Peer Gynt

PEER GYNT: SYNOPSIS

Prologue: Into the World

Solveig wanders around in the middle of nowhere. A mysterious box draws her attention.

Act I: Norway

After days of unexplained absence, the Nordic farmer’s son Peer Gynt returns to the house of his old mother Åse (Peer and his Mother Åse). Åse has difficulty believing his fantastical excuses. In any case, during his absence Peer has avoided the opportunity to marry Ingrid, the daughter of a rich farmer: someone else has asked for her hand and she will soon marry him. Peer maintains that he will one day become king, or perhaps even emperor (Peer’s Imagination)...

Peers arrives uninvited at the wedding of Ingrid and her bridegroom (Peer at Ingrid’s Wedding Celebration). There he encounters an unhappy Ingrid, who greets the guests with slices of cake (Appearance of Solveig and her Parents). Late in the evening, Peers suddenly meets Solveig, daughter of a recently arrived church minister (Solveig-Peer: Pas de deux). It is love at first sight. Ingrid’s bridegroom ruins things (The World of the Small-minded Locals).

In revenge, Peer elopes with Ingrid, incurring the fury of the whole village (In the Mountains with Ingrid). Things don’t go well with Ingrid and he leaves her all alone in the mountains. Continuing to wander, Peer finds his way to the King of the Trolls (The Troll-world). At first, it seems a tempting idea to marry the troll king’s daughter, but she threatens to ensnare him. In panic he runs away.

Alone in the mountains, Peer Gynt confronts himself. (The Bøyg). What should he do? Go back to Solveig? Or ignore his problems? He decides to continue further into the mountains and build a hut for himself (Peer’s Solitude).

Meanwhile, Solveig has gone in search of Peer and finds him at his hut (Solveig Comes to Peer: Pas de deux). Their brief moment of happiness is disturbed by the troll king’s daughter, who tells Peer that she is pregnant by him and will pursue him for ever (The Woman in Green). Peer flees from the child that looks astonishingly like him – and thus leaves Solveig.

Arriving home, Peer sees that his mother is dying (Åse’s Death: Pas de deux). He tries to cheer her up with his fantastical tales, but to no avail. Now orphaned, he decides to leave Norway – far from the troll king’s daughter, far from himself.

Act II: Out in the World – Illusions

An idyllic sunrise. Peer is now in America and living on the street (Overture). While performing a street act, he is discovered by Anitra, who takes him to Hollywood  (Auditions). A first photoshoot – with Peer as the poster hero for a superman film –  goes well (Emperor of the World) and Anitra takes him home. There she punishes him (Peer’s Dance with the Whip). Tied to a bed, Peer suddenly thinks of Solveig (Solveig’s Dance). Is this the right place for him? He breaks free and throws himself  – realising that what’s done can’t be undone – into the game that Anitra is playing with him (Peer’s Mad Dance). During a second photoshoot, Peer stands with Anitra in front of the cameras (Peer’s Coronation). His past continues to haunt him and little by little he loses his grip on reality (Finale). When Peer suddenly notices that he is in a mental asylum, it is already too late.

Act III: Return

Years later, Peer is discharged from the mental asylum and returns by boat to Norway.  (Mesto). On the boat, he is visited by a mephistophelian character: the Button Maker (Andante). Not intending to allow his soul to be simply stolen, Peer fights the devil. The boat sinks and Peer vanishes beneath the waves. Peer wakes up on the beach in Norway. He returns to his village but finds it in ruins (Peer’s memories). He suddenly sees Ingrid, whose body lies in the old farmhouse where the wedding once took place. Her husband sits silently by (Ingrid’s Burial). Peer meets the Button Maker a second time and allows himself to be told that he is neither good enough for Heaven nor bad enough for Hell. Like a deficient button –  without holes –  he must be melted down and recast.

Fleeing into the mountains – where in the meantime the forest has burned – Peer spots the hut he once built. He has an inkling that Solveig is waiting there for him, but he can’t reach her (Scene with Solveig). Later he has a confrontation with himself (The Onion / Despair and Escape). The Button Maker meets him a third time (Deliverance).

Epilogue: Out of the World

Peer drifts between Heaven and Hell. What has life offered him? Could he have made something of himself, or was his life governed by circumstances?

PEER GYNT: PROGRAMME NOTES

The Soviet-German composer Alfred Schnittke is known as one of the most exciting of post-war symphonists. His stunning music has appeared frequently in the programme of the Belgian National Orchestra. We now present the Belgian première of what is probably Alfred Schnittke’s most demanding work: a jam-packed, more than two hours long ballet entitled Peer Gynt. Not in a concert version, but staged by a young team under the direction of Mien Bogaert.  
 

Peer Gynt is first and foremost a theatre piece by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. He wrote this long, dramatic poem in verse form in 1867. Like Goethe’s Faust, Peer Gynt contains a great number of characters, takes place in many locations, and the main character is accompanied by some sort of devil figure. Peer Gynt is the libertine who can’t give his life meaning and would rather live in his own fantasy world than face reality. He abandons his childhood sweetheart because he – after an encounter with a troll’s daughter – feels too tainted, drifts around the world for a good while, does more harm than good and returns home towards the end of his life. There he is in the Faustian manner ‘redeemed’ by his childhood sweetheart Solveig  – who all this time has been sitting and waiting for him. 

Ibsen’s play is still performed as regularly as clockwork today. The tale of the Nordic rake became even better known through the incidental music that Edvard Grieg wrote for Peer Gynt. Combined into two orchestral suites, this music has meanwhile found a place in the classical music hit parade. The movements’ titles for this orchestral suite introduce us to the most important characters: Peer Gynt’s mother Ase, the rich farmer’s daughter Ingrid, Peer Gynt’s true love Solveig, the King of the Trolls and the exotic Anitra who manages to seduce Peer Gynt in Africa.  

John Neumeier’s ballet version

The story of the Peer Gynt that Alfred Schnittke wrote, begins with the American choreographer John Neumeier. Since 1973, he has been (and still is today) ballet director at the Hamburg State Opera. In the 1980s he decided to create a new ballet based on Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. He engaged Alfred Schnittke to write the music, having already used Schnittke’s music in other ballet productions.

The libretto for his ballet production was written by John Neumeier himself. In doing so, he kept for the most part close to Ibsen’s original, with two important modifications. John Neumeier reinterpreted Peer Gynt’s wanderings around the world as an attempt to make a career in Hollywood as a dancer, actor and finally film producer. Just as with Ibsen, here Peer Gynt gradually succumbs to megalomania. The other important change is the addition of a 25 minute epilogue. 

“When I attend theatre productions of Peer Gynt,” says John Neumeier, “the ending always disappoints me. Solveig has waited so long for Peer, but when he finally arrives, the play is instantly over. […] I want to experience their being together, how they slowly come together, the emotions they feel in doing so. The epilogue is the spiritual and metaphysical core of the whole piece: an endless adagio, a ritual coming together beyond the actual.” 

Alfred Schnittke’s near-death experiences

“Reconciling serious and light music, that’s my life’s aim”, Alfred Schnittke once said, “even if I might perhaps break my neck in trying.” The Soviet-German composer and pianist lived and worked in Moscow until 1990. There he over time developed a polystylistic compositional technique with Charles Ives, Luciano Berio and Bernd Alois Zimmerman as his main inspirations. Besides chamber music, concertos and symphonies, Alfred Schnittke wrote music for about 70 different films. These unusually rich scores have been rediscovered since the start of the new millennium. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Alfred Schnittke moved to Hamburg where he died in 1998. 

Polystylistic continues to be an important term for characterising Schnittke’s Peer Gynt. In a highly exuberant manner, the score unites the legacies of composers such as Shostakovich and Mahler, Darmstadt serialism, jazz, tango and a lot more. But Peer Gynt is more than simply a colourful potpourri of musical citations that are applied repeatedly, ironically and even twisted grotesquely. The ballet music in the first act  – illustrative and full of clichés – returns quite detached in the third act. Eventually, musically speaking, the three acts appear to form one huge prologue for the magnificent epilogue. Here within, all the musical material returns, but now seen from another perspective. Sub specie aeternitatis. Five choirs (on tape) create shadow sonorities that immerse listeners in an almost mystical experience.  

Alfred Schnittke suffered a first heart attack in 1985. He lay unconscious for several months and was declared clinically dead three times. The near-death experiences he recalled after recovering consciousness formed the main source of inspiration for the music in the Peer Gynt epilogue.

The spark of irrationality

The Belgian National Orchestra worked together with Klarafestival and Bozar for the Belgian premiere of Schnittke’s Peer Gynt and employed a young team led by director and scenographer Mien Bogaert to stage the work in the Henry Le Boeuf Hall. Above the orchestra, directed by Danish conductor Michael Schønwandt, a monumental installation was built, within and on top of which two dancers and an actor  –  both live and on video –  get to work with the original characters from Ibsen’s Peer Gynt. Choreography is in the hands of Talitha De Decker. Benjamien Lycke is responsible for the videos.   

Costume designer and make-up artist Dennis Peschke places Peer Gynt, the young man who doesn’t wish to grow up and suffers from delusions of grandeur, almost naked on stage with a paper crown, pants and his own dancer’s body as the only signifiers. “All the characters that Peer meets are part of his fantasy and wear masks. They don’t reflect reality but embody the fearful images that Peer is constantly running from. Only Solveig is without a mask. She is the only one who has direct access to Peer.” 

“Peer Gynt is that part of our personality that pushes unpleasant truths aside so we can continue with life,” says Mien Bogaert. “Knowledge is not the problem. We all know that our present mode of existence isn’t sustainable, that our every act of consumption does harm to someone and that –  if we’re really feeling pessimistic – our presence on the planet is doing more harm than good. Nevertheless, life goes on. Peer Gynt is the spark of irrationality that continually condones our actions. Within that spark, which makes us human beings what we are, lies an extraordinary amount of beauty.” 

Mien Bogaert

Mien Bogaert – director and scenographer

Mien Bogaert studied Art History at the University of Gent and Music Theatre Direction at the HfMT Hamburg. Aside from being dramaturg at the BNO, he is also active as a director, librettist and scenographer. He alternates between staging established repertoire and new creations such as A l’extrême bord du monde (De Munt, 2020). In addition, he has written, amongst others, the libretto for MONU (Concertgebouw Bruges, 2015) and for the ‘micro-opera’ A Safe and Special Place (Ensemble Modern, 2019). His next project is the direction and scenography of EDELWILD for KOPERGIETERY Gent (April 2022).

Benjamien Lycke – video and editing

Benjamien Lycke studied composition at the Conservatory of Gent and Composing for Screen at the RCM in London. His diverse oeuvre extends from film to dance and theatre, and includes the micro-operas PUCK (2016) and CYCLOPS (2017), and the multimedial war requiem MONU (Concertgebouw Bruges, 2015). Benjamien Lycke  has worked as videographer  on dance performances such as Tinkling I and the opera production A l’extrême bord du monde (De Munt, 2020). He was recently commissioned by the Koningin Elisabethkapel  to create a breathtaking on screen version of Le Carnaval des Animaux.

Dennis Peschke – costumes and makeup

Dennis Peschke studied Costume Design at the HAW Hamburg and makeup artistry at the Hamburg State Opera. He has worked as costume designer on productions for, amongst others, the Deutsches Schauspielhaus, the Hamburg State Opera, the Oberhausen Theatre and the HfMT Hamburg. In January 2020, he was a semifinalist for the RING AWARD 2020 and in the same year he won the Baden-Baden award of the Chamber of Trade and Industry (IHK). Since 2017, he has been Deputy Head of Makeup at the Hamburg State Opera and Hamburg Ballet John Neumeier.

Talitha De Decker – choreography

Talitha De Decker completed her studies as choreographer at the Fontys School of Fine and Performing Arts, Tilburg in 2014. She has created choreographies for MONU (2015) and for the ‘micro-opera’ PUCK (2016). Both TINKLING I and the production SNAP XL toured widely at home and abroad. She has already worked as a dancer with The Retronettes, Strange People, Criaturas and Theater Tol. She opened her own dance school in Eeklo in 2010: Dansschool Movimento. She recently created the performance Figure it Out, which will go on tour in the upcoming seasons.

Axel Guérin – dancer

Axel Guérin studied at the Academy of Circus and Performing Arts in Tilburg together with his acrobatics partner, Winston Reynolds, where he specialised in ‘floor-based duo acro dance’. After completing his studies in 2016, he toured with Pirates of the Carabina and JABADAO and performed in shows such as family trees (KOPERGIETERY). He has worked on productions  together with Florentina Holzinger, and has worked regularly with Alexander Vantournhout’s company Not Standing since 2016. He is currently appearing in the productions Through the Grapevine and SCREWS.

Frans Maas – actor

Frans Maas completed his acting studies around 50 years ago at the KMC in Antwerp. His most notable roles have been Caligula, Willy Brandt in Democracy, Robert Schumann in Clara, Robert and Johannes, Gabriel Garcia Marquez in Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Kreon in Antigone, and Znorko in Enigma Variations. He has played leading roles in the music theatre productions of Je Anne, Zacco & Vanzetti and My Fair Lady. He has performed some eight monologues, including Het Behouden Huis, The Kreutzer sonata, Chameleon, Don Juan and Ze zijn me vergeten.

Laure-Anne Iserief – dancer

Laure-Anne Iserief completed her studies as dancer and dance tutor at the Royal Conservatory in Antwerp. She is a member of the young Antwerp theatre collective movement WOLF, that with the production Filter, carried out research into concentration in overstrung times. In addition, she performed in Una Casa Cascata by the multidisciplinary  Hanafubuki company. At present, Laure-Anne Iserief gives lessons in bodily awareness at de!Kunsthumaniora in Antwerp.

Antonia Evers – costume assistant and actress

Antonia Evers studied costume design at the HAW Hamburg and last summer completed her degree with the thesis Carl Gustav Jung’s Consideration of Mental Balance. In 2020 she was costume assistant at the Salzburg Festival for Così fan tutte, in a production directed by Christof Loy. For the production of Die kluge Elise, as part of the ‘akademie kontemporär 2021 Hamburg’, she provided the costumes. She is also active in the world of advertising as a stylist and costume designer, particularly in collaboration with the Hamburg online content company Virus.

16:00 - 17:30

Cinematek

The famous theatrical character Peer Gynt visits a congolese village in Michiel Robberecht's short film.

Between the short film and the making-off, there is a short interview with the filmmaker.

21:30 - 22:30

Klarafestival LOUNGE 

Join us in the Klarafestival LOUNGE for a drink and a chat.

CONCERTMASTER

Alexei Moshkov

FIRST VIOLINS

Olga Scroubkova

Sarah Guiguet *

Maria Elena Boila

Françoise Gilliquet

Akika Hayakawa

Serge Stons

Dirk Van de Moortel

Nidjal Jebali

Asiza Salahova

Isabelle Scoubeau

Gabrielle Mazzon

SECOND VIOLINS

Peter Bogaert

Nathalie Lefin *

Marie-Daniëlle Turner *

Hartwig D’Haene

Ana Spanu

Isabelle Liagre

Juliette Janssen

Radostina Tchalakova

Ingrid Vanmosselvelde

Louis Noel

VIOLAS 

Marc Sabbah *

Mihoko Kusama *

Dmitry Ryabinin *

Sophie Destivelle

Katelijne Onsia

Marinela Serban

Edouard Thise

Song Aun Mun

ORGAN / HARPSICHORD

Karol Golebiowski

CELESTA

Flavio Casaccio

CELLOES

Dmitry Silvian **

Herwig Coryn

Tine Muyle * 

Harm Van Rheeden

Taras Zanchak

Corentin Faure

DOUBLE BASSES

Svetoslav Dimitriev *

Ludo Joly * 

Serghei Gorlenko *

Dcan Ishimoto

Miguel Meulders

Gergana Terziyska 

FLUTES

Denis-Pierre Gustin *

Jeremie Fevre *

Laurence Dubar * 

OBOES

Arnaud Guittet *

Ilona Ingels 

Bram Nolf *

CLARINETS

Julien Beneteau **

Geert Baeckelandt

Vladimir Patchinski

BASSOONS

Bert Helsen *

Filip Neyens *

Bob Permentier *

PIANO

Geert Callaert

HORNS

Anthony Devriendt *** 

Katrien Vintioen *

Jan Van Duffel *

Bernard Wasnaire *

Dries Laureyssen

TRUMPETS

Leo Wouters  ***

Ward Opsteyn *

Bram Mergaert

Thomas Mellaerts 

Bert Mees 

TROMBONES

Guido Liveyns *

Bruno Debusschere

Sander Vets

Cyril Francq

TUBAS

Stijn Aertgeerts 

TIMPANI

Nico Schoeters ***

PERCUSSION

Arthur Ros 

Koen Maes

Carlo Willems

Jens De Pauw

Pieter Vincken

Frederik Sannen

Karel Opsteyn

Jasmijn Vandecaetsbeek

Mathias Roofthooft

HARP

Annie Lavoisier

***  principal

**   first soloist

*     soloist