Written on Skin

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  Written on Skin – Georgia Jarman als Agnes, Mark Stone als Protector Bernd Uhlig

• George Benjamin: Written on Skin – Ruth Tromboukis

• Aus der Premiere: Written on Skin – Ruth Tromboukis

• Marc Albrecht und Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen über WRITTEN ON SKIN – Ruth Tromboukis

• Written on Skin – Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Georgia Jarman als Agnès, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Anna Werle als Second Angel / Marie, Georgia Jarman als Agnès, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Georgia Jarman als Agnès, Mark Stone als Protector Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Mark Stone als Protector, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Mark Stone als Protector, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Mark Stone als Protector, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Mark Stone als Protector, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy, Georgia Jarman als Agnès Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – Georgia Jarman als Agnès, Mark Stone als Protector Bernd Uhlig

• Written on Skin – u. a. Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen als First Angel / The Boy, Georgia Jarman als Agnès, Mark Stone als Protector Bernd Uhlig

Based on a text from medieval sources, author Martin Crimp, composer George Benjamin and director Katie Mitchell succeeded with WRITTEN ON SKIN 2012 in creating a sensational parable about identity, love and the power of literature and art ... Conductor: Marc Albrecht; Director: Katie Mitchell; With Daniel Okulich, Vera-Lotte Boecker, Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen, Anna Werle, Thomas Blondelle a. o.
About the workThree angels look back to a period in the past when books were precious artefacts with texts written on skin. One of the angels acts out the role of an olden-day illustrator who has been commissioned by the rich and powerful Protector to create a beautifully illuminated manuscript setting out the Protector’s biography. In his patron’s home the angel encounters Agnès, the Protector’s younger wife, who is still a virgin on account of her husband’s self-imposed abstinence. Despite this, he is jealous and keeps a close eye on her – to no avail, because Agnès begins an affair with the angel in his incarnation as an artist. The Protector learns of their relationship and kills the illustrator. Then he serves his unwitting wife the heart of her lover as part of a meal.

For the composer of WRITTEN ON SKIN, George Benjamin, English author Martin Crimp adapted one of the best-known stories from the France of the High Middle Ages. “Le cœur mangé”, the tale of a woman eating the heart of her lover, can be traced to a 12-century Occitan text reputedly written by a troubadour named Guillem de Cabestanh, although some sources suggest he came to the same gruesome end. Crimp’s text charting the gory ménage à trois is also a rumination on the power of art. Agnès is in awe of the illustrator’s talent for chronicling real events by means of images and even creating entire worlds from scratch. Yet it is the pictures, coupled with a declaration of love to Agnès in text form, that alert the Protector to his affair with his wife.

About the productionThe world premiere of WRITTEN ON SKIN took place at the 2012 Festival d’Aix-en-Provence and was rapturously received. The work is a rare example of perfect text-composition symbiosis. A gripping story and precise, poetic language go hand-in-hand with an acutely theatrical score which, albeit thoroughly contemporary, also has the kind of full-bodied tonality that can rivet a broad range of audiences. Katie Mitchell’s visually powerful and psychologically accurate production has toured widely on the international circuit and now comes to Berlin for the first time.

Artists/Collaborators: Marc Albrecht (Musikalische Leitung), Katie Mitchell (Inszenierung), Dan Ayling (Szenische Einstudierung), Vicki Mortimer (Bühne, Kostüme), Jon Clark (Licht), Sebastian Hanusa (Dramaturgie), Daniel Okulitch (Protector), Georgia Jarman (Agnès), Aryeh Nussbaum Cohen (First Angel / The Boy), Anna Werle (Second Angel / Marie), Thomas Blondelle (Third Angel / John), Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin (Orchester)

Pre-performance lecture (in German): 45 minutes prior to each performance

Next date:

• Date Sunday, 04/May/2025 17:00 (2 more dates)
• Venue Deutsche Oper Berlin
• Address Bismarckstraße 35, 10627 Berlin-Charlottenburg