Musical Hell

An Odyssey through Time, Space and Sound

Georg Schnittelbach, a rising star on the composers’ and violinists’ horizon, is about to play in what is probably the most important concert in his life. So, before before this crucial appearance he wants to have his valuable violin worked over by Fürst, a musical instrument maker. The workshop visit leads to a confrontation with himself: Schnittelbach gets entangled in a labyrinth of unlived feelings, unwritten notes and dreams that did not come true …

»Musical Hell« is part 3 of the mysterious painting triptych »The Garden of Delights« by Hieronymus Bosch. Actor and puppet-maker Marc Schnittger and director Nele Tippelmann send the young musician Schnittelnach on an odyssey through time, space and sound, in a mixture of puppet theatre, stage show and music.

1st part: Planet Eden
2nd part: The Garden of Earthly Delights
3rd part: Musical Hell

»Musical Hell«is a coproduction by Marc Schnittger with the Theater Kiel (Opera) and the Bühnenwerk e.V. association. It is sponsored by the Kiel Department of Culture, the prime minister of Schleswig-Holstein,the Stiftergemeinschaft der Förde Sparkasse Schleswig-Holstein, the Provinzial Nord Brandkasse Aktiengesellschaft and the Fonds Darstellende Künste e.V. with funds from the Federal Commissioner for Cultural Affairs and the Media.

2012 | All rights reserved

Rapid-fire images and mastely puppetry

The Opera House audience accompanied Georg Schnittelbach, the main character created by Marc Schnittger, on an »odyssey through time, space and sound«. (…) The (audience) rewarded the world premiere of this ethereal and darkly grotesque trip to hell (…) with thunderous applause.

Schnittger’s puppets crouch there, bathed in the outstanding Sonar Trio’s tonal shadows (…). The audience quickly becomes accustomed to the company of the characters Schnittger presents so masterfully (…).

Marc Schnittger and director Nele Tippelmann have created a rapid and gripping sequence of images, couched in delicate, sometimes humorous dialogue seaoned with quotations. We feel with the characters, agonise with Georg Schnittelbach (…). We are left with an achieved sense of discomfort, and are happy to be able to set off home in terrestial fresh air.

Kieler Nachrichten, 3 September 2012

That music can be a gateway to heaven …

… is something mankind has known for centuries, and it is agreed that music is made in heaven. But what about hell? There are a few impressive settings of the Dies irae that are loud but still edifying. Marc Schnittger finds another answer: musical hell is a Kafkaesque environment. It pretends to be a musical instrument repair business, but it is a place of despair.

Four composers, one jazz musician, one new-style musician, a king of schmalz and an heir to classicism slowly lose their feelings and their reason there. Fürst (Prince), the musical instrument maker who is never there seems to be the prince of hell. They have lost their instruments to him, they are thrown back on themselves and their music in his labyrinthine house with no way out of it and come to grief through this situation.

This musical hell really is a terrible place, but the gloomy play that takes a look at it is excellent. Above all because Marc Schnittger is outstanding as always in terms of language and puppetry on the large Opera House stage, and has this time found a worthy partner in composer Jan-Peter Pflug. The composer himself contributes atmospheric live electronic sound from the orchestra pit, combined with string trio pieces by him and after Handel, also played live by the Sonar Trio.

Marc Schnittger is continuing his trilogy based on the mysterious tritpych by painter Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516) with this piece (…). The pieces are inspired by Bosch, but they are not a puppet theatre presentaton of the paintings. You have to find the link first. That’s a good thing, says CGB.

Christoph Gockel-Böhner / Kulturamt Paderborn, 8 October 2012

Staff

direction: Nele Tippelmann
text | setting | puppets: Marc Schnittger
music: Jan-Peter Pflug, Georg Friedrich Handel
musicians: Trio Sonar (Lisa Lammel: violin, Daniel Sorour: cello, Nora Rennau: viola) and Jan-Peter Pflug (live electronics)
play: Marc Schnittger, Andreas Pankratz, Peter-Michael Krohn
technical set up: Jörg Lippmann, Michael Kern

technical director: Klaus Buchholz
lighting: Martin Witzel
sound: Manfred Bamberg
cabinetmaker’s workshop: Michael Schulz, Sören Römpke
locksmith’s shop: Manfred Seifert, Wolfgang Voigt
paint shop: Rainer Kühn, Friederike von Hammerstein
tailoring: Kathrin Burget
make-up: Helmut Steiger
upholstery workshop: Waldemar Kurtz
stage design assistance: Arne Bustorff
props: Beke Tietz, Marco Scheel
stage management: Marina Hewig

Thanks toDaniel Karasek, Reinhard Linden and Jörn Sturm and also to Renate Ehlers, Cordula Engelbert, Gerd Finke, Bernhard D. Fischer, Ulrich Frey, Carolin Grieger-Hamann, Peter-Michael Krohn and Andreas Pankratz.