World Premiere of DOPPELGANGER, Site-Specific Park Avenue Armory Commission Performed by Venerable Tenor Jonas Kaufmann
Directed by Claus Guth, one of opera's most adventurous directors, and performed by renowned tenor Jonas Kaufmann with pianist Helmut Deutsch.
By: A.A. Cristi May. 31, 2023
This September, Park Avenue Armory presents the world premiere of Doppelganger, a bespoke Armory commission that reimagines Franz Schubert's rarely staged song cycle Schwanengesang (“Swan Song”) as a multi-dimensional theatrical performance directed by Claus Guth, one of opera's most adventurous directors, and performed by renowned tenor Jonas Kaufmann with pianist Helmut Deutsch.
Breaking the conventions of traditional classical performance, Doppelganger dissects and expands upon the song cycle, incorporating additional Schubert repertory, an evocative soundscape composed by Mathis Nitschke, and transformative light and video projections, creating a production that is part performance and part installation art. Brought to life by Guth and visionary set designer Michael Levine in the monumental Wade Thompson Drill Hall—which serves as a central element within the work—the production progresses from a devasting depiction of a soldier's experiences at war to a contemplative reflection on his life as he nears its end, traversing a myriad of emotions along the way, from despair and delusion to ecstasy and love.
“We assembled these once-in-a-generation talents to create a remarkable piece at the Armory that is stirring and grand in scale, and—as with many bespoke Armory commissions—unexpected in form,” said Pierre Audi, the Armory's Marina Kellen French Artistic Director. “Kaufmann's iconic voice in the transcendent Drill Hall paired with Guth's inventive staging brings Schubert's sublime repertoire to life in a way that's never been seen before.”
“In partnership with these operatic and stage visionaries, the Armory is originating a production that makes a classic song cycle distinctly contemporary. Audiences used to seeing classical pieces performed in traditional proscenium venues will be surprised and delighted to witness Doppelganger, which makes the 55,000-square-foot Drill Hall feel like an intimate experience,” said Rebecca Robertson, the Adam R. Flatto Founding President and Executive Producer of Park Avenue Armory.
Composed in 1828 in Franz Schubert's final days, Schwanengesang (Swan Song) is a heart-melting collection of songs that sits at the pinnacle of a vocalist's repertory. Named for the last song “Der Doppelgänger,” in which a soldier sees their doppelganger and comes to terms with the fact that they did not return from war, the Armory's production begins as a realistic portrayal of a soldier at war with the staging of an operational field hospital in the Drill Hall. As the production progresses, Doppelganger transforms into an abstract representation of the soldier's thoughts, feelings, and reflections on life at the end of his days.
Guth and Kaufmann, who are longtime collaborators, have taken an experimental approach to Schubert's original score, deconstructing the song cycle and interspersing additional Schubert compositions as well as Nitschke's soundscape of live and recorded elements that evoke the naturalistic imagery portrayed in the libretto. Projections by rocafilm and lighting by designer Urs Schönebaum lend additional dimension and texture to these sonic elements.
Doppelganger is part of Park Avenue Armory's full 2023 season. Additional upcoming Drill Hall programming at the Armory includes: The Doctor, written and directed by Robert Icke and starring acclaimed actress Juliet Stevenson in an exploration of medical ethics across lines of identity this summer; Mutant;Destrudo, a world premiere, multidisciplinary commission from groundbreaking pop sensation Arca, set for October; and a restaging of Pina Bausch's iconic The Rite of Spring, performed by an ensemble of dancers from across Africa and paired with common ground[s], a new work by Germaine Acogny and Malou Airaudo that closes the season. Upcoming Armory Recital Series performances includes soprano Julia Bullock on September 11 and 13; contemporary percussion quartet Sandbox Percussion on October 1 and October 3; and mezzo-soprano Kate Lindsey with pianist Justina Lee on October 16 and October 17.
Previous classical and opera productions at the Armory include Upload, a critically heralded interweaving of opera, film and high technology by composer, director, and librettist Michel van der Aa featuring soprano Julia Bullock and baritone Roderick Williams; Heiner Goebbels' Everything that happened and would happen, a hypnotic blend of performance, live music, and moving image; the perspective-bending 3D chamber opera Blank Out, directed by Michael van der Aa; Louis Andriessen's De Materie directed by Heiner Goebbels; Pierre Boulez's critically acclaimed masterpiece Répons for which Pierre Audi created the mise-en-scene; and the New York premiere of Circle Map, a new work for orchestra and electronics that builds out from six stanzas by the 13th-century Persian poet Rumi.
Doppelganger
September 22 – 28, 2023
World Premiere
A Park Avenue Armory commission.
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann
Pianist Helmut Deutsch
Direction Claus Guth
Set Design Michael Levine
Costume Design Constance Hoffman
Lighting Design Urs Schönebaum
Sound Composition Mathis Nitschke
Sound Design Mark Grey
Video Design rocafilm
Movement Direction Ramses Sigl
September 22, 23, 26, 27 and 28
Tuesday – Thursday at 7:30pm
Friday at 8pm
Saturday at 7pm
Tickets start at $45 (plus fees) for performances and can be purchased at armoryonpark.org / (212) 933-5812 .
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