Hamlet
After William Shakespeare
With music by Francesco Gasparini
Musiktheater an der Wien
“Ilaria Lanzino turns Gasparini’s baroque Ambleto at the MusikTheater an der Wien into a modern psychological thriller. You couldn’t stage it any more boldly or uncompromisingly even as a play: Out of jealousy over his mother Gertrude’s remarriage, Hamlet drags the entire family into the abyss. Unlike Shakespeare’s version, there is no fratricide, nothing to uncover, and no revenge to take. But Hamlet cannot accept his mother’s newfound happiness with Claudius. And the cast performs with gripping intensity.
A powerful production.”
Oper! Magazin
“Honestly, who hasn’t checked the time during the umpteenth repetition of an aria in a Baroque opera? You won’t do that during Francesco Gasparini’s Ambleto at the Theater an der Wien. Guaranteed. What director Ilaria Lanzino makes out of this 1705 Hamlet opera is as thrilling as a Hitchcock film and as bloody as a crime novel by Scandinavian master of horror Jo Nesbø. (…) Lanzino reconstructs the action from the surviving arias. The lost recitatives are replaced with adapted fragments from Shakespeare’s Hamlet, reworked by Lanzino herself. Each character has their own offstage speaking voice. The concept works very well theatrically. The setting is a modern house (set design: Martin Hickmann). Lanzino directs her characters with precision. (…)
A phenomenal music theatre experience.”
Kurier
“A must-see (…) In general, things get intense in Ilaria Lanzino’s direction, which turns what remains of Francesco Gasparini’s opera seria Ambleto into a family tragedy of our century. (…) Lanzino’s staging shines with thoughtful, meticulous character work and both fascinates and shocks with graphic imagery: an abundance of blood, accentuated acoustically during axe attacks; and as Hamlet’s vision, an explicit blowjob between Gertrude and Claudius, followed by Hamlet’s ‘real’ rape of Ophelia. (…) Surprisingly, the intense scenes never clash with the music, which instead provides an emotional window into the characters’ souls and creates a compelling, almost harmonious contrast. (…) Both visually and musically clever. (…) Lanzino turns Ophelia into the true heroine of the piece. (…)
The impact is clear: thunderous applause, even for the directing team.”
OPERN.NEWS
“Gasparini’s opera is shaped by Ilaria Lanzino into a modern family drama. Netflix-style aesthetics that had the baroque-loving house erupting with excitement on Tuesday. (…) Lanzino places these suddenly disturbingly contemporary characters firmly in the present. (…) A stroke of genius (…)
An outstanding overall impression.”
Salzburger Nachrichten
“A horror trip at the Theater an der Wien (…) Bloody applause.”
Der Standard
“At the height of the drama, there it is: that special music theatre moment. ‘This is how I show you my loyalty,’ sings Erika Baikoff as the deeply shaken Ophelia to her beloved Hamlet. She calmly and decisively pierces him with a giant kitchen knife — releasing him from his bloody rampage. (…)
A clever direction.”
Kronen Zeitung
“Vividly acted, highly dramatic, bloody (…) In the very first scene, we see Ophelia, drenched in blood, screaming from the bathtub — a scream that chills the soul and announces a first-order tragedy. (…) The director spares no one — not even the audience.”
Online Merker
“The gaps in the score offer the opportunity for imaginative realization. (…) Lanzino and Pe approach it with marked creativity, both musically and scenically. (…)
The rest is silence.”
Die Presse
“Bold, modern, imaginative.”
GN.at
“A contemporary family drama in a Nordic designer home (…) The acclaimed evening gives hope for a comeback of Ilaria Lanzino in the future.”
Kleine Zeitung
“Unconventional, bold, powerful, surprising.”
Die Furche
“A brilliant stage interpretation by Italian director Ilaria Lanzino. Her direction of the characters is fantastic. With this production, the Theater an der Wien rightly enjoyed a major success.”
Klassik Begeistert
“The director successfully staged a coherent drama because the cast portrayed real characters. (…) without the usual operatic pantomime.”
WDR
“A strong visual language, followed by long and thunderous applause.”
Der neue Wiener
“The energy and commitment of the production are impressive. Spoken Shakespeare fragments cast intense spotlights on the characters’ souls, bridging the music and stage action. The result is as blood-drenched as Strauss’s Elektra or Bartók’s Bluebeard. In Martin Hickmann’s claustrophobic domestic labyrinth, Lanzino chillingly reveals human entanglements.”
Falter.at
“It was a psychological thriller like no other — you feel like you’re watching a movie. The mix of intense psychodrama and Baroque music is fantastic, even for those who don’t usually enjoy horror. Super thrilling.”
kulturknistern*
“The director gives it all. Violence and despair turn physical between characters — a blood-soaked frenzy on stage.”
Van Magazin
“A ‘bloodbath among relatives’ could subtitle this new production of Ambleto at Theater an der Wien. (…) This kind of music theater resonated strongly with the young audience (…) their enthusiastic, loud applause said it all.”
Simply Classic
“A successful experiment — a fascinating, fresh opera experience.”
Kulturundwien
Stage direction: Ilaria Lanzino
Stage design: Martin Hickmann
Costume design: Vanessa Rust
Light Design: Anselm Fischer
Fotos: Herwig Prammer
