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If anyone asks why I direct opera and musical theatre,
I always say it's about that exciting coming together of music,
performance space, and a given theme.
I studied as a singer and I've always seen the potential of the song form for theatrical productions.
First of all, this is a totally different artistic discipline, a staged performance, which gives Jiri the chance
to put his wonderful artistic stamp on the work.
Winterreise is a beautiful story of a wanderer who has a long journey in front of him
- and this studio at Barrandov is 30 metres long: one of the great advantages of the space!
This is a fantastic space.
As soon as we stepped through the studio's huge wooden doors, we knew this was where
we wanted to put Winterreise on.
I put a certain theme to the audience,
and allow them to perceive it through the music, the space, the images I present them with.
Then I leave it up to them to take from it what they will.
Of course, Winterreise has a clear theme: the separation of an unhappy couple,
followed by the journey of the wanderer who tries to come to terms with his solitude.
My idea of dividing the wanderer role into three characters stems from the fact
that the lyrics contain many internal diaologues,
and the three characters enable me to portray the kind of inner dialogue we all experience.
For example, you want to do something and an inner voice tells is
'don't do it! You can't do that!'
but we do it anyway.
This whole production is about that dialogue.
For me, Jiri is a huge talent, and it's an honour for us to work with him.
His artistic language is so pure, so purifying - which is just what art should be.
And that's what Jiri's all about.