Purcell's dream of King Arthur

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Purcell's dream of King Arthur is a play by Tankred Dorst based on Purcell's half-opera " King Arthur ". The play was premiered on October 23, 2004 under the direction of David Mouchtar-Samorai in the Hessian State Theater Wiesbaden .

The wrecking ball doesn't stop at a dilapidated opera house. The "weird birds" living in the walls with the frightened operatic spirit of King Arthur at the helm must of necessity give way.

Henry Purcell versus Tankred Dorst

In Purcell's half-opera, the British King Arthur loves the young, blind Cornish princess Emmeline. Tankred Dorst turns the severely disabled person into a rich investor. At Purcell, King Arthur fights against the Saxon King Oswald of Kent . In the half opera, Oswald is also Arthur's rival. Logically, King Arthur's operatic spirit does not fight against the Saxons at Tankred Dorst, but against the group of investors. One of these investors - the young businessman Franky Frank - wins the blind investor's love. People of the same kind stick together. King Arthur draws the short straw.

content

The investors enter the ruins of the opera house. The young investor Emmeline is seduced by the singing of the beautiful boy Purcell - Tankred Dorst calls him the Orpheus Britannicus . Fascinated, the blind almost falls into the orchestra pit. The sleeping opera ghosts King Arthur, the magician Merlin , five shepherds, the sorcerer's apprentice Filidel - an air spirit - and two nymphs are awakened by the magical singing . King Arthur emerges - with crown and sword - from a heap of rubbish. In the investors, the ruler recognizes Sir Bedivere , Sir Agravaine and Sir Gawain . The gentlemen, armed only with mobile phones, laptops and organizers, are absolutely amazed. One of the investors has a good idea. The shopping center that the opera has to give way is to be called " Camelot ". The resourceful naming must first be "clarified" with the PR company.

Emmeline, in love with Arthur, wants to see the king. At the command of the ruler, Merlin gives the girl her eyesight. Emmeline, now seeing, does not recognize her lover. Disappointed, she admits her beautiful delusion.

There is no room for the above-mentioned weird birds on a future construction site. So the investors are campaigning against the opera ghosts. The security guards of the investors are subject to the magic of the apprentice Filidel. However, Arthur lost his Emmeline in the fray of the skirmish.

Suddenly the magic is over. Emmeline, again deprived of her eyesight, walks nicely on Franky Frank's arm. The wrecking ball brings an abrupt end to Purcell's singing. The opera ghosts vanish into thin air.

Quote

  • " Fucking and eating ... is all of life."

shape

Tankred Dorst is polyglot in his “ Capriccio ” consisting of 21 scenes: King Arthur's opera ghosts, the five shepherds in his entourage, the sorcerer's apprentice Filidel and the two nymphs sing very extensive passages in English over long stretches. Those interested can look up each verse verbatim in John Dryden's libretto.

Productions

  • July 27, 2012: Theater ruin St. Pauli Dresden. Director: Jörg Berger. With Yvonne Dominik as Purcell, Frank Weiland as King Arthur, Ingrid Schütze as Emmeline, Karl Michael Weber as Merlin, Katja Röder / Tobias Schmidt as the sorcerer's apprentice Filidel and Jens Döring as Franky Frank.

reception

radio play

literature

Text output

  • Tankred Dorst, collaboration with Ursula Ehler: Purcell's dream of King Arthur. A night piece. With an afterword by Norbert Abels . Suhrkamp / Insel, Frankfurt am Main 2004 (1st edition), Insel taschenbuch 3063. 100 pages, ISBN 978-3-458-34763-7 .
  • Purcell's dream of King Arthur. A night piece pp. 57–108 in Tankred Dorst. Prospero's island and other pieces. Collaboration with Ursula Ehler . Work edition 8 (Contents: Othoon . Purcell's dream of King Arthur. The desert . I'm only here temporarily . Artist . Prospero's island . To practice the earthly (Frankfurt poetics lectures)). Suhrkamp Verlag, Frankfurt am Main 2008 (1st edition), ISBN 978-3-518-42039-3 , 416 pages (edition used).

Web links

annotation

  1. ↑ Tankred Dorst and Ursula Ehler let their theatrical spirits flit in their minds through “the ruins of an old theater in Palermo ” (comment by the author in the edition used, p. 107, 12th Zvu).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Edition used, p. 414, second entry. See also Suhrkamp. Theater & media. Stage play
  2. ↑ Post-commentary by the author in the edition used, p. 108, 3. Zvo see also eng. Orpheus Britannicus
  3. ↑ postscript by the author in the used edition, p 108, 7. ZVO
  4. ↑ eng. Agravain
  5. ↑ Edition used, p. 85, 15. Zvo
  6. ↑ postscript by the author in the used edition, p 108, 5. ZVU
  7. ^ Libretto of the half-opera in English
  8. ↑ theaterruine.de
  9. ↑ Suhrkamp. Theater & media. Radio play . See also HörDat entry