Faith Hahn

Unlike a more classic European operatic takedown of capitalist America—like Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht’s brutal “Aufstieg und Fall der Stadt Mahagonny”— these productions seem committed to imitation rather than meaning. They never elevate their scattered details to the level of myth. The productions are a collection of curios, a dress-up that... See more

Ashmole was born on 23 May 1617

In seiner vollen Ausfaltung aber fährt er in überwältigender Wirkung, doch eben überhaupt nicht effektmacherisch in unser Ohr: so, als würden alle Töne der Welt, die bekanntlich im Nichtsklang stecken, auf einmal hörbar. Tausend Farben grellen uns da weiß an. Dieser schneidende Krach ist zugleich vollkommene Stille.

Poetry is an essential part of society—but only as itself and not as a vehicle for something else.

An ideal production of Freitag aus Licht would not be afraid to actively undermine the ideologies that underpin Stockhausen’s aesthetic vision. It would not shy away from denouncing and Evan ridiculing the composer and his nauseating beliefs. It would acknowledge and actively decry the opera’s racism while transforming its message from one of... See more