by Le Binh
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On stage: Director Beverly Blankenship is working with Vietnamese artists at a rehearsal at Ha Noi Opera House. — VNS Photo Doan Tung |
HA NOI — Vietnamese and German artists are deep in rehearsals for an interdisciplinary music-theatre piece which is to have its world premiere at Ha Noi Opera House this Friday.
Through the Valley is a collaborative project of the Goethe Institute, Viet Nam National Opera and Ballet (VNOB) and Viet Nam National Academy of Music (VNAM). The staging of the work marks the finale of Germany Year in Viet Nam – 2010.
The opera is a piece of musical theatre piece composed especially for this German-Vietnamese co-production, explains Almuth Meyer-Zollitsch, director of Goethe Institute Viet Nam.
Through the Valley, directed by Austrian-American Beverly Blankenship, is the modern retelling of the story of a boy who breaks free of his mother to discover the world. It will be performed by Vietnamese singers, dancers and actors.
The music for soloists, chorus and full orchestra was written by German composer and conductor Pierre Oser who spent two years composing the music for the two-hour long opera.
"For an opera, this is not long. I wish I'd had more time," says Oser.
The libretto, meanwhile, was written by internationally renowned German playwright Tankred Dorst with his wife Ursula Ehler.
Dorst, whose many awards include the 2010 Schiller Prize and 2009 Literature Prize, will visit Ha Noi with his wife and is due to appear in tomorrow's full-dress rehearsal in the capital.
The project began back in November when Oser started working with about 100 Vietnamese artists grouped into dancers, singers and actors.
Through the Valley is a complex piece, says director Beverly Blankenship.
"The search for God, one person's journey to enlightenment, the wily tricks of a powerful sage, the longing for love, the deadly pain of a mother, the dull violence of warriors – all are presented through (orchestral) music, song, spoken word and dance," she said.
"It is quite hard demanding, not to mention being difficult logistically," says Oser of his first time working with a group of singers, actors and dancers.
In the piece, acting, singing and dancing are blended together in novel ways. Actors communicate with dancers, while singers might hear a spoken response. Single characters are even portrayed by several performers; there are, for example, three different Merlins: a speaking, singing and dancing version.
The opera's main role Parzival will be performed by actor Bui Nhu Lai and dancer Pham Tri Thanh, who specialises in song and dance.
Speaking about his role as Parzival, Lai says: "I have to perform as a dancer when Thanh's dancing Parzival exits the stage," said Lai.
It is not too difficult for Lai because he is a member of the Youth Theatre's physical performance troupe.
While other roles are performed by three different people in a singer, a dancer and an actor, Parzival is the only role to be shared between just an actor and dancer. "Perhaps this is because song cannot capture the essence of a wild boy like Parzival," Lai says. He adds that this opera is a big challenge for Vietnamese artists because it is the first time they have taken part in such a complex production.
Another distinctive feature of the work is that all singing is in German (with Vietnamese subtitles) while the spoken text is entirely Vietnamese.
"This may appear complicated, but it lends the piece a special charm," says director Blankenship.
"This is a 2,500-year-old very old German story. I have worked with it before because it is famous. It has been translated into about 30 languages and adapted in many different ways. And in this production, music has the power to help people understand the story in a way that can be difficult to convey through acting."
The high calibre, 19-scene opera showcases choreography by the German Hans Henning Paar. The sets, costumes and lighting are the work of Austrian Andreas Lungenschmid and then there is involvement Christoph Maier-Gehring, head of dramaturgy at the Munich State Theatre.
German mezzo-soprano Silvia Modden is also on hand to provide voice training for her Vietnamese colleagues.
On the Vietnamese side there are famous theatre, film and TV actors including internationally renowned singers and dancers from the VNOB. The designer La Hang brought the costume designs to reality.
Tickets for Friday's premiere and for the performances on Saturday and Sunday are free and can be collected from the Goethe-Institute at 56-58 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street. — VNS