Kételkedés és útkeresés – Az ember tragédiája nyomán / BARTÓK TAVASZ 2023

Milton: Paradise Lost – excerpt

R. Strauss: Also sprach Zarathustra

Levente Gyöngyösi: Tragœdia Temporis I – based on Imre Madách’s dramatic poem, The Tragedy of Man – world premiere

Eve: Gabriella Balga

Adam: Zoltán Megyesi

Child: Eszter Zemlényi

Lucifer: Csaba Sándor

The Lord: Krisztián Cser

Featuring: Eszter Ónodi – prose, Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra, Cantemus Choral Institute Nyíregyháza  (choirmaster: Soma Szabó), Pro Musica Girls’ Choir (choirmaster: Dénes Szabó)

Conductor: Gábor Hollerung

Host: Sándor Lukács

Concept, dramaturgy: András Visky

The Milton text translated by: Viktor Horváth

The Milton text proofread by: Miklós Péti

Libretto: Judit Ágnes Kiss

The works at this evening of the Budafok Dohnanyi Orchestra concern themselves with the ways of the world, man’s search for directions, the phenomenon and significance of the Luciferian spirit. The programme includes the symphonic piece Strauss wrote on the inspiration of Nietzsche’s epochal work, Milton’s epic poem, which is informed by a similar spirit, and Levente Gyöngyösi’s adaptation of the national classic, Madách’s The Tragedy of Man.

The first of the planned four parts of Tragœdia Temporis, Levente Gyöngyösi’s staged oratorio, deals with Adam and Eve’s life in Paradise and their expulsion from Eden. The work, which is marked by the composer’s signature communicative character, is special in that its main character cannot be found in Madách’s drama: he is a child, an angelic person, who was already by the Lord’s side before Creation. The Lord is a real character in the story, who argues with Lucifer and comments on the actions of the first human couple. 

In the scenes that take place in Paradise, the sounds of nature can be heard as the musical expression of beauty; the composer here represents the pure beauty of the Garden of Eden. The music of the scene where the first humans meet and fall in love is ethereal, almost naive. This is the world premiere of the piece, which was an award-winner of Müpa Budapest’s 2020 Composition Competition.

This event is part of the 10th Theatre Olympics.