The Soldier's Tale - Puppet Theatre with Dominique Horwitz

The Soldier's Tale
By Igor Stravinsky
Narrated, performed and danced (in two parts; 1918)
Text by Charles Ferdinand Ramuz in the German adaptation by Hans Reinhart
Staged performance

Kulturaffinerie K714 presents a production of Igor Stravinsky's "The Soldier's Tale" - a landmark event in contemporary theatre history, which after its acclaimed debut at the Salzburg Festival now comes exclusively to Germany. The fact that this prestigious co-production of the Salzburg Puppet Theatre and the Festival has found its way to Monheim am Rhein underscores the ambitions of the new cultural venue as a home for world-class art. The work, created in 1918 as a key masterpiece of musical modernism, is presented here in a staged version that combines the spirit of wandering theatre with contemporary precision. The production has been unanimously celebrated by critics as an event that makes the archaic power of the Russian fairy tale newly experiential through a fascinating blend of acting, dance and music.

A particular highlight and moving artistic legacy are the costumes and puppet design by the recently deceased world-renowned artist Georg Baselitz. This work ranks among his final major artistic statements and lends the production a visual force of rare intensity, brilliantly realized by sculptor Leonhard Winkler. Under the direction of Matthias Bundschuh, the evening unfolds through the acting brilliance of Dominique Horwitz as narrator and the virtuoso musical ensemble - led by violinist Isabelle Faust. It is a profound play about pact and loss, which through the combination of Baselitz's powerful aesthetic and Stravinsky's distinctive music creates a unique theatrical experience that in this form can only be experienced here in Germany.