Lise Christiani - Mit dem Cello nach Sibirien

A woman with a cello?! Obscene! A taboo broken! Will people faint at the sight? Lise Cristiani, born in the slums of Paris, is the first cellist who dares to perform publicly in 1845. Until then, the instrument was played exclusively by men. After all, one must hold it between one's legs - utterly unthinkable for a woman; precisely why crowds flock to concert halls. Some spectators climb onto their seats to see how she manages it. Newspapers write of her "surprisingly graceful appearance," claiming she "will never be able to play as expressively as gentlemen can."

Against the predictions of her critics, nineteen-year-old Lise Cristiani conquers concert halls across Europe with her Stradivarius cello. She captivates princes and kings with her playing; the Danish king even appoints her his first court cellist. At the Gewandhaus in Leipzig, she performs alongside renowned artists such as Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy. The composer is so impressed that he dedicates a musical piece to her - "Romance sans Paroles." On an adventurous journey by carriage, reindeer sleigh, and dog sled, Lise Cristiani brings her music to the remotest corner of Siberia, "to places where no artist had ever ventured before."

The trio brings the story of this extraordinary woman to life. An evening concert in which three performers alternate between musical compositions and narration, guiding listeners through Lise Cristiani's incredible story. Nearly forgotten musical pieces are also revived - works by those who were cellists of her time and who sensitively arranged operatic arias for their instrument; among them Alexandre Batta, Adrien-François Servais, and Jacques Offenbach. Contemporaries of Lise Cristiani whom she encountered and whose works she passionately performed at her concerts.

Featuring Liudmila Firagina (cello), Julia Reingardt (piano), and Simone Jung (narration)