Novecento

Description

A ocean liner, an abandoned child, and the invention of jazz - Chawwerusch Theater presents a new production of "Novecento" on stage. All aboard for the Chawwerusch production "Novecento - The Legend of the Ocean Pianist". In 1900, a sailor finds a baby on a piano in the ballroom of the luxury steamer "Virginian", whom he names "Novecento". The child grows up onboard and becomes the celebrated jazz pianist of the ship's band. This story by Alessandro Baricco (German translation by Karin Krieger) is brought to the stage by actors and musicians Ben Hergl and Wolfgang Mayer under the direction of Rosa Tritschler as musical theater. Life does not seem very promising for little Novecento - abandoned in a cardboard box. But very early, he tinkers on the onboard piano and develops into a brilliant musician and pianist of the ship's chapel. In January 1927, in the promising 1920s, when jazz was born, flutist Tim Tooney begins his engagement as onboard musician on the Virginian. Novecento first encounters him on a stormy night, when everyone fears for the ship and their lives. Novecento dances over the ship's planks, "as if he strolled along the promenade of Nice," and his fingers glide over the keyboard as if caressing a barely moving sea. The two musicians become friends and companions. From then on, Tooney watches in amazement as Novecento's virtuoso piano playing. As if he had four hands, he plays music that contains "all the melodies of the world" at once. With sensitivity, the ocean pianist captures the stories, smells, and glances of the travelers and turns them into music. He seems to know the outside world in detail, although he has never set foot on land. He will never leave the ship where he was born, for the rest of his life. The Virginian, the piano, and the route between Europe and America become fate for Novecento. Wolfgang Mayer arranged his own composed melodies and jazz passages with ragtime and waltz from the 20th century. Thus, soundscapes are created that transport the audience into a mystical-salty storm, dreamy dance afternoons, or lush-decadent first-class ship dinners. It becomes exciting when ragtime pianist and self-proclaimed "inventor of jazz" Jelly Roll Morton arrives onboard and challenges Novecento to a piano duel.

Highlights

• Chawwerusch Theater presents "Novecento"
• Based on the work of Alessandro Baricco
• Featuring Ben Hergl and Wolfgang Mayer as lead actors

General Information

The production "Novecento - The Legend of the Ocean Pianist" tells the story of an abandoned child who becomes a jazz pianist on an ocean liner. Directed by Rosa Tritschler, the play is performed at the Erwin-Braun-Halle in Oberkirch.

Location

Querstraße 10, 77704 Oberkirch, Germany

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