top of page
Open site navigation

SYNOPSIS
A typical piazza in Venice, on it a pharmacy. Like all tutors the old apothecary Sempronio has set his mind to marrying his young and attractive pupil Grilletta. But she is courted as well by two other suitors: the poor Mengone, who only works for the apothecary to be near her, and the rich and selfconscious dandy Volpino. In accordance with the genre there is a fine lieto, a happy ending. Mengone gets Grilletta. Or to put it more accurately: Grilletta gets the man she wants, Mengone. This little treasure, one of Haydn’s 16 Italian opera’s, is rarely performed.

ARTISTIC CONCEPT
In this production by Eva Buchmann, director, and Jan their goal: the audience close to the singers/performers Willem de Vriend, musical director, we leave Venice. The action takes place ‘on the road’. The pharmacy literally has become ambulant. It is built-in into a Fiat 500. The cinque cento - the world famous fifties icon of the Italian car industry. This triumphant car is a perfect vehicle in the hands of the director to enhance the comic effect of the eternal fight of several men over one woman.

Jan Willem de Vriend is a great expert in 18th century music and opera performance practice. Since Haydn’s work is not complete, he has revised it by adding a selection of surprising music from Haydn and his time.

In their longstanding collaboration Buchmann and De Vriend have developed an opera style that enthusiastically involves the audience. They know how to create an intelligent interaction between the singers/performers and the musicians, which in turn invites the audience to freely react to or ‘interact’ with the performance. That is why they not only work in the traditional venues with a proscenium stage, but also site specific, in a hotel or church or in the open, all fresco. Wherever they perform their show they adapt the set in such a way that they realise their goal: the audience close to the singers/performers and musicians, sharing the same space, in which one freely switches from the most intense concentration to sharing a drink, as the action unfolds. This intimacy is essential in their work and it requires great performance qualities from the singers. Their closeness to the spectators does not allow anything but authenticity.

The informal atmosphere, thus created, most certainly resembles the 18th century performance practice more than the practice of most big opera houses today. But there is a big difference as well: a spectator of today is not addressed well when the performers’ histrionic capacity consists of stylistic gestures alone, as in the time of Esterhazy and Haydn. The audience has internalised Freud and all the psychological insights of last century. Spectators today can only experience authenticity in a stage character when it has the complexity, the inner contradictions, that they experience in themselves and in others every day. Eva Buchmann has the way with singers to become authentic in this more complex approach. At the same time she never loses her sense of entertainment.

Sempronio, an old apothecary bass
Grilletta, Sempronio’s ward soprano
Mengone, Sempronio’s apprentice tenor
Volpino, a young rich dandy mezzo-soprano
Orchestra 23 musicians

2017

Musical director: Jan Willem de Vriend
Stage Director: Eva Buchmann
Set design: Eva Buchmann
Executive set designer: Pieter Veenhof/Atelier “man met de hamer”
Costumes: Jorine van Beek
Dramaturgy: Ben Hurkmans
Light design: Marc Heinz
Producer: Jeannette Elsenburg

Lo Speziale

Lo Speziale
Next
Previous

10 mrt. 2023

Trondheim Symfoniorkester&Opera
Conductor: Jan Willem de Vriend
Stagedirector/Setdesigner: Eva Buchmann
Sempronio: Enrico Marabelli
Grilletta: Marina Zyatkova
Mengone: Pawel Żak
Volpino: Renate Arends
Dramaturge: Ben Hurkmans
Costumes: Jorine van Beek
Lightdesign: Marc Heinz

A Punto Arte production

Lo Speziale

Trondheim (NO)

Olavshallen

9 mrt. 2023

Trondheim Symfoniorkester&Opera
Conductor: Jan Willem de Vriend
Stagedirector/Setdesigner: Eva Buchmann
Sempronio: Enrico Marabelli
Grilletta: Marina Zyatkova
Mengone: Pawel Żak
Volpino: Renate Arends
Dramaturge: Ben Hurkmans
Costumes: Jorine van Beek
Lightdesign: Marc Heinz

A Punto Arte production

Lo Speziale

Trondheim (NO)

Olavshallen

12 jan. 2017

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
Sempronio: Piotr Micinski
Grilletta: Marina Zyatkova
Mengone: Alvaro Zambrano
Volpino: Virpi Räisänen

Lo Speziale

Zürich (CH)

Maaghalle

11 jan. 2017

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
Sempronio: Piotr Micinski
Grilletta: Marina Zyatkova
Mengone: Alvaro Zambrano
Volpino: Virpi Räisänen

Lo Speziale

Zürich (CH)

Maaghalle

10 jan. 2017

Tonhalle Orchester Zürich
Sempronio: Piotr Micinski
Grilletta: Marina Zyatkova
Mengone: Alvaro Zambrano
Volpino: Virpi Räisänen

Lo Speziale

Zürich (CH)

Maaghalle

18 jun. 2017

Sempronio: Piotr Micinski
Grilletta: Marina Zyatkova
Mengone: Alvaro Zambrano
Volpino: Virpi Räisänen

Lo Speziale

Almere (NL)

Bosbesfestival

"Lo speziale ist der Beweis, dass es für eine Oper nicht viel braucht, wenn sie mit Kreativität, Intelligenz und Talent gemacht wird."

(Cultura y spectacles, Barcelona, Januar 2018)

19 januari 2023

“Ideenreiche Regie bei Lo speziale”

Kölnische Rundschau

11 augustus 2018

"Der Schweizer Regisseurin Eva Buchmann gelingt es mit dem Hauptrequisit, dem Cinquecento, gleichzeitig die engen Platzverhältnisse auf dem Podium zu bewältigen – links agieren die Figuren, rechts ist das Orchester aufgestellt – und die Handlungsstränge zu bündeln. Im Übrigen interpretiert Buchmann, die neben Cello auch Musiktherapie und Psychologie studiert hat, die Rollen aus dem Blickwinkel der Psychologin.”

Neue Zürcher Zeitung

11 augustus 2018

“Im Lauf der Handlung erweist sich dieses Auto als sensationelles Mehrzweckobjekt: Das Dach lässt sich zu einem Verkaufsstand umbauen, im Heck ist eine Waschmaschine eingebaut, an einem Besenstiel kann eine Dusche aufgehängt werden. Und die weissen Vorhänge dienen dazu, das Tête-a-Tête eines Liebespaares vor den Augen der Zuschauer zu verbergen “

Neue Zürcher Zeitung

11 augustus 2018

“Bij een semiscenische opera verwacht je geen auto op het podium. Toch was donderdag in De Doelen een vintage Fiatje het middelpunt van Haydns Lo Speziale. Een treffende keuze, even bescheiden en aandoenlijk als het werk zelf, dat met ontwapenende eenvoud voor de dag kwam.
Buchmann benutte het karretje met vergelijkbare vindingrijkheid als Haydn in dit pretentieloze niemendalletje stopte.
Zyatkova en Zambrano bleken onweerstaanbaar, zowel puur vocaal als in naturel spel.”

Place de l’ opera

11 augustus 2018

"Und danach lässt Regisseurin Eva Buchmann einen weissen Fiat 500 auf die Bühne fahren. Das Autölein erweist sich in der Folge als Wundertüte. Was immer man braucht für die ebenso originelle wie lie bevolle Inszenierung, findet sich darin. Eine ganze Apotheke zum Beispiel, eine Gemüsekiste, eine funktionierende Dusche. Und, ganz wichtig: Vorhänge, hin ter denen sich Lauscher verstecken und Liebende küssen können."

Tagesanzeiger

11 augustus 2018

Quotes
Ontour

Lo Speziale brochure

Download

File Name

Files

bottom of page