Pierrot Lunaire
By Charlotte Stace
Gran Teatre del Liceu invites you to their new musical performance of Pierrot Lunaire across three nights this coming weekend.
Written in 1912 by Schoenberg and based on the German translation of the Symbolist poems of Albert Giraud, Pierrot Lunaire is in many ways a transgressive work and conjures up an unusual atmosphere. Schoenberg used a singing style known as Sprechgesang, a curious blend of speech and singing which works with the music and complements the states of mind reflected in the poems. Though Pierrot is male, his role is usually sung and recited by a female voice. Yet, the Liceu invited the countertenor Xavier Sabata to play the part.
Pierrot Lunaire creates an impression of total freedom and of floating weightlessly. It was a musical milestone in its day - a contemporary, mould-breaking paradigm which changed the course of musical history. On a set designed Cube.bz, Xavier Sabata will recreate the atmosphere of a Berlin cabaret which permeates the score itself.