(Following French translation)
Mr. Punch (derived from the Italian character Pulcinella) and his wife Judy are puppet characters, who are popular in England and occupy a status comparable to that of the Kasperltheater genre in Austria. Typically, a hand puppeteer will present several brief sequences that usually lead to conflicts of a somewhat rough and naive nature. These usually include violence, and it was this violence in Harrison Birtwhistle’s opera Punch and Judy that sparked off heated debate in the wake of its 1968 world premiere. To this day, the opera has retained its polarizing effect.
Just a few minutes into the action, Mr. Punch brutally murders his own child and Judy –and as the plot progresses, he ends up killing almost everyone else he encounters. He allows only Pretty Polly -whom he practically worships -/to stay alive. But eventually, Punch is overcome by horrible nightmares and the music begins to change in character…
Paul Griffiths once wrote that Birtwistle’s Mr. Punch is the diametric opposite of Petrushka in Stravinsky’s eponymous ballet. While Petrushka is a puppet, which behaves more and more like a human being, Mr. Punch is a human being, who treats those surrounding him like puppets –carelessly, brutally, and devoid of conscience.
Harrison Birtwistle and his librettist Stephen Pruslin created a stylized tragedy full of grotesque moments. The music is as capable of portraying a monstrous being as it is of portraying love. Their work opens up a positively other-worldly realm, with insane twists and the atmosphere of the marketplace. Written commissioned by Aldeburgh Festival, the work is presented as a tragic comedy, focuses on the adventures of Punch, a mad man suffering from severe personality disorders.
The opera, in the production of Neue Oper Wien (Wien, Austria), in october 2014 won the great prize of the jury at the ARMEL FESTIVAL and the audience prize at ARTE LIVE TELEVISION, in Budapest.
A tragical comedy or comical tragedy in one act. Scenario and libretto written by Stephen PRUSLIN, Director: Leonard PRINSLOO, Conductor: Walter KOBÉRA
Punch – Richard RITTELMANN (Hungary)
Judy; Fortune teller – Manuela LEONHARTSBERGER
Choregos; Jack Ketch – Till VON ORLOWSKY
Pretty Polly; Witch – Jennifer YOON
Lawyer – Lorin WEY
Doctor – Johannes SCHWENDINGER
Dancer – Evamaria MAYER
WITH:
amadeus ensemble-wien
Set and costume – Monika BIEGLER
Video design – Bernd PREIML
Lighting design – Norbert CHMEL
Language coach – Stephen CHAUNDRY
Musical coach – Anna SUSHON
Musical assistant – Jack RIDLEY
Dramaturgy – Axel PETRI-PREIS
Stage manager – Lucija DEDIC
Assistant – Thomas WAHL
Production manager – Su PITZEK
Technical director – Norbert CHMEL
Make-up artist – Henriette ZWÖLFER
Assitant director – Barbara PREIS
Orchestra management – Wolfgang TROJAN
Stage construction – winter artservice
This Opera’s production will be performed at the theatre Opera of Avignon on june 2015
Richard RITTELMANN (baritone, Hungary) – Punch
Richard Rittelmann debuted at the age of 22 at the Opéra National de Lyon in Doktor Faust (Busoni). Since then he has been a winner at various international competitions. His discography covers a wide repertoire, from baroque to classical, romantic, 20th-century and contemporary repertoire, including some world premieres. His most memorable roles include Harlekin in Ariadne auf Naxos (Strauss), Le Bret in Cyrano de Bergerac (Alfano), Figaro in Il barbiere di Siviglia (Rossini), Danilo in The Merry Widow (Lehár), Tarquinius in The Rape of Lucretia (Britten), and Pelléas in Pelléas et Mélisande (Debussy), for which he gained worldwide reputation…
NEUE OPER WIEN
The Neue Oper Wien was founded in 1990. The company specialises in modern music theatre, with the uncompromising policy of selecting only works from the 20th and 21st centuries. New discoveries as well as world and local premieres are central to the company’s work. Its objective is to revive modern opera repertoire. The Viennese audience enthusiastic about the works of Benjamin Britten was impressed by the Neue Oper Wien, when they staged Billy Budd for the first time in Austria in 1996. The first performance of Lachenmann’s Das Mädchen mit den Schwefelhölzern was also put on stage by the Neue Oper Wien in 2003 – this production was a sensational success and drew much international attention. Lacking its own venue or a constant company, the Neue Oper Wien could remain flexible; it regularly changes the venue of its performances. It selects stages for the work to be to be performed, with the constant modification of the space, the scenery is adapted closely to the space, aiming at the best acoustic effect possible. Under the leadership of Walter Kobéra, the Neue Oper Wien has demonstrated that innovation and popular success are not mutually exclusive, and that modern opera and innovative stagings need not distract lovers of music from this genre, but rather lead to intense discussions between audience and artists. The Neue Oper Wien considers the music theatre as a laboratory of “new music,” a forum to discuss timely social issues.
>>> French translation
Mr Punch (from the Italian character Pulcinella) and his wife Judy are characters of puppets, which are very popular in England and a status comparable to that of the genus Kasperltheater in Austria. Typically, a puppeteer's hand will present several short sequences that lead generally to conflicts of a little rough and naive nature. These generally include violence, and it was this violence in Harrison Birtwhistle Punch and Judy opera which has triggered a heated debate following his first world in 1968. To date, the opera has retained its polarizing effect.
A few minutes of action, Mr. punch brutally murdered her own child and Judy, as the plot progresses, he ended up killing almost everyone he meets. It saves only Pretty Polly, he practically loves to stay alive. But ultimately, Punch is topped by horrific nightmares and music began to change character …
Paul Griffiths wrote that Mr. Punch of Birtwistle is diametrically opposed to Petrushka in the eponymous ballet by Stravinsky. Petrushka is a puppet, which behaves more and more like a human being, Mr Punch is a human being devoid of conscience which deals with those who surround him like puppets, carelessly, brutally…..
Harrison Birtwistle and his librettist Stephen Pruslin created a stylized tragedy full of grotesque moments. The music is also capable of embodying a monstrous being that to portray love. Their work opens a positive vision of another world, with crazy twists and reflects the atmosphere of the Marketplace. Commissioned by the Aldeburgh Festival, the work presented as a tragic comedy focuses on the adventures of Punch, a madman who suffers from severe personality disorders.
The proud Richard Alexander Rittelman baritone as Artaban…
The opera, in the production of Neue Oper Wien (Vienna, Austria) gets in October 2014 the grand prize of the jury at the festival ARMEL and the price of the public at live TV ARTE, in Budapest.
A tragical comedy or comical tragedy in one act. Scenario and Libretto written by Stephen Pruslin, Director: Leonard PRINSLOO, conductor: Walter Kobera
Punch – RICHARD Alexander RITTELMANN (Hungary)
Judy; Fortune teller – Manuela Leonhartsberger
choregos; Jack Ketch – Until VON Orlowsky
Pretty Polly; Witch – Jennifer YOON
Lawyer – Lorin WEY
Doctor – Johannes Schwendinger
Dancer – Evamaria MAYER
WITH:
All Amadeus-Wien
Set designer and costumes – Monika BIEGLER
Design of the video – Bernd PREIML
Lighting design – Norbert CHMEL
Language coach – Stephen CHAUNDRY
Musical coach – Anna SUSHON
Musical Assistant – Jack RIDLEY
Dramaturgy – Axel PETRI-Preis
Stage manager – Lucija DEDIC
Assistant – Thomas WAHL
Director of production – Su PITZEK
Technical Director – Norbert CHMEL
Makeup artist – Henriette Zwölfer
Deputy Director – Barbara PREIS
Orchestra management – Wolfgang trojan
Construction of the scene – Artservice of winter
The production of this opera will be played at the Avignon Opera Theater on June 2015
Natalia Dantas
link to the complete opera on Youtube