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October 27, 2008… The massive
global hit Emilia Galotti, directed by German radical
minimalist Michael Thalheimer, opens at the Stratford
Shakespeare Festival for a four-day run on November 6.
First staged in 2001, this version of Emilia Galotti is
one of the most successful productions in recent German theatre.
Sold out over a hundred times at the Deutsches Theater in
Berlin, it has been hailed by audiences in various German cities
and on tours abroad, in cities such as Belgrade, Rome, Mexico
City, Bolzano in Italy, Bogotá in Colombia, New York, Moscow,
Tokyo and Winterthur in Switzerland.
Using stunning light and sound effects on a bare stage,
Thalheimer transforms Gotthold Ephraim Lessing’s classic drama,
written in 1772, into a timeless modern story about the failure
of communication. Everything that’s said in this production is
ambiguous: pledges of love, vows of revenge and proclamations of
faithfulness and virtue. Only the actions speak an unequivocal
language: the mute dialogue of hopelessness.
The production features actors Nina Hoss as Gräfin Orsina;
Ingo Hülsmann as Marinelli; Barbara Schnitzler as
Claudia Galotti; Sven Lehmann as Hettore Gonzaga;
Peter Pagel as Odoardo Galotti; Henning Vogt as Graf
Appiani; and Regine Zimmermann as Emilia Galotti.
It is designed by Olaf Altmann with music by Bert
Wrede.
Thalheimer’s production explores the gulf between words and
deeds: the contradiction between the rapid-fire language, which
comes fast and furious in an attempt to avert the play’s
incomprehensible new situation, and the actions that are born of
helplessness. Everything that’s said aloud is merely
provisional. Now and then, when the characters themselves become
aware of this, their rapid flow of words comes to an astonished
halt for minutes at a time, until the whirl of actions and
reactions pulls them ever closer to catastrophe. With the tried
and tested radicalism already witnessed in his productions of
Ferenc Molnár’s Liliom and Arthur Schnitzler’s
Liebelei, the director works his way to the very heart of
Lessing’s play, which is among the darkest in all of German
literature.
It tells the story of Prince Hettore Gonzaga, who cares about
nothing – except Emilia Galotti, the daughter of a pious
middle-class army officer. The Prince’s desire changes
everything in the life of this sensible, God-fearing girl. As
the play begins, it’s 10 o’clock in the morning – three days
after the two have met fatefully in the church. The Prince
learns that Emilia is to become another man’s wife in two hours’
time, in a bond founded not on political or economical
strategies but purely on love. Panic rushes in and
miscalculations and ill-judged actions determine the course of
events.
The Prince wants to postpone Emilia’s wedding, but he misjudges
the brutal way his friend Marinelli will go about that business.
He underestimates the reactions of Emilia and her parents –
especially her father, a man with strong codes of honour who
watches sharply over his daughter. And he overlooks the fact
that his long-time mistress, the Countess Orsina, won’t be
pushed aside so easily.
Marinelli has Emilia’s fiancé, the Count Appiani, murdered and
abducts the bride to a nearby castle. Still, the Prince is
unable to enjoy his conquest. By the time the wedding day whose
"morning was so beautiful" draws to a close, it’s all over.
Emilia Galotti will run for four days only at the Stratford
Shakespeare Festival’s Avon Theatre. It will be presented in
German with English titles, but is such a visually compelling
production that language is secondary.
This run offers a rare North American opportunity to see a
production that is making a major impact in theatres around the
world.
Emilia Galotti plays November 6 at 8 p.m.; November 7 at 2
p.m.; November 8 at 2 p.m.; and November 9 at 2 p.m. For tickets
contact the box office at 1-800-567-1600 or visit
stratfordshakespearefestival.com.
German movie nights
In conjunction with the run of Emilia Galotti, the
Festival is programming a weekend of German films (with English
subtitles) in the Studio Theatre. Two double bills will be
presented. On Friday, November 7, beginning at 7 p.m., see
Head On and Goodbye, Lenin! On Saturday, November 8,
also beginning at 7 p.m., see The Lives of Others and
Run Lola Run. Films are free of charge; seats can be
reserved through the box office at 1-800-567-1600.
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