Sag mir, wo die Blumen sind
(Where have all the flowers gone)
Friedrich Nietzsche said that without music, life would be a mistake. Since time immemorial, poets and composers have lifted people's spirits with their works, and recorded moments of the human existence with all of its inherent abysses and wonders. With the magic of their art, they create alternative worlds to the one that exists in reality to capture a paler version of the paradise humankind was once expelled from without averting their eyes from the labours of the present and efforts of the past. Often, when the so-called 'beautiful' passages of the text and song compositions in the programme hint at paradises, they are attempting to transcend the fateful earthly existence of humankind in an almost unfathomable way.
The actress Martina Gedeck, the baritone Georg Nigl and the pianist Elena Bashkirova will be journeying through the pantheon of German literature and philosophy along with the masters of art songs. A surprising as well as exceptionally entertaining programme that premiered last autumn at the La Monnaie opera house in Brussels.
