Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

Stabat Mater

Oratorio by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi

First performed in 1736 at Pozzuoli, original version
Musique de Giacinto Scelsi
Three Latin Prayers for a cappella choir (1970)
Quattro Pezzi (su una nota sola) for orchestra (1959)

Creation of the Grand Théâtre de Genève
New production

In coproduction with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen, Teatro dell’Opera di Roma, Dutch National Opera

Cathédrale Saint-Pierre
Unnumbered seat

Duration: approx. 1h15 without intermission*

Cast

Musical Director Barbara Hannigan
Stage Director, Scenographer, Costumes designer et Lighting Designer Romeo Castellucci
Dramaturgy Christian Longchamp

Soprano Barbara Hannigan
Countertenor Jakub Józef Orliński

Ensemble Pomo d’Oro
Ensemble Contrechamps
Maîtrise du Conservatoire populaire de Genève

About

The Grand Théâtre de Genève invites for the first time Italian director Romeo Castellucci, for a special encounter with Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. This for a show outside walls and genre, centred around the figure of Mary and the Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.

Part of the religious canon since its premiere in 1736, two months before the 26-year-old composer died of tuberculosis, the work is scored for the traditional complement of two solo voices (soprano and alto) and a reduced instrumental ensemble. It remains part of the usual Good Friday repertoire and has inspired numerous composers who have adapted, revised or borrowed it, from Bach to Hindemith. The name Stabat Mater corresponds to the opening words of a sequence composed in the 13th century and attributed, undoubtedly falsely, to the Italian Franciscan, Jacopone da Todi. The sequence’s text evokes the suffering of Mary during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ, and had already been used by Palestrina, de Lassus, Caldara and Scarlatti. It was excluded from the liturgy in the standard Roman Missal set by the Council of Trent (1570), but was reinstated in 1727.

For this project, the Grand Théâtre presents a musical dramaturgy augmented through works by one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, Giacinto Scelsi. His iconic Quattro pezzi su una sola nota see him applying himself to making perceptible its vibrations and depth. Indeed, following several years of hospitalization, the composer (and poet) refocused his writing technique on texture and no longer on combinatory art. This composition-manifesto earned Scelsi a reputation as a precursor of drone music and minimalist music. A testimonial to Scelsi’s fascination with Gregorian chant, its three antiphonal Latin prayers will complete the new musical canon around this Stabat Mater.

Famous for his symbolic interpretations with eye-catching imagery, and for his almost liturgical language, theatre man Romeo Castellucci has already revisited the greatest classics of literature and of the musical repertoire, from Dante to Mahler. Considering theatrical ritual to be more a visual art than one of text, he populates his creations with visions made of living paintings. His approach evolves between the pictorial tradition inherited from our past, and the search for meaning in a world stained with human and natural disasters. This project around the mother of Christ and the compassion at the center of Pergolesi’s work will be given substance by the space of Geneva’s Saint-Pierre Cathedral. The baroque and contemporary ensembles il Pomo d’Oro and Contrechamps will be under the celebrated direction of Barbara Hannigan, who moreover will sing alongside the Polish countertenor known for his incredible stage presence, Jakub Józef Orliński.