Vienna Volksoper

How to make 30 post-its fly

(Bild: © Barbara Pálffy / Volksoper Wien)

INTERVIEW At the start of the season, Volksoper director Lotte de Beer talks about her "Carmen" attempt no. 2, which premieres on Saturday, children's choir rooms and the best way to attract new audiences.

Kronenzeitung: How was the summer? 
Lotte de Beer: It was the first time, as far as I can remember, that I didn't have a job. I had a lot of time to go on vacation. I had to get used to it first, but in the end I thought: Oh, this is nice!

Where did you spend your vacation? 
 In lots of different places. I was in Holland, in Zeeland, and went on a cycling vacation with my mom, my daughter and my cousin. In true Dutch fashion, it rained heavily the whole time, but it was still wonderful. Then I rode horses in Switzerland and was invited to a dream wedding in Tuscany.

Did you also go to the summer theater or did you take a cultural break? 
 I went to the festivals in Salzburg and Aix-en-Provence and saw a few performances by members of our company.

Lotte de Beer on the roof of the Volksoper

(Bild: © Barbara Pálffy / Volksoper Wien)

Do you also get inspiration in the summer? 
 Yes! It's wonderful to be able to dream undisturbed without the next crisis knocking on the door. Of course, I can also think about the next projects during the season, or consider what Deborah Warner should stage here. But when I suddenly hear that Tamino has canceled for today, my priorities are clear.

During my vacation, I was able to read, listen, reflect and think, exchange ideas with artists. I wrote almost 30 new projects on post-its that I would like to realize at some point.

Asked

What are you most looking forward to in the coming season? I'm really looking forward to "Im weißen Rössl" staged by Jan Philipp Gloger. He makes it a bit provocative, really funny and plays with all the clichés. And when Robert Palfrader and Harald Schmidt are on stage together, it's Austria versus Germany.

What are you particularly looking forward to in the other theaters?

To "Don Carlo" at the State Opera. That's my absolute favorite piece. Kirill Serebrennikov is also directing it. For us, dictatorships are of course far away. But Serebrennikov was under house arrest in Russia, he lived "Don Carlo".

If you had all the budget in the world, what would be your dream?

I would love to bring a Björk musical to the stage. Maybe a Volksoper "Ring des Nibelungen", but then in a completely different way. But above all, I would definitely - and perhaps sponsors are now reading this - expand our fantastic children's choir. To reach more children, even those whose parents don't know that the Volksoper exists. I would like to attract talented children from all districts so that they can join us. Because it's important that we open up culture to everyone.

What is written on the post-its? When I see a performance by Rafael Pichon in Aix, I think, shouldn't we also play early music? I read a book about the famous bridge in Mostar and thought, what Bosnian artists are there with whom we could realize a project?

Or a friend's teenage son listens to music that I don't know. Then you remember that Verdi was also very popular once and think about what new folk opera pieces we should actually do. Or you clear your head on a walk and suddenly the idea for a King Lear project comes to you.

At first glance, you have to try something absolutely unrealistic. At some point it either falls to the ground - or it starts to fly!

You have a lot of young audiences, around 25 percent are under 30. What do they want to see most? 
 Musicals, of course, and when it comes to the classical repertoire, "Die Fledermaus", "La traviata" and "Zauberflöte" go best with them. And then I think: Guys! That's really great, but don't just go for what you already know. What they need is an outstretched hand. You have to make it clear to them that we're here for you, you don't need a lot of knowledge, it's exciting and affordable. Then they will come.

The premiere is on Saturday: Katia Ledoux (Carmen), Chor der Volksoper Wien

(Bild: © Barbara Pálffy / Volksoper Wien)

Which audiences are still missing? 
 There are many that we would still like to address. For example, there was an Austropop evening in the foyer, an initiative by members of the ensemble. And suddenly our technicians came as audience members. I've never experienced that before. It's obviously a genre that attracts new audiences, so maybe you can turn it into a big musical theater evening. With a story and perhaps the philosophical question of what Austrian identity actually is.

So you are always on the lookout for something new? 
 We have the task of preserving the old treasures and making them up to date, but we also have to invest in the future and produce plays for the present. When we think of new pieces, we don't always think exclusively of classical contemporary music, which for many people has a rather intellectual connotation that they find difficult to access. It takes many musical approaches to tell different new stories.

This is probably why "Lasst uns die Welt vergessen - Volksoper 1938", in which the original operetta score was interwoven with contemporary music, had such a crazy response. We are therefore thinking about a follow-up piece about the queer history of Vienna.

We will also combine ballet music from "Swan Lake" with orchestrated pop music and new music in the new family piece "Nureyev's Dog". Or perhaps we can get the Belgian musician Stromae on board for a piece of musical theater? He writes so theatrically.

Lotte de Beer stages Bizet's "Carmen" for the second time

(Bild: Volksoper / DAVID PAYR)

The first premiere of the season is "Carmen". You are directing it yourself. What else is there to say about Carmen? 
 "Carmen" is an absolute hit, everyone wants to hear it. It's a musical masterpiece. But if you try to analyze Carmen psychologically, you run into a wall at some point. Because she is, of course, a character from the 19th century who has a function: The bourgeoisie looks at a very cheeky, sexually very radical, very free woman - who dies in the end.
That is the key. At some point, she understands that her only function is to die. I want to stage this metaphorically: Carmen is the only character who thinks she sees through the game, only to be devoured by it in the end. With this concept, you can also build a world that uses painted backgrounds, dance and exotic, colorful costumes - and play with them.

Is this your first "Carmen"? No, I had a bad experience with "Carmen" and my first production five years ago was a total failure. That's why I didn't really want to do the play. But I think the house needs this opera, the audience needs it and so do the singers.