ROBERT THE DEVIL is a thrilling contemporary re-imagination of the five-act German opera, “Robert Le Diable”, composed by German-Jewish composer, Giacomo Meyerbeer (1791-1864), libretto by Eugene Scribe and Casimir Delavigne.
It premiered on November 21, 1831 at the Paris Opera, and received its Polish premiere on December 16, 1837. In Poland, it was met with rave reviews with both Frederic Chopin and Juliusz Słowacki being among its admirers. The Opera was considered to be Meyerbeer’s most important pieces and a flagship work of the Romanticism movement.
After Meyerbeer’s death however, it was sentenced to oblivion as a result of the anti-Semitic campaign initiated by Richard Wagner, who in the 1850 pamphlet “Jewry in Music” accused Giacomo Meyerbeer and other authors of Jewish origin of contributing to the decline of the Aryan race.
After discovering a copy of this shocking brochure, musicians Natan Kryszk, Bruno Jasieński, Michał Aftyka, and Marcin Sojka made the decision to create a contemporary response, remixing the opera and collaborating with dancer, Monika Szpunar, to create an altogether unique and original experience to be shown at FestivALT.
Natan Kryszk – saxophones
Bruno Jasieński – drums
Michał Aftyka – double bass
Marcin Sojka – vibraphone and electronics
Monika Szpunar – chreography and dance
The project was carried out in cooperation with Allianz Kulturstiftung.
This project was selected through the Open Call track, which was made possible thanks to the support of the Jewish Humanitarian Fund.
