As with the previous one, Opera No. 13 for me was an out of town affair. This time, I travelled all the way to Bonn (about a 5-hour train ride) to watch Li-Tai-Pe by Clemens von Franckenstein. Yes, this time, it's an obscure opera from an obscure composer. And boy, I thought it was worth it.
I won't go out of Berlin to see an opera if it were something that I knew was popular enough, that I can simply wait for it to be produced within Berlin. I only would go out of my way if it's such a rarity, given what I consider to be rare. And that typically means it's a contemporary classical opera. But this time, it meant something else. See, there's a musical research group based in Bonn which examines questions like what makes a piece popular vs. what makes it disappear. After all, the musical pieces that are typically played nowadays aren't always the same throughout the years. If one looks at it historically, there are pieces that were immensely popular in the past, yet are virtually unknown nowadays. Now the question is why.
Li-Tai-Pe is one such piece. This opera was composed in 1920, and was very well-performed, until the Nazi Period. And then it virtually disappeared. And now, Theater Bonn is producing it, together with a number of other similar works that have vanished from the musical canon. I thought that was an interesting feature, and therefore I made my way all the way to Bonn to check this production.
I carefully read the informational material and educated myself about the opera as much as possible. From a storyline perspective, it is slightly predictable, with a common folk hero that is somewhat persecuted but eventually vindicated. The title character is inspired by Li Bai, a real-life poet from 8th Century China. The opera's storyline largely revolves around the poet who fails the bureaucractic exam yet succeeds to befriend the emperor, who then commissions him to woo a Korean princess. He succeeds, yet two Chinese bureaucrats are jealous of Li-Tai-Pe's luck, and plots to kill him. The poet is vindicated, of course.
The performance was also stunning. There weren't any memorable arias, but then again, I was quite captivated by the production and my attention gravitated towards observing the many things happening on stage and was slightly distracted from the music. It almost feels like an Italian bel canto opera, except it was sung in German, its original language. The story is originating from the 8th century, yet as the opera was composed in 1920, the production transported the story to 1920s China. I loved that trick. Overall, I would absolutely recommend it.
I wouldn't go to Bonn too often just to watch opera, but this one was definitely worth it.
