Tears of Peter (Lagrime di San Pietro)
Orlando di Lasso (1593 - 1594)
Netherlands Chamber Choir (Nederlands Kamerkoor)
Dance Company Nanine Linning
Marijn Rademaker dance soloist
Peter Dijkstra chief conductor
Nanine Linning co-direction and choreography
Tido Visser co-direction and concept
Irina Shaposhnikova costume design
Premiere October 31, Tivoli Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands
Shortly before his death, Orlando di Lasso created a crowning work of sacred Renaissance vocal polyphony: Lagrime di San Pietro. This series of 20 madrigals and a motet for seven voices, which the composer wrote ‚for my personal devotion in my burdensome old age’, will be performed in a staged version for star dancer Marijn Rademaker and choir.
In Di Lasso’s Tears of Saint Peter, the Netherlands Chamber Choir (Nederlands Kamerkoor) and Dance Company Nanine Linning place Orlando di Lasso’s masterpiece in a contemporary setting. What happens to man in times of isolation, desperation and loneliness? Marijn Rademaker (former principal dancer at the Dutch National Ballet and Stuttgart Ballet) dances the role of Peter, apostle and one of Jesus’ most loyal followers. Still, he renounces Jesus. The despair and loneliness that follow in his darkest hours are brought to life in a scenic interplay between Peter and the choir, co-directed by Tido Visser and Nanine Linning. Peter’s struggle is observed and accompanied by seven singers trapped in life-sized glass columns, separating them from each other and from Peter. Who is lonelier? He who is trapped, or he who has no one to share his freedom with? How does Peter’s idealism relate to a world in which people choose self-interest over the common good, a society where blind power reigns over moral justice?
Both audience and singers become witness to Peter’s suffering. Poetic, confrontational and topical.
Duration: 65 minutes
For more info:
Netherlands Chamber Koor