In his new dance piece 'The Wagner Case', Enrique Gasa Valga analyzes the controversial and fascinating figure of Wagner and does so with the utmost respect and curiosity. His ballet is based on intense key moments that shaped the life and artistic work of the legendary composer, writer and conductor. His education, his love, his political interests and relationships, his worries and struggles, his fame, his faith, his failures, his travels through countries and human emotions, all had a decisive impact on his artistic work and his personality; and ultimately gave him the significance that Wagner still holds today due to the revolution in musical theater that he initiated.
Limonada Dance Company © Limonada Dance Company
"He was a man of incredible sensitivity but firm ideas, and that is why he was loved and hated in equal measure," says Enrique Gasa Valga. Friedrich Nietsche - author of the eponymous book "The Wagner Case" - writes: "Without the music of Richard Wagner, my youth would have been unbearable." However, he also writes: "I am far from looking on harmlessly as this decadent ruins our health - and the music too! Is Wagner a human being at all? Isn't he more of a disease?" And: "It was my fate to turn my back on Wagner; to like anything after that was a triumph. Perhaps no one was more dangerously entangled in Wagnerism, no one fought harder against it, no one was happier to get rid of it." What is certain is that his modernity, his independence and his loyalty to his convictions made him the author of immortal masterpieces. The revolution he heralded in theater and opera, which continues to have an impact today, made him one of the most influential and most discussed personalities in the history of music.
Enrique Gasa Valga © Limonada Dance Company
Enrique Gasa Valga and his team have found the ideal venue to stage this world premiere at the Festspielhaus Erl. Jennifer Selby and Enrique Gasa Valga themselves are responsible for the libretto of the play, the scenography is by Helfried Lauckner and the costumes by Birgit Edelbauer-Heiss, all long-standing members of Gasa Valga's creative team. Kenneth Winkler (Tyrolean composer and music producer) is responsible for the sound design in order to present Wagner's music, the unifying element of the evening, in the best possible light. The actors who have the task of translating and transmitting the story and its magic from the stage are the highly acclaimed dancers of the dance company La Limonada.
April 18 to 20, 2024
www.tiroler-festspiele.at
