DER FALL WAGNER

Controversial and fascinating

In his new dance piece Der Fall Wagner (The Fall of Wagner), Enrique Gasa Valga analyses the controversial and fascinating figure of Richard Wagner with the utmost respect and curiosity. His ballet focuses on key moments that shaped the life and artistic work of the legendary composer, writer and conductor. The Limonada Dance Company brings this historical figure back to the stage once again.

Loved and hated

His education, his love, his political interests and relationships, his worries and struggles, his fame, his faith, his failures, his travels through countries and human emotions – all of this had a decisive influence on his artistic work and personality, ultimately giving him the significance that Wagner still enjoys today thanks to the revolution he initiated in musical theatre. ‘He was a man of incredible sensitivity, but with firm ideas, and that is why he was both loved and hated,’ says Enrique Gasa Valga.

‘Unbearable without Richard Wagner’

Friedrich Nietzsche – author of the eponymous book Der Fall Wagner (The Case of Wagner) – writes: ‘Without Richard Wagner’s music, my youth would have been unbearable.’ But he also writes: “I am far from standing idly by while this décadent ruins our health – and the music with it! Is Wagner even human? Isn’t he more like a disease?‘ And: ’It was my fate to turn my back on Wagner; after that, liking anything was a triumph. Perhaps no one was more dangerously entangled in Wagnerism, no one fought harder against it, no one was happier to get rid of it.”

Biographical narrative

What is certain is that his modernity, his independence and his loyalty to his convictions made him the author of immortal masterpieces. The revolution he ushered in in theatre and opera, which continues to have an impact today, made him one of the most influential and most discussed figures in music history. Enrique Gasa Valga explores this personality in depth with his unique ability to translate biographical narratives into the language of dance.

Top-class team

The choreographer and his fantastic dance ensemble have once again found the ideal venue on our stage to present this exciting production for the first time in Germany. Jennifer Selby and Enrique Gasa Valga themselves are responsible for the libretto of the piece, the scenography is by Helfried Lauckner and the costumes by Birgit Edelbauer-Heiss, all of whom are long-standing members of Gasa Valga’s creative team. Tyrolean composer and music producer Kenneth Winkler is responsible for the sound design, ensuring that Wagner’s music, the connecting element of the evening, is presented in the best possible way.

Fotos © Stefan Ringler, Reiner Leifried