On Tuesday, March 13, the Opera Forward Festival opens with Das Floss der Medusa by Hans Werner Henze. This 1968 oratorio fits perfectly with the theme of the third edition: Fate and Conscience. It is inspired by a true story from 1816, when the French frigate Méduse stranded on the African coast. Those on board were left to fend for themselves; of the 154 people on board, only 14 survived.
French painter Théodore Géricault immortalised this tragic incident on his canvas Le radeau de la Méduse. This was also the starting point for Henze (1926-2012). His oratorio is a timeless requiem for the nameless victims of the indifference of the privileged. The piece is directed by Romeo Castellucci and conducted by Ingo Metzmacher, who has personally worked with Henze. 'Henze stood up for the weak in our society from a deeply human attitude. He was sincerely left-wing. That was not always appreciated in Germany.'
Melody as a starting point
For a long time, he was also not taken entirely seriously as a composer, how do you explain that?
In the late 20th century, modernism was considered the only truth, but Henze relied on musical tradition. He drew on composers such as Alban Berg and Karl Amadeus Hartmann and had a great sensitivity to sound. His music emerged from the theatre, from singing; singing in itself is something traditional. Unlike his contemporaries, he looked for beautiful melodies. He felt misunderstood in Germany, so he moved to Italy. There, his political commitment was also less controversial.
Henze also wrote in traditional forms, such as symphonies, operas and this oratorio, Das Floss der Medusa. Those genres are centuries old; he was clearly comfortable with the official canon. Personally, I find his music incredibly complex, but at the same time it is always close to the text. Henze has a great sense of drama, uses strong contrasts and contradictions. His music is very lyrical, always thinking from the sound. Also in Das Floss der Medusa the lyrical moments are the strongest as far as I am concerned.
Noteworthy: the role of death is sung by a woman.
Yes, there you have it! We say 'Der Tod', masculine; in Italian it's 'La morte', feminine. It was obvious to Henze that death should be a female voice, he thought that was really important. Death is enticing and seductive, something that takes you in, gives you security. He/she represents a great power in this piece, musically too. The soprano's voice is intertwined with the strings, very evocative and beguiling. Of the 154 sailors, only 14 are able to resist her lure.
Incessant lure of death
This implies that people choose their death themselves, while being victims. After all, the government does not lift a leg to save them from their rickety raft.
Sure, but when you are in great need, the temptation is to throw yourself into the arms of death. Moreover, in this oratorio, that one is a person. A woman, singing incessantly: 'Come to me anyway. It is more beautiful here. There are far too many of you anyway.'
That call sounds incessant, loud and clear, engaging, flattering. I find it interesting that Henze emphasises that enticement so strongly. Once people have died, they sing alongside texts from Dante's Inferno also excerpts from Paradiso. Without that ambivalence, it would have become a pure protest piece, a kind of agit-prop. This way, it gets a deeper charge.
Das Floss der Medusa is of course very topical at the moment. As soon as the refugee crisis broke out, I thought: we have to stage this play. And Castellucci does indeed pull it into the present. He has even been to Senegal, where he shot a film. I think he would prefer to make a live connection with boat refugees on the Mediterranean every night. But you'd have to ask him that, besides, it's technically impossible.
Current without sentiment
Staging such an oratorio is a big challenge anyway. But if anyone can do it, it is he. Without falling into sentimentality, he wants to touch people, make them think about the universal theme. Essentially, of course, it is about power.
We refuse to extend a hand to the weak, the disenfranchised, the poor. While they fight for their lives, we in rich Europe lean back comfortably. Our first impulse is not to help, but to give up. Against this attitude Henze resisted throughout his life, which makes him very dear to me.
Besides the soprano, there are two male soloists - what is their role?
A baritone sings the role of Jean-Charles, the mulatto from the original story who fights to the last against death. When a ship finally comes in sight, he waves a red flag, but shortly after his rescue he still dies. Musically, he is paired with horns, harp and melodic percussion instruments. His role is distinctly dramatic, with him we can identify personally.
Then there is a narrator, who calls himself Charon, the mediator between life and death. He ferries people across with his boat; he creates distance with his objective tone. Charon is intertwined with the percussion in the orchestra, instruments without pitch.
Three worlds
In this way, Henze creates three different worlds, most of which remain separate. Of course, sometimes the instruments play together, but mostly they face each other. That's why the strings sit in the orchestra bench on the left, the winds on the right and the percussion in between.
A similar division can be seen on stage. At the beginning of the performance, the choristers are on the right. They represent the realm of the living, the 154 people on the raft, including some children. Then the great dying starts and the choir divides up. It begins with a small group of the dead moving to the left side of the stage.
In the second part, that group has grown considerably as some time has already passed. Towards the end, two 'solo' choirs form, consisting of the 14 living and 13 dying. Naturally, the latter group also grows smaller and smaller, and eventually only the 14 survivors are left on the right. Thus, the play does not end in sheer despair: they represent the hope for a better future.
Utopian power
I love that messianic mindset. Henze's work has an impressive utopian power. He wanted to shake people up, get them out of their comfort zone. That is what he did in Das Floss der Medusa excellently. - I honestly miss that bounciness in contemporary music.
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