Il Viaggio, Dante

A classic of world literature as contemporary music theater: Pascal Dusapin was inspired by Dante's works The Divine Comedy and The New Life to compose Il Viaggio, Dante, a work that combines everything that makes opera so fascinating today.
In seven images, we accompany a man on an inner "road movie" through an unknown space-time cosmos, in which figures from his life appear in enigmatic fragments of memory. A female figure - Dante's muse Beatrice - stands for longings; experiences of hell and purgatory reflect nightmares and fears, while the comforting discovery of beauty and happiness awaits in paradise. In a transparent soundscape, enriched by instruments such as glass harmonica, organ and a broad percussive palette, Dusapin makes Dante's language, characterized by a mysterious beauty, glow in the singing voices, as it were.
The production, which premiered at the Festival d'Aix-en-Provence in 2022, is now receiving its German premiere in Claus Guth's staging as part of the Dusapin trilogy at the Staatsoper Hannover. After opening with the tragedy Penthesilea, Il Viaggio, Dante is a work that also recognizes the hope of redemption: "I wanted to embrace this metaphysical and spiritual dimension through the music," explained Dusapin - and created a deeply personal yet universal reflection on individual responsibility and the search for meaning in a world in constant flux.