Winterreise turned upside down
A bestseller in classical music, Schubert’s Winterreise, is deconstructed to the bone and rebuilt all over again. In the original Winterreise, the protagonist embarks on a lonely winter journey after his love has left him. Seeking inner peace, but tormented and haunted by memories, he is left on the ice in despair. In Normality No More modern dance, musical theatre and classical music fuse into a new version: an ode to the divergent brain and a call for understanding and empathy for people who experience the world differently than the great masses.
Ragazze Quartet made a version for baritone and string quartet of Winterreise before. The song cycle was originally written for baritone and piano to a poetry collection by Willhelm Müller. In Normality No More, Ragazze Quartet assembles a multi-coloured ensemble with an unusual combination of instruments and styles. Schubert’s Winterreise will be completely stripped down and reshaped into a mix of uplifting rhythms, extended drone melodies, alienating sound fields and pulsating electro-pop, performed by strings, percussion and vocals. These contrasts are also reflected in young creator Davide Bellotta’s choreography. From 2011 until 2019, he was one of Conny Janssen Danst’s signature dancers. With Normality No More he makes – under the coaching guidance of Conny Janssen – his debut for the large hall.
The performance Normality No More is the artistic outcome of a collaboration between Dagmar Slagmolen (Via Berlin), choreographer Davide Bellotta (Conny Janssen Danst) and Ragazze Quartet under the final direction of Ria Marks and with advice from Conny Janssen.
Want to know what the makers say about Normality No More? Read the interview with Rosa Arnold, the interview with Dagmar Slagmolen or the interview with Davide Belotta.
No concerts or performances are scheduled
Credits
Normality No More is supported by:
