March 13, 2012

Stockhausen opera to be staged in full – helicopters and all

This courtesy of clusterflock friend @PeteAshton, who says, “Well, if we have to have a Cultural Olympiad, letting @BirminghamOpera do a batshit insane opera suits me.”

It is not the headache of four separate helicopters carrying string quartet performers that is keeping Graham Vick awake at night. It is more, he confessed, the strain of 11 flying string and woodwind soloists that is exercising his mind ahead of the first performance of one of the world’s most unusual operas.

Birmingham Opera Company has announced it is to stage one of the most challenging operas ever written, Karlheinz Stockhausen’s five-hour epic Mittwoch aus Licht (Wednesday from Light), during the London 2012 festival.

Dang. I’m planning on seeing a revival of Einstein on the Beach in Berkeley later this year, but this . . . this is is batshit insane. I love it.

posted by in adventure, art, awesome, big board, music, theater | * | 4 comments 

comments

  1. Deron Bauman on March 13th, 2012 at 12:24 pm

    It’s reminding me a little of the opening scenes of Altman’s Short Cuts.

  2. Sheila Ryan on March 13th, 2012 at 2:24 pm

    Or the opening scene of “La Dolce Vita.”

  3. Deron Bauman on March 13th, 2012 at 2:29 pm

    Yes! Even better.

  4. will on March 17th, 2012 at 11:05 pm

    Stimmung Karlheinz Stockhausen, live, June 7, 2011.