Theatrical fantasy ‘The little match girl passion’

Premiere: A theatrical fantasy on David Lang’s oratorio ‘The little match girl passion’ based on the story of Hans Christian Andersen: ‘The Little Match Girl’.

The music and text of the oratorio was written by the contemporary American composer David Lang in 2007 based on the well-known tragic tale by Andersen. Lang himself writes that he had a very different interpretation of the story than the usual one. This tale differs from many of Andersen’s other famous works because of the lack of a magical feel. This tale is filled with realism, kind of like a parable – almost like a Christian legend.

The vocal performance is by a quartet accompanied by percussion. The theatrical fantasy is a plastic visualization of the oratorio. Eight women embody the storyline with dance, connecting the musical and literary aspects.

The performance is in the framework of a theatrical laboratory, which makes it possible to create an atmosphere of creative polyphony reflecting on the life experiences of every participant of the project – the loss of a close one, overcoming fears, gaining hope.

The musicians are students of the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg musical college and the Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State conservatory. The performers are theater and film actors and students and graduates of the international acting school ‘Leludi’:

Idea and production: Olga Milovidova
Chorography: Olga Jen
Multimedia: Maria Kuznetsova
Age restriction: 12+

27 December 2019, 19.00. Russian Institute of Art History (St. Isaaq sq., 5). Admission is by registration with a limited number of seats. To receive an invitation, write by email to [email protected]

05 January 2020, 16.00. The Prokofiev Hall of the Mariinsky-2 theatre. Details and tickets.

The project is supported by the Danish Cultural Institute, the Russian institute of Art History and the Mariinsky Theatre.