Manifesto

Countless manifestos have been written in the course of theatre history. Authors, directors, composers have all wanted to approach the practice of theatre-making in a radically different way. All these manifestos have one thing in common: they search for the crux - the core - the nucleus - the quintessence of the respective art form in the society of their time. To think out loud about the how and why of making music theatre and to share their thoughts with us as a work in progress. That is the intention of the series:

Each artistic team in this series will leave behind a manifesto that we will build on in subsequent seasons.

In the 2022/23 season, the artistic team of the Threepenny Opera Maurice Lenhard (director), Malina Raßfeld (stage), Christina Geiger (costumes), Franz-Erdmann Meyer-Herder (dramaturgy) has written a manifesto. We quote from it:

• We want to entertain, we must entertain, but not purely as an end in itself. No one has anything to gain from putting a costumed concert on stage. There are no eternal truths for us to discover in art, but we have to interpret and connect between eras: between themes that moved people, their hearts, minds and bellies, then as now, and that perhaps also show how little progress we have made and how much there is still to do on the way to a better life.
• There are always plays, roles, behaviours etc. that confront us with the question of whether we want to repeat sexist or racist statements, or whether it is even possible to fight against them without becoming boring or lecturing. Sustainability in the field of arts means looking for ways to interpret these things on stage in such a way that they can become an object of analysis and not simply float through the present without comment.
• Our opera houses, mostly built in the 19th century, are boats that we now use like sailing ships in contemporary repertoire. For the future of music theatre, the question is how much work on the structures, time for reconstruction and perhaps also new spatial concepts we need to keep these vessels afloat. 

Manifesto encourages us to think about the future of music theatre in a sustainable, open and free world.

Manifesto encourages us to let go of familiar routines, not to accept what IS already possible, but to find out what CAN be possible.

In the 2023/24 season Lotte de Beer will realise the Manifesto production, namely Puccini's La rondine, together with set designer Christof Hetzer, costume designer Jorine van Beek, lighting designer Alex Brok and dramaturge Peter te Nuyl.