Music Theatre since 1990 - Schott Music

Synopsis
Ingomar Grünauer 1990 in front of the Stadttheater Luzern · Photo: Felix von Wartburg
For 10 years Prince Sigismund has been incarcerated in a tower by order of his father, the king,
so as to protect the royal household from his volatile moods. His soliloquies and fantasies
constantly circle around his beloved Julia, the discoverer Amerigo Vespucci and a free and
better world without a king and without exploitation. The king and Julia arrive at the tower
and the king gives in to her demand to
free Sigismund. Meanwhile, the empire is
in danger and the people threaten unrest.
The counsellors confer, no-one is sure how
to deal with the situation.
Amidst the confusion, the king informs
the Privy Council of his decision that
Sigismund should be the new king. Sigismund
is rather unsure at first, not knowing
whether he is being tricked and mocked,
but all too soon his volatility takes over.
He tortures the counsellors, announces
the victory of the riotous rebels and wants
to fraternize with the crowd. Soon the
situation escalates; the crowd turns on
the counsellors and is about to string
Sigismund, “the last bloodsucker” up. At
the last moment the king intervenes and
calms the situation with a few words. The
king reveals that everything was a game,
to show Sigismund that “An empire isn’t
a cue ball for fantasies.” Sigismund is distraught
and of his own will returns to the
tower, refusing to leave ever again.
The whole musical event develops from one core, structured basic sound, which stands for Sigismund’s
mental state. This permanently varying sound structure circles round itself, tries to escape
from its hermetic spiral and ends up where it started without achieving closure. If an audience
recognises this principle intuitively, it will recognise variations as elements of tension. And this is
the most important fact for me: An audience experiencing an exciting, sensuous and complex music
theatre. (Ingomar Grünauer)
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