Pitiè!
10/10/2008
, 
20:30
11/10/2008
, 21:00
Concept and direction Alain Platel
Dramaturgy Hildegard De Vuyst
Music Fabrizio Cassol (original music based on the “Mattheus passion” of J. S. Bach)
Danced and created by Elie Tass, Emile Josse, Hyo Seung Ye, Juliana Neves, Lisi Estaras, Louis-Clement Da Costa, Mathieu Desseigne Ravel, Romeu Runa, Rosalba Torres Guerriero, Quan Bui Ngoc
Singing soprano Claxon Mc Fadden o Laura Claycomb o Melissa Givens; alto/mezzo Cristina Cavalloni o Maribeth Diggle o Monica Brett-Crowther; counter tenor Serge Kakudji; singing, flute Magic Malik
Music played by Aka Moon (Fabrizio Cassol saxophone, Michel Hatzigeorgiou fender bass, bouzouki, Stephane Galland, drums, percussion, Airelle Besson o Sanne Van Hek trumpet, Krassimir Sterev o Philippe Thuriot accordion, Michael Moser o Lode Vercampt cello, Tcha Limberger o Alexandre Cavalière violin)
Musical dramaturgy Kaat Dewindt
Copyst Renaud Person
Set designing Peter De Blieck
Light design Carlo Bourguignon
Assistance light Kurt Lefevre
Costume design Claudine Grinwis Plaat Stultjes
Sound Caroline Wagner, Michel Andina
Photography Chris Van der Burght
Production Les Ballets C. de la B.
Production management Sara Vanderieck
Production management music Maaike Wuyts (Aubergine vzw)
Coproduction Theatre de la Ville (Paris), Le Grand Theatre de Luxembourg, Torino Danza, Ruhr Triennale 2008, KVS (Brussel)
With the exceptional support of Kunstencentrum Vooruit (Gent), Holland Festival
(Amsterdam)
With support of the Flemish Authorities, City of Ghent, Province East Flanders
Thanks to Pearl, Studio Jet, Studio Caraïbes
length 2h
The New performance by the director Alain Platel and the composer Fabrizio Cassol, already co-authors of vsprs presented at VIE in 2006, takes La Passione Secondo Matteo as starting point. This masterpiece by Bach, sublime musical transposition of Christ Passion, is one of that works impossible to manipulate.
Fabrizio Cassol, besides adapting the work by Bach, makes a rewriting: Pitié! That is not an evangelic chronicle nor a poetical version of it created by Bach librettist.
Cassol, first of all, investigates about an inexistent aspect in the original Passion, the pain of a mother who is going to face the inevitable sacrifice of her descendants. By this point of view, Christ vicissitude is trasposed in the one of two twin souls with a common destiny. So this is the new vision that gives sense and orientation to the composition.
Starting from this choice Cassol has divided the roles between three singers: a soprano for the mother and two voices very similar to each other for children (one alto/mezzo and another alto/contro). Trio Aka Moon, that represents the base for the orchestra is completed by different figures, nomads and by strong personalities like Magic Malik (transverse flute and singing), Tcha Limberger (violin), Philippe Thuriot or Krassimir Sterev (accordion) and others.
Erbarme Dich, one of the most famous arias of the Passione both for music and content, is one of the starting points of Pitié! It makes us a foundamental question: Is our attitude to share experiences and feelings able to overcome the stage of pity? ”Compassion”, as a matter of fact, is a word so charged of meanings to be often compared to compliance. Besides, is not the compassion that we long for, when life and death seem too heavy to bear?
The main theme of La Passione Secondo Matteo is the extreme sacrifice that we can reach: the oneself sacrifice. It should seem ridiculous to ask here and now to ourself for what or for whom we could sacrifice our life. But this is the question that Platel makes to his dancers with whom is going to go on to develop the “bastard dance” that has became his trademark.
(Hildegard De Vuyst)
