Goings-On Mar 24. Part I
Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Vienna, Belgrade, Florence and Barcelona with 11 must-seen events
NB: This is a long letter with lots of images and links; please, open it in your browser or on desktop if your email provider truncates it.
I love March. I love the thrill of anticipating the return of warmer days, like everything that’s happened since November doesn’t matter anymore, from THIS spring onwards everything is going to be different (every year it stays the same); I love noticing that the sun has been setting later each day; the new season is officially open, dresses are getting shorter and summer is just around the corner (so, basically all your thoughts about that summer body you never have time to get in shape for are back, and by March it’s already too late to start); it is a month when romantic anxiety is at its peak (no matter what your relationships status is) and finally it is a month of my birthday (I would say that the party budget is growing quicker than my income, but I know many of my friends read the newsletter, as I’ve forced them to do so, and I don’t want to look cheap in their eyes…)
I’m turning 35 and I have a lot of hopes and extremely high expectations for the 5 years ahead. Even though I’m well aware that expectations suck! Regardless, I have this month to think through the past 5 years and OMG so much has happened!
This March’s Goings-On digest will be divided into 4 parts, covering as many cities all around Europe as possible. This installment is dedicated to 6 cities, exploring 11 great events worthy of note. If you find at least one event which fits your taste or calendar, I’ll be the happiest.
Mar 1-9/ Opera/ Tschaikowski’s Eugene Onegin by Dmitri Tcherniakov/ Weiner Staatoper
I don’t remember the last time I listened to this opera. Maybe two lifetimes ago in Bolshoi Theater. Initially it was a Bolshoi production. I would be curious to know how Tcherniakov re-interprets this text, dear to the heart of every Russian school kid. The plot reads:
A dandy who is as wandering as he is incapable of commitment coolly rejects the love of a landowner's daughter - while she grows from this rejection, he breaks from his neglect.
Four performances are scheduled for this spring’s programme. It most likely will be repeated in the upcoming seasons.
Mar 8 - Jul 14/Exhibition/ Roy Lichtenstein/ Albertina Museum
Better warn you right away, I’m not being objective here. I personally find Lichtenstein one of the greatest artists at least within the pop-art movement. I studied him a lot, I collaborated with Germano Celant to make his retrospective and even flew over several continents to convince his widow Dorothy to give the show her blessing – it was one of the first times when my dreams were killed by geo-politics. Roy started working with comics images by chance. His son claimed he would not be able to draw Mickey Mouse as well as a comic artist. Well, Roy did and ever since it was not just Mickey he painted. Albertina’s show celebrates Lichtenstein’s 100th birthday and brings together works from the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Whitney Museum, the National Gallery of Art in Washington, Yale University Art Gallery, Museum Ludwig in Cologne, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Moderna Museet, and Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza as well as from many private collectors.
Mar 28 - Apr 2 /Opera/ Wagner’s Parsifal by Kirill Serebrennikov / Wiener Staatoper
I’ve already mentioned that Wagner is not my cup of tea. But I have a story connected to Parsifal particularly. I once produced a monodrama opera titled Kundry after the major and the only female character from Parsifal’s libretto. According to the script she was cursed to be forever young (every hundred years she turns 30 again) and forever laugh (sometimes you just want to cry). Wagner was even more sexist than anti-semitic. Together with a creative team of a director Lotte de Beer, composer Avner Dorman and librettist Yael Ronen, we created a 90 minutes long operatic spin-off and brought Kundry to the only place in the world where Wagner is abandoned - Israel, to be liberated from his curse. In Serebrennikov’s Parsifal Kundry is:
In this hermetic world of men, the only woman on the move is the errant figure of the messenger Kundry - in Serebrennikov's work, a journalist driven by her interest in structures of violence, such as those that characterize such a maison centrale. In doing so, she operates in a gray zone in which she also functions as an accomplice of the detainees.
Cosmism exhibition at Stedelijk Museum mentioned in the February’s digest is still on until March, 3.
Mar 9-24/ Ballet & Opera/ Jocasta’s Line by Wayne McGregor/ Dutch National Opera
In 2023 I attended four of Mr. McGregor’s productions (and was lucky enough to see him in person twice), and I was disappointed only once. This production is a hybrid of opera and ballet. The theater announced this collaboration a long time ago, but details have been revealed only now. The program includes one more ancient tragedy reimagined by contemporary bright minds - frankly, an immortal resource to draw from. Stravinsky’s Oedipus Rex (1927) and Samy Moussa’s new work Antigone (2023) are both directed by McGregor. This is also worth checking out now because I have no clue if it has a touring plan.
Mar 16- Jul 14/ Exhibition/ Marina Abramovic/ Stedelijk Museum
Right after a huge retrospective at the Royal Academy of Arts in London, the grand madam of performance will begin her world tour. It’s going to last for at least the next two years (if I’m not mistaken, the next destinations are Zurich and Tel Aviv). If you have never seen her exhibition, find a moment to attend. If you have already (possibly more than once, like me), it could still be a great time, but I’m not sure you will see anything new.
I’ve never heard of the Belgrade Dance Festival before. Even now I’ve found them through the Gothenburg Dance Company, whose production is featured in the programme. And the programme itself is really good. I’ll dive into two out of seventeen performances, but I would recommend to also pay attention to Emanuel Gat’s Utopia, Teodora Castellucci’s The Rite of Spring (music performed by: MusicAeterna, directed by Teodor Currentzis), Hervé Koubi’s Sol Invictus (premiered in Pavillon Noir/Ballet Preljocaj with music by Mikael Karlsson and Steve Reich among others) and Oona Doherty’s Navy Blue.
Mar 9-10/ Ballet/ Skid by Damien Jalet & SAAB by Sharon Eyal/ Serbian National Theatre
GöteborgsOperans Danskompani is one of the leading dance troupes in the world, having produced amazing performances with leading guest choreographers. This production is on tour this year and has already been shown in Sydney and New York. If Belgrade is neither your hometown, nor travel destination, I’ll also mention it in May’s digest. Just keep calm and don’t sign off.
In this duet program Damien Jalet challenges the dancers beyond gravity and Sharon Eyal remains her usual self with a remarkable pulsating style.
Mar 14-15/Ballet/ Assembly Hall by Kidd Pivot (Crystal Pite & Jonathon Young)/ Serbian National Theatre
Kidd Pivot is a dance company founded by choreographer Crystal Pite and theater director Jonathon Young. Assembly Hall is their third full length production, having just premiered in Canada. It will be all over Europe within the next three months (I’ll keep a track for you, but I am going to see it in Paris in April). If you ask me what is it about, I’ll be lost for words, but here is a quote from the authors:
A group of medieval re-enactors have come together for an Annual General Meeting in their local community hall. As the Board of Directors, they oversee an event called 'Quest Fest', that has fallen on hard times: membership is dwindling, debt is mounting, and the hall is falling apart.
And yes, we are still talking about ballet...
Mar 13- Apr 14/ Opera/ Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos by Katie Mitchell/ Royal Danish Opera
This is a revival of an extremely well-received 2018 Katie Mitchel’s production. As per usual, she never leaves the original story untouched. In Mitchell’s updated version of Ariadne auf Naxos, a wealthy Viennese couple has commissioned a new piece from a young composer and a group of opera singers to be performed at a large party. A cast of actors has also been hired to entertain the guests.
Also, Chaim Soutine’s exhibition is still on view at the Louisiana Museum until Jul 14th.
Mar 16-26/ Opera/ Händel’s The Messiah by Robert Wilson/ Gran Teatre del Liceu
Bob Wilson is probably one of the very few opera directors who doesn’t need an introduction for a wide audience. The middle of the 2010s was probably the peak of his fame. Since Covid there only a few of his productions have been on tour. The Messiah is the latest one (premiered in 2020), and seems to have just begun its travels. On its own, it is still a very unique piece, as Mozart adapted Handel’s oratorio and libretto in German, as well as reorchestrated part of the original score. I would have definitely attended the original showing.
Mar 22-Jul 21/ Exhibition/ Fallen Angels, Anslem Kiefer / Palazzo Strozzi
Anslem Kiefer is already acclaimed as a living classic. Two years ago, as part of Venice Biennale he took over Palazzo Ducale and created an installation (see below) that was to be destroyed later: if it was a PR move to raise attendance, it did work. This year, also falling within the 60th Venice Biennale, he is taking over Palazzo Strozzi in Florence, and I’m very curious to see if it’s something new (as I just saw the deck from the White Cube on his water-colors, which impressed me a lot) or if it’s an offering of well-familiar paintings and installations (only for those who have seen a lot of his shows though).
Shows from February newsletters that are still on:
Until Mar 9, / Exhibition / Thomas Demand, The Stutter of History / The Israel Museum/ Jerusalem
Until Apr 1 / Exhibition / Juergen Teller, I Need to Live / Triennale Milano
While I was preparing this email my laptop decided to pass away and left me alone to suffer through the dreary everyday. This is a heart-breaking goodbye, as we have gone through many years and life-changing events together. So I haven’t seen many series or movies, but I found out that Cate Blanchet and Sasha Baron Cohen are starring in the upcoming TV adaptation of Disclaimer, so I got myself ready and read the book. I couldn’t make it through the latest Michal Cunningham’s novel entitled Day. Even with the help of such a one of a kind narrator as Juliana Moore, the timing just seems wrong. I will go for another attempt at it later. Last but not least, if you’ve already read Stanley Tucci’s Taste, I would highly recommend you explore the Delicious History podcast. Warning: listening may cause strong feelings of hunger.
Hope this letter kicks off your spring plans! I’m rushing to catch the flight!
Talk to you soon,
Miri