Organization

Choreographer

Jan Lauwers

Paul Blackman

Chorus master

Huw Rhys James

Sound designer

Paul Jeukendrup

Singer

Tenor

Sean Panikkar

A Migrant

Soprano

Sarah Maria Sun

His Companion

Contralto

Anna Maria Chiuri

A Woman

Baritone

Antonio Yang

An Algerian

Bass

Makudupanyane Senaona

A Torture Victim

Stage director

Conductor

Ingo Metzmacher

Lighting designer

Ken Hioco

Costume designer

Lot Lemm

Set designer

Video designer

Dramaturge

Elke Janssens

Kasia Tórz

Salzburger Festspiele

Others

Konzertvereinigung Wiener Staatsopernchor

Orchestra

Wiener Philharmoniker

Leah Manning

Ballet

Bodhi Project

SEAD Salzburg

Italian

Intolleranza 1960 -  (Intolerance 1960)

Salzburg

Austria

Felsenreitschule

Azione scenica in two parts (1961)
based on an idea by Angelo Maria Ripellino
Libretto by Luigi Nono using texts by Henri Alleg, Bertolt Brecht, Paul Éluard, Julius Fučík, Vladimir Mayakovsky, Angelo Maria Ripellino and Jean-Paul Sartre

Intolleranza 1960 is an opera that raises more questions than answers. Can this work even be called an opera? Or does she have something far more important to tell us? Does her political statement change if she is performed today as Intolleranza 2021? The Italian composer Luigi Nono was striving for a new form of musical theater that experiments with the human voice, with simultaneous processes and with spatial sound effects and brings them to bear in a unique way. Nono rejected the traditional opera conventions and was initially close to the Second Viennese School around Arnold Schönberg, Alban Berg and Anton Webern. He explored new compositional techniques, using electronic music and tape recordings in his plays, calling them "situations" or "azione scenica" (scene plot). This dramaturgical approach made Nono an innovator, with his musical worldview heavily influenced by his political views. As a young partisan fighter, he had joined the Italian CP in the last days of Mussolini's dictatorship, when membership of that party was a criminal offense. Nono was concerned with the social relevance of his music, with "committed music" that is not limited to aesthetic forms, but should have a direct effect on its listeners. He wanted to appeal to all social classes. when membership of that party was a criminal offense. Nono was concerned with the social relevance of his music, with "committed music" that is not limited to aesthetic forms, but should have a direct effect on its listeners. He wanted to appeal to all social classes. when membership of that party was a criminal offense. Nono was concerned with the social relevance of his music, with "committed music" that is not limited to aesthetic forms, but should have a direct effect on its listeners. He wanted to appeal to all social classes.
Intolleranza 1960 was Nono's first musical theater work and was commissioned by the 24th Venice Biennale International Festival of Contemporary Music, during which it premiered 60 years ago at the Teatro La Fenice. It was acknowledged as an important contribution to the post-war avant-garde and a key work in Nono's early creative phase. Nono wrote the libretto himself, based on an idea by Angelo Maria Ripellino. In it, he used essays and poems by Julius Fučík, Henri Alleg, Jean-Paul Sartre, Paul Éluard, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Bertolt Brecht. It is about a nameless emigrant who returns to his homeland. On his journey he gets caught in a demonstration and — although he is innocent — is arrested, tortured and taken to a concentration camp. His homesickness turns into a longing for freedom. He manages to escape, but fate hits him in the form of a tidal wave that triggers a humanitarian catastrophe.
Intolleranza 1960 had to overcome various obstacles that became apparent even before the premiere: on the one hand, the collaboration between Nono and Ripellino did not go as planned, whereupon Nono created a new version of the text, which the Biennale chairman tried to censor. On the other hand, neo-fascists caused disturbances at the premiere and showered the piece with malice. The "azione scenica" reflects Nono's dissatisfaction with the prevailing balance of power; it consists of allegorical episodes denouncing the absurdities of everyday life. The work is a passionate protest against racism, intolerance, oppression and violations of human dignity, with the environmental catastrophe at the end of the story linking the work to contemporary discourses. Nono wrote: "Intolleranza 1960 is the awakening of the human consciousness of a man who rises against the compulsion of needs and seeks a meaning, a 'human' basis of life. After going through some experiences of intolerance and fear, he is rediscovering a human relationship between himself and others […]. The certainty remains that 'man is now a helper to man'.”
Over the past three decades, Nono's works have repeatedly been seen in exemplary productions in Salzburg. Conductor Ingo Metzmacher, a profound connoisseur of Nono's music, emphasizes that for him Nono's "work and his legacy [...] are something like a guiding star". Jan Lauwers has recently dealt intensively with the meaning of political art; his findings will also flow into the new production: “Political art negates the aesthetics of politics. Art is always political.”

Intolleranza 1960 Nono

Public

Intolerance 1960

German

English

Approved

Intolleranza 1960 is an opera that provides more questions than answers. Can it in fact be called an opera at all? Or does it offer a statement of much greater importance? Does it transcend its own political content when it is staged today, as Intolleranza 2021? Italian composer Luigi Nono sought a new form of music theatre in which the voice, simultaneity and the spatial use of sound were examined and employed in a singular way. He was initially associated with the Second Viennese School (Arnold Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Anton Webern) and rejected traditional operatic conventions at a very early stage. He explored new compositional techniques, made use of tape and electronic music and called certain works ‘situations’ and azione scenica (stage action). Such dramaturgical perception made him an innovator. His musical outlook was fuelled by his political views. As a young partisan fighter, he joined the Italian communist party during the final days of Mussolini’s dictatorship, when membership was still a crime. Nono attempted to make socially-committed music, which was not only expressed in aesthetic forms but also had a direct impact on its listeners. It was crucial to him that his work was accessible to all social classes.
Nono wrote Intolleranza 1960, seen as his debut in the world of theatre, following a commission for the 24th International Festival of Contemporary Music at the Venice Biennale, where it had its premiere at the Teatro La Fenice 60 years ago. It was considered one of the most striking pieces of music in the history of the post-war avant-garde and a culminating work of Nono’s first artistic period. He wrote the Italian libretto himself, based on an idea by Angelo Maria Ripellino and documentary writings, as well as poems, by Julius Fučík, Henri Alleg, Jean-Paul Sartre, Paul Éluard, Vladimir Mayakovsky and Bertolt Brecht. It tells of an anonymous emigrant who returns to his native land. On his journey, he finds himself in the midst of a protest and, although innocent, is arrested, tortured and imprisoned in a concentration camp. His longing for home becomes an urge for freedom. He succeeds in escaping, but fate strikes when a tidal wave causes a humanitarian disaster.
Despite its radicalism, the progress of Intolleranza 1960 was hindered by numerous obstacles. These started before the premiere, as his collaboration with Ripellino did not go according to plan. Nono reworked the text himself, which the then chairman of the Biennale subsequently tried to censor. And the work was also attacked and disrupted by neofascists at its premiere.
The azione scenica reflects Nono’s aversion to the power system and is composed of allegorical episodes that criticize everyday absurdities. It is a passionate and almost visionary protest against racism, intolerance, oppression and the violation of human dignity, with an added climatological catastrophe that directly places the opera within current discourse. ‘Intolleranza 1960 is the awakening of human awareness in a man who has rebelled against the demands of necessity and searches for a reason and a “human” basis for life. After several experiences of intolerance and domination, he begins to rediscover human relations, between himself and others, when he is swept away in a flood with other people. There remains his certainty in “a time when man will be a help to man”. Symbol? Report? Fantasy? All three, in a story of our time’, wrote Luigi Nono.
This production of Intolleranza 1960 for the centennial season of the Salzburg Festival is unique, not only for its content, but also because Nono’s oeuvre has been performed in Salzburg over the last 30 years in exemplary performances. As a Nono expert, conductor Ingo Metzmacher underlines that ‘Nono’s work and legacy are like a guiding light I still follow today’. Over the past two years, Jan Lauwers has been making an intensive study of the importance of political art, which will be reflected in this new staging. ‘Political art negates the beauty of politics. Yet art is always political’, he explains.

Intolerance 1960 by Nono, From (2021/2021), Directed by Jan Lauwers,, Conductor Ingo Metzmacher, Felsenreitschule, Salzburg, Austria

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble

Program, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues