die tote stadt

„Die tote Stadt at the Hannover Staatsoper was a triumph — in a new production both thought through and original.

With this staging of Korngold’s masterpiece, the Hannover Staatsoper has pulled off a master coup. Ilaria Lanzino’s direction needs no morbid Bruges. It goes straight to the psychological and psychoanalytical depths hidden in Julius Korngold’s libretto, without straying from the text or from the music’s restless, shimmering drive. She simply takes what is already there and pushes it to its limit.

In Hannover, Marie has cut her wrists in a bathtub before the opera even begins. Through her diary, which Paul finds, he — and with him a captivated audience — learns the truth of her life. She was an artist, a singer broken by the expectations placed on her. Pressured and controlled from childhood, even within a marriage that should have been her refuge. Depression, and finally suicide, were the result. Every detail is precisely imagined. The hollow, idealised woman of Paul’s memory breaks apart into many selves, and in doing so becomes human. Ecce homo. The premiere on 9 May ended in a genuine operatic triumph, rightly shared by all involved.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​„

★★★★★

Backstage Classical

„Instead of illustrating the theatre-cliché of `the dream´, the director immerses herself deep in the inner life of her protagonist. Visual Theatre at its most visceral and compelling.“

HAZ

“This is a production of a very high and engaging standard, which works with interesting and accessible means and is thoroughly convincing. The final act, as a highly apt dramatic climax, takes place directly at Marie’s funeral. At the end of it, Paul himself climbs into the white bathtub-coffin, having left Marietta behind in the black coffin. A huge round of applause for everyone involved.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“

Operablog

„An unconventional interpretation. The Staatsoper Hannover marks another highlight in the generally remarkable inaugural season of Intendant Bodo Busse with the premiere of Die tote Stadt. Through the felicitous collaboration of conductor Mario Hartmuth, director Ilaria Lanzino, and set designer Martin Hickmann, the evening becomes a sensation greeted with storms of applause.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“

Orpheus Magazine

“A compelling “Tote Stadt”(…)With the integrated support of the abstract set and with emotionally charged lighting, director Ilaria Lanzino told a visually powerful story. Intriguing videos underlined Paul’s mental imbalance by suggesting a black-and-white foggy lake with trees, but upside down, as if reflected in a mirror. Lanzino’s tightly controlled Personenregie brought together the outer and inner layers cogently.“

Seen and Heard International

„Not every opera evening is amusing and “merely” entertaining. Sometimes — and this can do one’s soul a great deal of good — you are ambushed by the extremities of human experience, reaching far beyond the „whodunit“ territory. (…) ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ A dense web of dream, fantasy, and perhaps reality too. (…) The production opens up vistas into one’s own inner self and its imaginings — those that sometimes keep us from sleep. This is especially striking near the end, when what can only be described as a legion of Marias or Mariettas appears on stage: all members of the children’s chorus wearing identical wigs evoking Marie/Marietta’s hairstyle. Who is who? And what will become of me — the defenseless Paul?​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​“

NMZ

„Thanks to director Ilaria Lanzino, "Die tote Stadt" now stands as a compelling audiovisual event, bearing a distant resemblance to Alfred Hitchcock's cinematic classic, "Vertigo" (1958).“

Marc Hairapetian - Spirit

Stage direction: Ilaria Lanzino

Stage design: Martin Hickmann

Costume design: Vanessa Rust

AI-Artist: Max Schweder

Light design: Johannes Volk

Fotos: Bettina Stöß