Ivo van Hove
DEATH IN VENICE
Co-production of Toneelgroep Amsterdam, Barbican Theatre of London and Théâtre du Châtelet of Paris
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Music by Nico Muhly, Richard Strauss, Anton Webern, Claudio Monteverdi et al.
Adapted by Ramsey Nasr
Musical drama Death in Venice is a collaboration between director Ivo van Hove and composer Nico Muhly, with Thomas Mann's text adapted by Ramsey Nasr. When the famous novella by the great German writer and Nobel Prize laureate Thomas Mann was published in 1912, it immediately raised much interest in the cultural public throughout Europe. The work was inspired by the author's personal experience and deals with writer's block, that is, the lack of inspiration and creative power. Trying to escape the bourgeois life in Munich, Mann goes to Venice and in this beautiful town he feels free and ready to create new work, but the sudden appearance of a beautiful young boy who becomes his obsession drives him to deep introspection.
Ivo van Hove reads Mann's masterpiece as a tragedy of man torn between social norms and the desire for personal freedom. At the center of his performance is the chamber orchestra, seated on the stage as an active part of the scene, with the acting ensemble and opera singer. The Dutch author Ramsey Nasr adapted the novella, and his adaptation brings the parallel story of the writer Thomas Mann and his character Gustav von Aschenbach, as the writer's literary alter ego. Mann's biography clashes with Aschenbach's, and this sort of a portrait of a split personality is also reflected in musical dramaturgy, made up of various works by Richard Strauss, Anton Webern, Claudio Monteverdi et al, together with the original score by Nico Muhly, which unites the orchestral structure and musical recordings in a portrayal of personal decadence and the collapse of the city of Venice during the epidemic of cholera.
Ivo van Hove (b. 1958) is a Belgian theatre director and the artistic director of the Dutch theatre company Toneelgroep Amsterdam. He is known for his Off-Broadway avant-garde experimental theatre productions. He began his career directing working his own plays, and ever since he has worked at the most prestigious German, British and American theatres. He has coordinated productions at the Edinburgh International Festival, the Venice Biennale, the Wiener Festwochen and the Holland Festival. He has won numerous international awards and honors.
Ramsey Nasr (b. 1974) is a Dutch writer, poet and actor. He was named the Dutch Poet of the Country several times, and was also named Poet of the City of Antwerp. He has appeared in more than a dozen feature films. Since 2010 he has been regularly collaborating with Toneelgroep Amsterdam and Ivo van Hove.
