An exposure, an exposure

In the movie The Square (2017) by Swedish director Ruben Östlund, there is a long scene in which a wild, gorilla-like man with a naked upper body, an artist specially hired for the occasion, is supposed to entertain a private viewing party. The audience is amused at first, but becomes increasingly irritated the more aggressive and uninhibited the man behaves, until finally a woman can just about be saved from being raped. What "goes well" once again is in Living with an idiotThe opera, Alfred Schnittke's first and best opera, is a cruel reality, at least in the new Zurich production by Kirill Serebrennikov (who also designed the sets and costumes).

The idiot takes over life

According to the plot, the couple - I (Bo Skovhus) and the woman (Susanne Elmark) - have to take in an idiot from an asylum, apparently because I has done something wrong. Ich chooses someone with whom he believes he can have profound conversations, but all he can come up with is a dull "Awww!". At first it seems quite amusing, but soon the idiot becomes more aggressive. He impregnates the woman, who aborts the fetus, then rapes me. The two live in a love affair, now harassed by the woman, whom the idiot - or is it I? - finally kills. The idiot disappears; Me is interned in an asylum. The roles have been reversed. This asylum is almost constantly present on the bare, white, bare, cold stage, including the magnificent opera house chorus.

From historical to existential interpretation

In the 1980 story of the same name by Viktor Yerofeyev (who also wrote the libretto), this idiot still bore historical traits, namely those of Lenin, as did the 1992 Amsterdam premiere directed by Boris Pokrovsky. Shortly after glasnost and perestroika, this was quite topical and meaningful. In later productions, however, the Idiot was given a different face. Lenin had receded into the distance, overshadowed by a new, self-elected dictator - and Serebrennikov did not want to bring him to the stage. The Russian dream - was it ever one? - is over. The dream is also over elsewhere. The once politically grotesque satire is now being given a broader, more existential interpretation in Zurich.

Aggressive instincts just below the surface

The story passes by for almost two hours without a break: at a steady, restless, almost indifferent pace. One event follows the next, nothing is played out in an operatic manner; the emotions seem stifled. The plot seems blank and unstoppable. We watch in bewilderment - should we still be entertained, laugh at the absurdity or be horrified? Everything seems naked, almost stripped bare. The dancer Campbell Caspary also moves naked and silently through the room as the Idiot. His role is split. Matthew Newlin, the only black-clad figure on stage, takes on the vocal part; he bears the features of the director and at times seems to be directing the action.

It was deeply convincing - and its unbearable nature also brought back memories of that embarrassing and frightening scene from The Square. It is convincing - and exasperating, because the situation is hopeless. Yet it is self-inflicted: "Everyone voluntarily chooses their own idiot, even here and everywhere. We all have our aggressive instincts, and they lie quite close to the surface," Yerofeyev once said in an interview. And that is the cruelly topical aspect of this play and this production, which incidentally does not feature as many shocking scenes as has been reported elsewhere.

The accompaniment falls silent, things just lie there

Yerofeyev and Schnittke tell this story with a sober fantasy that ties in with the Russian tradition of Nikolai Gogol - and thus indirectly with the setting of his Nose through Shostakovich. They shape the plot with numerous flashbacks, actually referencing the whole thing twice and making it an all the more painful experience through this spiral movement. Schnittke's music, played with great agility by the Philharmonia Zurich under Jonathan Stockhammer, is still colorfully polystylistic at the beginning - for which it was famous. Numerous quotations and pseudo-quotations flow in, reminiscent of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov and the imbeciles who appear there or the International. Over time, however, this musical variety is reduced, the accompaniment falls silent at times, the text (sung in German - a sensible decision) becomes more comprehensible and more insistent. Things are just lying there. Is this not more topical than ever?

Zurich Opera House: Performances until December 1, 2024.