In celebrating the bicentennial of the birth of Frederic Chopin it is not surprising that there have been tons of recitals. Of course, Chopin's piano music is almost always an audience favorite so any excuse to perform the music is always welcome. The question arises, however, whether or not this special time has allowed for an increased understanding of Chopin's music and his place in the world. I think that too often Chopin's music is thought of as music to be enjoyed for its beauty alone. This attitude, to me, reduces the music to magnificent salon music when it is much more than that. It's almost as if Chopin's music is like the beauty queen who spends much of her life trying to prove that she is more than a pretty face and figure while still appreciating the fact that she can use her pretty face and figure to her advantage.
Rather than attend another (hopefully) wonderful recital of Chopin's music I opted to experience a different spin on the music, one involving marionette theatre. In the U.S., puppetry is often thought of as residing exclusively in the realm of children's entertainment. In Europe, however, puppetry has a long, distinguished tradition. In particular, the world of marionette theatre has longed been directed to adults. The Blalystok Puppet Theatre is one of the leading marionette troupes in Europe and has long cultivated a repertoire for adults. In the program booklet, director Leslaw Piecka notes that "as a creature of art the marionettes something unreal and expresses the meaning of creation."
This theatrical production on Chopin did not tell a direct story, but rather intimated at various aspects of Chopin's world. The ambiguity of the performance was, for me, one of the shortcomings of the program. According to the webnotes on this event:
The Bialystok Puppet Theatre, one of the best puppet theaters in Europe introduces the audience to Chopin's world through a series of Muses who serve as guides through the worlds of dreams and sounds produced by his music. They also present his artistic friendships, musical impressions, and life experiences. The show refers to Chopin's fascination with Paganini, his friendships and relationships with George Sand, with his fiancée Maria Wodzinska, his longings for the lost "country of his childhood," his creative dilemmas, Impressions, artistic visions, moods that range from the poetic to the paranoid, the feeling of success, and the sense of despair. Apart from Chopin's music performed live by one of Poland's most talented pianists, Krzysztof Traskowski, the show features actors, marionettes, art objects and visual presentations.
A poem, narrated by one of the performers, provided a framework for the production. The pianist for the production, Krzystof Trzaskowski, provided polished, elegant renderings of such works as the Andante Spianato (finishing up the program with a powerful performance of the Grande Polonaise brillante to which the Andante Spianato is attached), the Nocturne in C-sharp minor, Ballade in F minor, Prelude in C minor (paired brilliantly with the Nocturne in C minor) and Mazurka in A minor (Op. 10, no.4). The marionette of Chopin did an amazing job of matching every note and movement for many of these works. The matching of timing and finger movement obviously took much painstaking collaboration.
This performance took place on November 7 at the Ellen Stewart Theatre at La Mama on the Lower East Side.
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