LOVESONG (2021)
LOVESONG follows the traces of the German national anthem in the dramaturgy of a playlist. In cooperation with several musicians and the German champions of flag waving, the German national anthem is deconstructed and transformed on the basis of its melody, its harmonies transposed, overlaid and welded with contemporary pop music, Baroque trombones and electronic singing voices. The sound of the flag itself comes into focus as well.
National anthems are odes, praises and longings set to music. They are love songs, popular hymns and bloody songs of war devoted to the nation. They tell of a romantic love that always means the bloodshed of others. Namely, those who are not part of this “Schicksalsgemeinschaft". The proclamation of a nation inaugurates the anthem as an acoustic monument. Today, these have the aspect of relics from Europe’s 18th and 19th century.
The most recent attempt to actualise the lyrics (2018) of the German national anthem demonstrated the persistence of a problem the national anthem can’t seem to shake off. It is indeed not just the text as much as the melody that has inscribed itself deep into the collective memory of Germany. While the official verse of the national anthem has changed numerous times throughout history, the melody stayed the same. The associations awakend by melodies can become incredibly powerful. The melody of the German national anthem is irrevocably linked to the Nazi regime. Every time it resounds, history resonates as an auditory trauma.
Watch –> Video <– excerpts
Dates
04.-05.09.21 Hamburg, Hauptsache Frei Festival,
09.06.22 RinglokschuppenMühlheim a. d. Ruhr, Impulse Theater Festival
17.-18.09.22 Schwankhalle Bremen, Spielzeiteröffnung
31.03.-01.04.23 Kampnagel
– Extremely dense, extremely coherent, gripping, but not striking and simplifying, it explores the boundaries - the concepts of nation and border maintain an intimate relationship. The musical finesse is matched by clever scenic settings.
Some are simply funny. And the quartet of flag-wavers, at first seems like a curiosity, is great. –
Benno Schirrmeiste, taz
– A musical-choreographic play about identification and appropriation...Smart, clear, highly musical and much less of a fighting project than expected. That's not what it's about. "Lovesong" reflects...the strange constellation of open society plus post-Nazism that we live with so naturally. –
Cornelia Fiedler, nachtkritik.de
Co-production Hauptsache Frei Festival. Funded by Behörde für Kultur und Medien Hamburg, Fonds Darstellende Künste, Rudolf-Augstein-Stiftung, Dachverband freie darstellende Künste Hamburg. With the kind support of HALLO: Verein zur Förderung raumöffnender Kultur
Concept, music, director: Daniel Dominguez Teruel Voice: Mona Steinwidder, Nour Eddin E-guitar: Homero Alonso Langbein Zink: Lilli Pätzold Baroque trombone: Juan González Martínez, Sabine Gassner, Alexandra Mikheeva, Dalton Harris Flags: Hans Konrad, Trinh Vo, Lisa Schlaich, Gerhard Schlaich, Svenja Freimoser, Alexandra Mennel, support: Ines Schlaich Artistic collaboration: Golo Pauleit, Steven Thelen Styling: Golo Pauleit Scenography: Steven Thelen Choir director: Eva Spaeth Consulting dramaturgy: Adnan Softić Consulting choreography: Regina Rossi Line producer: Florian Vitez, George Williams Technical director: Florian Vitez Sound engineer: Benjamin Kurz Light engineer Dominik Willisch
Photos: Juha Hansen, Johannes Treß, Robin Junicke, Marianne Menke