A new interpretation of Dostoevsky's classic, blending spoken word and live music
Actor Lluís Homar and the Brugalla & Stambolov Piano Duo come together in this intimate “sacramental play” entitled The Grand Inquisitor (Bach · Dostoevsky · Messiaen) to explore the enduring conflict between spirit and power that runs through the human condition, confronting humanity with the fundamental tension between freedom and servitude in the face of authoritarian regimes seeking to subjugate it.
The performance is based on the legend of the Grand Inquisitor, a pivotal chapter in Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel The Brothers Karamazov. This story is presented in counterpoint with the music of Bach and Messiaen, two of the greatest composers whose artistic work was deeply rooted in the realm of the Spirit.
In this remarkable text by the Russian writer, set in sixteenth-century Seville during the harshest years of the Inquisition, Jesus mysteriously returns to earth and performs two miracles before the crowd. The Grand Inquisitor, the highest-ranking cardinal of the Holy Inquisition, has him imprisoned and, threatening him with the stake, subjects him to a powerful and uncompromising discourse.
Jesus' silence in the face of the corrupt language of power is embodied in the “resonant silence” conveyed by Bach's Chorales, arranged for two pianos by György Kurtág, and by Olivier Messiaen's Visions de l'Amen, also for two pianos, which open and close the performance.
From the depths of the prison cell, only the ineffable—what cannot be spoken but can be heard, in keeping with the tradition of the mystics—can stand against the rationalized madness and seductive logic of those who wield power and seek to enslave individual freedom and the existential uncertainty of humankind.
Authors: Johann Sebastian Bach, Fyodor Dostoevsky and Olivier Messiaen
Dramaturgy and Direction: Lluís Homar, Emili Brugalla and Vesko Stambolov
Performers
Lluís Homar
Brugalla Stambolov Piano Duo
Lighting Design: Jordi Farràs
Assistant Director and Stage Manager: Iban Beltran
Production Director: Maite Pijuan
Executive Producer: Sira Castells
Technical Director: Moi Cuenca
Technical Coordinator: Jordi Farràs
Production Assistant: Sara López
Head Theatre Technician: Roger Muñoz
Theatre technician: Eva Rotllán
Marketing and Communications and Graphic Design: Focus
Photography: David Ruano
Collaborators: Montibello and Colors Up
With the support of: Generalitat de Catalunya - ICEC Institut Català de les Empreses Culturals, INAEM, Unió Europea (Fons Europeus Next Generation) and Plan de Recuperación, Transformación y Resiliencia.
Distribution: Carme Tierz (carmetierz@focus.cat)
A production of Focus