Liebestod

About

One of the most prominent personalities of the contemporary European theatre, Angélica Liddell, is coming to Prague with her latest production, which was premiered last year in Festival d'Avignon. In her productions, the eccentric performer, director and author always deals with autobiographical themes for which she seeks a metaphorical framework. This time, she combines the story of the "divine bullfighter" Juan Belmonte and the music of Richard Wagner to create her own theatrical language.

Her work is always strongly visual and figurative, physical and at the same time based on the intensity of the spoken word. She is always on stage, with her infinitely strong energy. Angélica is looking for and finding theatricality all around us. "It's the history of theater and at the same time the history of my roots," says Angélica about Liebestod. Liebestod is based on the final aria of Richard Wagner's opera Tristan and Isolde (1865), which literally means "killed by love."

The very word Liebestod refers to the theme of the eroticism of death or of "love till death", with the idea that the consummation of the couple’s love takes place in death, or even after it. Death was also the obsession of the bullfighter Belmonte, who saw bullfighting more as a spiritual exercise that carries emotions through infinite space to eternity. The relentless search for tragic beauty, an effort to meet the spirituality directly, is present both in the Belmontes's practice and in the stage work of Angélica Liddell. "I’m always looking for the sublime moment, for transfiguration, for overflowing enthusiasm, for radiance and light, this lyrical transport which takes place when one loves", says the director.

Liebestod is a sacrificial ritual that is more than just the history of bullfighting, "it is the work of a mortal woman in love, but it is also an act of sacrifice."

Official photos: Christophe Raynaud de Lage

WARNING: Some scenes may offend the sensibilities of the spectators. The show contains explicit depictions of auto aggressive violence.