The Mad King

In The Mad King, OPERA2DAY and the New European Ensemble treat the audience to an immersive and colorful theater experience, in which a powerful man in isolation fights his delusions, a strange guest enters, astonishing sounds can be heard, and we can escape our seclusion for a while, corona proof – on the wings of art.

Surrounded by his wondrous bird collection, the man cranks up his barrel organ and becomes inspired by the sound and color of remarkable mechanical instruments: all meant to stifle the cackling voices in his head. But then a strange guest flies in. It is a migratory bird from Asia that takes up residence in one of the cages, thus posing a threat to the magnificent collection of songbirds. The beginning of a free fall, which forces him to face his fears, beliefs and habits.

The legendary “Eight Songs for a Mad King” by composer Peter Maxwell Davies have their roots in history. The ‘mad king’ is George III of England, the monarch who, in addition to the American colonies, also lost his mind. He used the tunes from a mechanical organ to teach his collection of bullfinches to sing. In 1969, Peter Maxwell Davies converted these melodies into a range of music styles that form a poignant theatrical account of madness and insanity. These crazy and outlandish songs are the ultimate challenge for a baritone, who has to use his voice from frighteningly high to heart-sagging low, performed with extreme expressiveness.

In The Mad King by OPERA2DAY and the New European Ensemble, the eight songs are heard amidst the isolated man’s fabulous fantasies. In these, the music of court composer Georg Frideric Handel plays a major role. The music from his operas and oratorios, also full of bird song and folk music, fits extremely wonderful into the universe of The Mad King.

The Italian Stefano Simone Pintor directs the performance. He previously wrote the libretto for OPERA2DAY’s highly successful Vivaldi-Dangerous Liaisons. Baritones Charles Johnston and Wiebe Pier Cnossen alternate as the maniacal man – surrounded by six caged musicians from the New European Ensemble. The musical leadership of the production is in the hands of Hernán Schvartzman, the musical director of OPERA2DAY.  Worth a special mention is the collaboration with Museum Speelklok – the specialist in the field of mechanical organs and musical instruments.

Artistic team

Concept and stage direction Stefano Simone Pintor
Music Peter Maxwell Davies, Georg Frideric Handel, Brendan Faegre
Libretto “Eight Songs for a Mad King” Julian Randolph Stowe, based on the writings of George III of Great Britain
Design of the musical universe Brendan Faegre
Musical direction Hernán Schvartzman
Artistic direction New European Ensemble Emlyn Stam
Scenography Herbert Janse
Light design Uri Rapaport
Sound design Arne Bock
Technical producer Ronald Tebra
Costume design Mirjam Pater
Hair and make-up Nienke Algra

Crew

Bariton Charles Johnston of Wiebe Pier Cnossen
Mime artist Bodine Sutorius
Ensemble Zes musici van het New European Ensemble (op het toneel)

In the suggestive set design of Herbert Janse we saw singer Charles Johnston, the musicians of the New European Ensemble and mime artist Bodine Sutorius as favorite bird who later also embodied the ominous intruder. ‘Gorgeously designed’ and ‘the visuals were superb’ noted Opera Now journalist Robert Hugill in his online review. Il Giornale della Musica thought that the musicians were ‘fantastically dressed like birds’ by costume designer Mirjam Pater. German magazine O-Ton praised both the ‘luxurious decoration’ and the ‘high musical level’. Theaterkrant wrote about the ‘wonderful, cacophonic bird universe’ and Opera Magazine called it a ‘delusional world […] with ghostly birds’. ‘Musicians as caged birds, can it be more symbolic in times of corona?’ and ‘A golden choice’, according to NRC.

Baritone Charles Johnston received much praise for his extraordinary performance. Theaterkrant wrote ‘Seemingly effortless, Johnston maneuvers between the very lowest and the very highest regions of his vocal range.’ Robert Hugill thought it a ‘bravura performance, and rather disturbing’ and NRC notes: ‘Maniacal roaring and screaming, lunatic murmurs, animal guttural sounds; Johnston masters it all and then just as easily shakes a flowing high pitched Handel aria from his grubby sleeve.’ The German O-Ton described his performance as a ‘mimic and musical star role’.

We are very pleased with the reception of the total experience created by stage director Stefano Simone Pintor around the Eight songs for a Mad King. OPERA2DAY is always looking for dialogue with the present time and opera from the past. We feel encouraged by Bachtrack’s review, who awarded the performance a whopping five stars and noted: ‘A performance of the Eight Songs that is relatively far removed from the original, yet comes closer as a portrait of a confused mind than any production. therefore limited to the music of Peter Maxwell Davies. A textbook example of what makes OPERA2DAY distinctive: the connection between good old opera and our own time.’