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2020 / 2021 Main Hall the 8th Season
20 / 23 February * Saturday / Tuesday * 5.00 / 7.00 pm
BEETHOVEN – IMMORTAL – LOVE
Ballet in 2 acts
to the music of L.V. Beethoven, J.S. Bach, F.J. Haydn, W.A. Mozart, D.P. Haubrich
Librettist and Choreographer – Raimondo Rebeck
Music Director and Conductor – Abzal Mukhitdin, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan
Set Designer and the Lighting Concept Designer – Yoko Seyama
Assistant Lighting Designer – Valerio Tiberi
Costume Designer – Rosa Ana Chanza
Assistant Costume Designer – Arassel Dosmuratova
Projection Designer – Sergio Metalli
Chief Choirmaster – Yerzhan Dautov, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan
Manager of the Opera Company – Azamat Zheltyrguzov, Honoured Worker of Kazakhstan
Assistant Conductor – Ruslan Baimurzin
Piano Solo – Dolores Umbetaliyeva
Artistic Director of the Ballet – Altynai Asylmuratova, Honoured Artist of Russia
Choreographer Raimondo Rebeck is known to our audience for his one-act ballet How long is Now?, which successfully runs at the stage of the Astana Opera.
The musical basis for the production are the works of Beethoven himself (including the famous Ninth Symphony with the participation of the choir), as well as Bach, Haydn, Mozart and modern composer by Dirk Haubrich.
The ballet is about the tragedy and triumph of the great creator, whose life companions were Deafness, Suffering, Love and Inspiration.
Running time: 2 hours 15 minutes (including one interval)
ASTANA OPERA BALLET COMPANY, OPERA SOLOISTS, SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA AND THE CHORUS
Dear viewers, please do not forget to maintain social distancing and wear masks during the interval
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SYNOPSIS
1 ACT
1 Scene. Beethoven's funeral
Vienna 1827.
Beethoven's passing dismays and horrifies Viennese society. The artistic and social elite, as well as the general public, pay tribute to Beethoven and pay their last respects to him.
His funeral becomes a procession; his music has reached the boundaries of the cosmos and is celebrated in a form of universal space.
The elements that have accompanied his existence in life – his deafness and suffering, his love and inspiration for music and his "Immortal Love" – appear symbolically at his funeral.
Timeless in the universe!
2 Scene. Deafness, Illness
A symbolic figure appears on the stage.
An everlasting premonition and ever-accompanying condition in Beethoven's early years and in his life and work.
Deafness!
Probably the worst of all evils for a composer, it appears on stage and creates a gloomy premonition and atmosphere.
3 Scene. The young Ludwig
In the house of Beethoven the new "child prodigy" is trained and disciplined to perfection by his stern father.
The family, his mother and his two younger brothers are present and attend the father's daily training.
At the same time, however, two symbols and elements are also present. There is Euterpe – as muse and inspiration for art and music, but Beethoven's ubiquitous suffering and deafness is also present in the room, always present and as a personal foreboding.
His father's alcohol addiction gives Beethoven the chance to be alone. In his inner seclusion and quest for perfection, a "triangular relationship" evolves between Beethoven, "art" and "deafness".
In his imagination, Euterpe gives him the necessary inspiration and creativity.
However, at the same time, deafness and suffering are unsettling companions.
4 Scene. Viennese Ball
Unique art is always timeless and imperishable and clear in its expression.
Thus crystal is also an element, which possesses clarity and transparency, yet also reflects when touched by rays of light.
The aristocracy and the nobility of Vienna are such a "crystal society". One needs the light of Beethoven's art and the rays of light he and his music exude in order to reflect and radiate oneself.
In a unique "Crystal Palace", the noble Viennese society celebrates and enjoys Beethoven's presence and the splendor of his music.
A celebration and ball – cool and transparent – as only crystal can be.
But there is also this moment of loneliness, fear and longing again in the midst of this society. In this solitary moment, the woman in red appears – his "Immortal Love" and he encounters her.
Beethoven also believed that he would receive Mozart's spirit from the hands of Haydn. These two musical titans appear to Beethoven in his quest and desire for musical perfection. Both emerge from their paintings and in connection with the appearance of Euterpe, an atmosphere of creative fertilization and creativity arises.
2 ACT
5 Scene. Immortal Love
Beethoven is alone with his Immortal Love. She symbolizes the desire to be loved and his longing and eternal search for physical fulfillment. A moment full of passion and love – but also of the dawning inner conflict between art and love and social constraints.
In the end, Beethoven must choose. He makes this decision, influenced by his suffering and the incipient deafness, the social circumstances and follows Euterpe. From now on, solitude becomes his most faithful companion.
6 Scene. Beethoven's last years, his deafness and preparation for the 9th Symphony
A disturbing scene. Beethoven is torn. His decision to abandon his Immortal Love in favor of art drives him in his creativity. At the same time, however, his deafness also forces him to face insurmountable problems. He struggles for every note and improvement.
Socially isolated from the outside world, he encounters the moments and shadows of his past.
7 Scene. The 9th Symphony
Timeless! Eternal! Immortal!
The scene is a timeless interpretation in terms of its realization and staging, with an interaction between ballet, singers and the orchestra. The autograph is part of the UNESCO world heritage.
The last movement with the choral finale to Schiller's poem "Ode to Joy" is known throughout the world. The theme of this movement forms the very essence of the European anthem. The symphony expresses the struggle of a human heart that longs for a time of pure joy, beyond the pain and suffering, but which is not destined for him in its full clarity and purity.
Beethoven composed his Utopian art not for his contemporaries, but for posterity.
A heavenly atmosphere completely in white – timeless and for eternity.
In the end, Beethoven stands alone before the audience.
Timeless in the universe!
