Parma Teatro Regio Chorus - Nono: Prometeo (2019)

Punished for stealing the fire from the gods to bring the light of science and art to men, Prometheus has to endure darkness. In Luigi Nono’s “tragedy of listening” Prometeo the hero’s fate and his inner conflicts are transformed into a deeply impressive listening experience with the help of a fascinating spatial sound concept. It comes into its own in a rare performance at the spectacular Baroque cultural monument Teatro Farnese, conducted by Marco Angius.

For the Italian avant-garde composer Luigi Nono (1924–1990), the central task of art is to “wake up the ear, the eyes, the human thinking” and his visionary work Prometeo – Tragedia dell’ascolto, created in the SWR Experimental Studio in Freiburg in the early 1980s, is perhaps the ultimate realisation of Nono’s “theatre of consciousness”, in which sound and its projection in space become fundamental to the overall dramaturgy. Parma’s Teatro Farnese, a jewel of early 17th century architecture and one of the most beautiful historical theatres in Italy, offers the perfect surroundings for this performance of Prometeo. The theatre is entirely made out of wood and just like in an ancient amphitheatre, the horseshoe- shaped rows of seats rise from a grandstand and the balconied gallery towers over a vast auditorium. By placing the excellent soloists, the choir of the Teatro Regio di Parma as well as the musicians and the two narrators onto the different levels of the hall, conductor Marco Angius perfectly unfolds the unique spatial sound concept of Prometeo. Live electronics amplify and distort sounds and phrases to let them wander through the whole room, making the performance of Nono’s work an event. For the libretto, philosopher Massimo Cacciari compiled an intricate collage of texts that revolve around the myth of Prometheus, such as the accounts of Aischylos, Sophokles and Hesiod as well as works by Goethe, Hölderlin and Walter Benjamin – a German philosopher whose writings and ideas on history greatly influenced Nono. On the basis of the story of Prometheus, which is nothing less than the founding myth of science, Nono’s monumental Prometeo with its sequence of nine cantatas explores the origin and evolution of humanity and the ever prevalent question on the price mankind pays for progress. With his sensitivity and outstanding technical ability, Angius explores this universe – “it is enchanting to see his precise, understanding and intelligent coordination” (La Voce della Regio Emilia) of the project. “A fascinating journey through sound!” (Gazzetta di Parma)

Livia Rado, soprano
Alda Caiello, soprano
Katarzyna Otczyk, alto
Silvia Regazzo, alto
Marco Rencinai, tenor
Coro del Teatro Regio di Parma
Ensemble Prometeo
Filarmonica Arturo Toscanini
Marco Angius, conductor