THE GREAT LEARNING
Composer: Cornelius CardewPremiere 31.5.2024
Redoute / Theater Weimar
Choral Piece by Cornelius Cardew "The Great Learning"
Stage Direction: Margo Zālīte
Costumes and Stage Design: Josa Marx, Margo Zālīte
Dramaturgy: Michael Höppner
Cornelius Cardew's "The Great Learning" from 1969 to 1971 is a large-scale choral piece set to a text by Confucius about learning community spirit. Its performance unfolds into a resonant and singing social sculpture, where the participants become the true creators of the event through rule-following and free expression. Professional and amateur singers, career and leisure musicians, and other performers of various backgrounds are involved. This spectacle, which ties the city to the festival proceedings, provides a fitting framework for "Passion :SPIEL – OPERA FOR ALL!" and uses the entire Redoute to playfully address the processes of creating and negotiating community.
Musical Direction: Jens Petereit
Choral Direction: Kerstin Behnke (University Choir HfM FRANZ LISZT Weimar), Benedikt Noll (University Choir Erfurt), Jens Petereit (Opera Choir of DNT), Ralf Jorik Schöne (Philharmonic Choir Weimar)
With the Opera Choir of DNT Weimar, the Choir of HfM FRANZ LISZT Weimar, the Philharmonic Choir Weimar, and the University Choir Erfurt, the drumming group Die Kongas from the workshops of Diakonie Saalfeld, and Emanuel Winter (organ).
Photo: Candy Welz
