Progress is unreasonable: “Ariadne auf Naxos” in Salzburg
All revolutions begin with an impertinence, including and just artistic ones. And so, of course, the outrage is great when the quirky art collector suddenly dies shortly before a planned happening and at the same time has the idea of not having a tragic opera and an acrobatic comedy performed one after the other, but instead. Sounds totally banausal, but in this case it is the first step towards a more harmonious future. In the end, the stage performers, who are at first rather hostile, are happily embracing each other, like everyone else who has dared to do something totally crazy and has gained a lot with it.
A bit of eroticism, a bit of tightrope walking
And the financier got his photos from a crazy, bittersweet evening at the theater. Indeed a happening, half sit-in, half peace demo, a bit of eroticism, a bit of tightrope walk: what director Alexandra Liedtke made of “Ariadne from Naxos” (1912) at the Salzburg State Theater was convincing in every respect. It is not easy to stage this very demanding opera by Richard Strauss, because the composer had planned a little too much for two hours of playing time. He wanted to combine social criticism, philosophy seminars, art debate, music history and comedy, which can quickly become overwhelming and is rarely really entertaining.