 
Fall of the Gods
Così fan tutte
Don Carlo, Falstaff
Die Fledermaus
Concert 2001
Narrated Music
Shir Ha Shirim
Notes
Paumgartner
Musically insured
who am i...?
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Luchino Visconti
THE FALL OF THE GODS
Director Johan Simons talks about his production
The Fall of the Gods is based on Luchino Visconti's film La caduta degli dei, which in turn is based by and large on the story of Macbeth. In Simons' interpretation, Macbeth's ambition of succeeding to the throne becomes a power struggle among the managers of a large industrial group at the time when National Socialism was rising to power.
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| Photo: Ben von Duin |
The manner in which the film script was converted into a text for the stage was determined on the one hand by technical considerations and on the other hand by decisions made by the producers. The first such decision was to have each of the actors play a number of roles. We were prompted to adopt this approach because of the experience we had with Two Voices, where Jeroen Willems acted six different parts, and The Persians, where he had three roles to interpret. On the one hand, this decision was influenced by the fact that such a procedure was common practice in Aeschylos' time, and, on the other hand, by the desire to know what its consequences would be for an actor today. In the present performance, the central question that engages the characters is: what kind of person can I be or want to be under particular circumstances.
When we refer to World War II we are aware that judgement has already been passed on those involved: we know who was good and who was bad. It is as if we were operating with thought patterns of the nineteenth century which presumed that the human being has a rigid and predetermined character. It was only in the twentieth century that we came to realise that the individual has a number of personalities whose various traits come to the fore according as situations differ. One and the same person can be a hero and a criminal at once, a victim and at the same time a culprit ...
In order to portray these various possibilities, Jeroen Willems plays, in The Fall of the Gods, three managers who succeed each other as Director General of the Essenbeck Steel Works. The last two murder their respective predecessor. Thus the character is both culprit and victim. Elsie de Brauw plays the roles of the women behind the men: the one supports her husband and perishes in Dachau: the other, in the lust for power, instigates her husband to commit murder and in the struggle for ascendency is murdered by her own son. Fedja van Huêt plays the Director who is friendly to the Nazis as well the Director who is inimical towards them. In the rush and bustle of these goings-on, all three keep changing roles: they are endowed with a number of identities. Aus Greidanus is the only actor who plays one role - the sergeant who incites others to perform their wicked deeds and sanctions them. His one aim is to see to it that the Nazis get control over the steel works and convert it into a munitions factory. In his heart he allows himself only one identity.
In addition to this decision to have four players play all eight protagonists, the device of according to each player his own servant also influences the work. We see how differently they react and in this way we judge how differently we would react ...
Luchino Visconti
The Fall of the Gods
In German
Directors Johan Simons, Paul Koek
Stage Leo de Nijs, Paul Beuk, Ronald Roffel
Costumes Maria Roers and Dorine van Ijsseldijk
Music Heiner Goebbels, Paul Koek, Ton van der Meer and Franches-Marie
Uitti
Dramaturgy Tom Blokdijk
with Elise de Brauw, Fedja von Hueˆt, Aus Greidanus jr., Jeron Willems, Sanne von Rijn, Carola Arons, Gonnie Gaakeer, Thekla Reuten, Mathijs Scheepers
Perner Insel, Hallein
Guest performance of the Zuidelijk Toneel Hollandia
Premiere: 21 August 2001
22, 24, 25 and 26 August 2001.
Beginning at 7 p.m.
The ticket office still has tickets from ATS 200 to ATS 800 for all performances except the premiere.