Review – “Valuschka” by Peter Eötvös in Regensburg
Oppressive Polit Satire
February 3, 2024 by Peter Jungblut
In his latest work, the Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös takes issue with authoritarian politicians and a neglected society. The parallels to the current polarization on German streets are obvious. The message is grim rather than ironic, and the ending is dark.
“This isn’t an opera at all,” complained a few young audience members after the premiere of “Valuschka” at the Regensburg Theater, leaving it unclear what they were actually disappointed by. Maybe they missed the love scenes or the passions, because the now 80-year-old Hungarian composer Peter Eötvös had actually written a kind of political lesson in the tradition of Kurt Weill and Paul Dessau, with a good 90 minutes of short and concise, hard and cold sound language , always careful to be clear, even very clear in its purpose, as if Bertolt Brecht had contributed the text.
“The melancholy of resistance” as a template
The novel “The Melancholy of Resistance” by the Hungarian author László Krasznahorkai from 1989 is of course about the European change at that time, the collapse of communist dictatorships, but also about how such authoritarian regimes actually come about. A few years later the material was filmed in an international co-production under the title “The Werckmeister Harmonies”. Back then, none other than Hanna Schybulla played the main role as the populist named Tünde, who rose to become the fascist autocrat in her city. In the opera, the title character Jánosch Valuschka, the naive postman, newspaper delivery man and stargazer, ends up in the madhouse, while all the other men in the city get a black uniform and join a sturdy marching column.
Defend democracy
Roger Krebs, Jonas Atwood, Benedikt Eder and choir in “Valuschka” by Peter Eötvös | Image source: Marie Liebig Of course, this is all depressingly current, as the Regensburg theater director and director Sebastian Ritschel tells BR: “I think our task as a theater and especially as Theater Regensburg in this piece is to ask the question: what happens when a society becomes so radicalized and changes with the individual. How does a possible example show how it can turn out? Does it have to be this way? Can it also be different? At what point should society or even the individual act? intervene, perhaps bring about a change? Shockingly, I think we are at the very beginning of a similar social movement and we all have it in our hands to defend our democracy, to shape our social interaction and theater will always be there for that, questions to ask and seek answers.”
According to the theater, 21 journalists sat in the hall at the premiere, highly unusual for Regensburg, not surprising given the AfD’s poll numbers, and they saw an opulently equipped and convincingly staged premiere in every respect in the very realistic stage design by Kristopher Kempf. Sebastian Ritschel shows an educational piece that is close to agitprop theater, which would have seemed old-fashioned until a few years ago. As is well known, the conditions on German roads are now different, society is highly polarized and should tolerate such parables.
The supposedly largest whale in the world
Image source: Marie Liebig The power-hungry populist relies on circus effects to impress the people; in fact, the supposedly “largest whale in the world” floats above the stage. And what are the incited masses shouting about this? “Only broken things are whole.” This is orchestrated very onomatopoeically by Peter Eötvös, as if he had to accompany a silent film. He has the inside joke of quoting Richard Wagner’s “Parsifal”, which is also about a run-down, authoritarian society that a seemingly naive, stupid fool brings down. There, however, there is a happy ending or at least something like it, here there is only total destruction and hopelessness – symbolized by the snow that silently falls over the grave of democracy.
Musical creed
Conductor Stefan Veselka makes this musical confession of faith appropriately bright and thunderous, but what Peter Eötvös misses is a hint of self-irony, a satirical alienation. As is well known, a predecessor like Kurt Weill liked to use entertainment theatre, jazz and swing. Eötvös, on the other hand, sounds almost grim and stubborn, which is no wonder given the political situation in Hungary. The male choir and soloists mastered this very serious challenge in an impressive manner, especially Benedikt Eder in the title role, Theodora Varga as his mother and Kirsten Labonte as the domineering dictator. Roger Krebs as her frustrated husband appeared in his confident role portrait like Richard Wagner’s tired Grail Knight Gurnemanz, who actually just wants to be left alone from the demands of the world. Overall, an oppressive evening with very thoughtful political theater, which was not euphorically applauded, but was enthusiastically applauded.
Broadcast: “Allegro” am 5 February 2024 from 6:05 a.m. on BR-KLASSIK