Peter Pan (the dark side) by Mitterer, Alkaen (2023/2023), Ohjannut Daisy Evans,, Musiikinjohto Timothy Redmond, Teatro Comunale, Bolzano, Italy

With Peter Pan - The Dark Side, David Pountney and Wolfgang Mitterer take a new look at the story of the little boy who didn't want to become an adult. Written in 1911, the short story Peter and Wendy by James Matthew Barrie tells the story of Peter Pan, an eternal child who lives with the "Lost Boys" on Neverland. One night in London, Peter meets a girl, Wendy, and takes her to Neverland with his brothers John and Michael. Contrary to what the Disney version would have you believe, in the original the fact that children do not age or grow up is not due to some magic. It is these aspects, more gloomy and unpleasant, that Pountney decides to investigate in his libretto. With a mix of electronics, orchestra and vocals, the composer Wolfgang Mitterer in turn manages to retrace the darkest elements of the story without neglecting the humorous moments. Director Daisy Evans – who in 2019 had already staged the Silent Opera Vixen for the Haydn Foundation – gives us the version of a teenage Wendy at the mercy of social media and fake news. Enchanted by Peter Pan, the young woman gets lost in a world where reality and fantasy get confused. Thus begins a story that crosses the realm of shadows and human abysses. Peter Pan - The Dark Side is a work commissioned by the Haydn Foundation with the support of the Ernst von Siemens Musikstiftung and the Österreichischen Kulturforums in Mailand . The work is in co-production with the Tiroler Landestheater, with support from the British Council .