gewilip swears revenge and allies with Radbod. Together they lure Boniface to Dokkum with a forged letter from the Pope . After Sturmius gets a real message from Rome , he realizes the ambush and he rushes after Boniface. But he can no longer save him, the trap ends fatally for Boniface. His last will is that Sturmius should bring him back to Fulda and continue his work. This finally ends the love affair between Alrun and Sturmius.
Due to the great success in 2004 with 38 sold out performances and 26,600 spectators, the play was resumed in 2005 with 44 performances, which were seen by 28,184 spectators. In August and September 2006 the musical was played in Fulda for 30 performances. Overall, the musical had an occupancy rate of 96% in three seasons, 110 shows and over 70,000 spectators. The musical was also shown at the Musical Theater Bremen from October 12th to 28th, 2006 and was attended by 11,000 spectators.
In the summer of 2010, the musical was shown in 33 performances in a new version in the Fulda City Palace between July 23 and August 8, and in the Erfurt Theater from August 19 to 22, 2010.
On August 22, 2019, the premiere of a new production as an open-air event with a comprehensive musical and dramaturgical revision of the piece took place on the Fulda Domplatz as part of the 1275th Fulda city anniversary. In a further 7 performances on the following days, 27 performers, 53 orchestral musicians and a choir with 130 participants played on the 56 m wide stage with the facade of the Fulda Cathedral as a stage prospect in front of 4300 spectators.
Doer
- Director: Reinfried Schießler
- Choreography: Julia Poulet
- Stage design: Bernd-Heinrich Sogel
- Light design: Sabine Wiesenbauer
- Costumes: Claudia Kuhr
- Musical rehearsals: Peter Scholz / Dennis Martin
occupation
- Boniface: Reinhard Brussmann / Ethan Freeman
- Alrun: Sabrina Weckerlin
- Sturmius: Dirk Johnston
- Lioba: Mara Dorn
- Gewilip: Stefan Poslovski (premiere cast)
- Willibald: Artur Ortens
- Radbod: Daniel Dodd-Ellis
Songs
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Web links
- The musical on the website of spotlight-Musicalproduction ( Memento from December 27, 2013 in the Internet Archive )