Stabat Mater
Music: Giovanni Battista Pergolesi and Giacinto Scelsi
Conductor : Barbara Hannigan (a Ginevra)
Conductor: Michele Mariotti (a Roma)
Director, Set, Costume & Lighting Designer: Romeo Castellucci
Dramaturg: Christian Longchamp
in Genève:
Soprano: Barbara Hannigan
Countertenor: Jakub Józef Orliński
Ensemble Pomo d’Oro
Ensemble Contrechamps
Maîtrise du Conservatoire populaire de Genève
In Rome:
Soprano: Emőke Baráth
Mezzo soprano: Sara Mingardo
Orchestra of Teatro dell'Opera di Roma
A creation by Grand Théâtre de Genève
In coproduction with Opera Ballet Vlaanderen
and Teatro dell’Opera di Roma
With the support of:
Cercle du Grand Théâtre de Genève
Aline Foriel-Destezet
Fondation Leenards
Famille SCHOENLAUB
Stiftung Usine
Famille ROLLAND
Oratorio by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
First performed in 1736 at Pozzuoli, original version
The Grand Théâtre de Genève invites for the first time Italian director Romeo Castellucci, for a special encounter with Canadian soprano and conductor Barbara Hannigan. This for a show outside walls and genre, centred around the figure of Mary and the Stabat Mater by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi.
Part of the religious canon since its premiere in 1736, two months before the 26-year-old composer died of tuberculosis, the work is scored for the traditional complement of two solo voices (soprano and alto) and a reduced instrumental ensemble. It remains part of the usual Good Friday repertoire and has inspired numerous composers who have adapted, revised or borrowed it, from Bach to Hindemith. The name Stabat Mater corresponds to the opening words of a sequence composed in the 13th century and attributed, undoubtedly falsely, to the Italian Franciscan, Jacopone da Todi. The sequence’s text evokes the suffering of Mary during the crucifixion of her son Jesus Christ, and had already been used by Palestrina, de Lassus, Caldara and Scarlatti. It was excluded from the liturgy in the standard Roman Missal set by the Council of Trent (1570), but was reinstated in 1727.
For this project, the Grand Théâtre presents a musical dramaturgy augmented through works by one of the greatest composers of the 20th century, Giacinto Scelsi. His iconic Quattro pezzi su una sola nota see him applying himself to making perceptible its vibrations and depth. Indeed, following several years of hospitalization, the composer (and poet) refocused his writing technique on texture and no longer on combinatory art. This composition-manifesto earned Scelsi a reputation as a precursor of drone music and minimalist music. A testimonial to Scelsi’s fascination with Gregorian chant, its three antiphonal Latin prayers will complete the new musical canon around this Stabat Mater.
GENÈVE – Saint Pierre Cathedral
10, 12, 13, 14, 16, 18 May 2025
at 20h30
ROMA – Terme di Diocleziano
26, 28, 29, 30, 31 October
at 20h00