Fri, November 3, 2023 at 7:30 PM
HANDEL: ACI, GALATEA E POLIFEMO
Staged Production: Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin & Janni Younge
Pierre Boulez Saal
Artists
Violin and Musical Direction
Violin
Violin
Violin
Violin
Violin
Violin
Violin
Violin
Viola
Viola
Violoncello
Violoncello
Double Bass
Double Bass
oboe and recorder
Bassoon
Trumpet
Trumpet
Lute
Harpsichord & Organ
Aci
Galatea
Polifemo
Director
Design
Choreography
Lighting Design and Stage Management
Costume Design
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Visual Performance
Puppetry Mechanist and Rigging
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Puppet Construction
Costume Seamstress
Program
EVENT TIMELINE
Synopsis
Galatea, a daughter of the sea god Nereus, is in love with Aci, son of Faunus, the god of forests and fields. Their love is threatened by the giant Cyclops Polifemo, who is passionately obsessed with Galatea. When Galatea mocks and rejects him, he warns that he will impose his will by force. Aci bravely defends Galatea, but as Polifemo’s anger grows, the two realize that their being together will cause each other unbearable anguish. Galatea flees back into the sea, but finding no way to avert the impending catastrophe there either, she returns to Aci. Enraged by the sight of the loving couple united in their resistance against the inevitable suffering they face, Polifemo strikes Aci dead with a boulder. Galatea calls on her father to transform Aci into a river that may run into the sea. Forced to witness the reunion of Aci and Galatea in the ocean, Polifemo realizes the magnitude of his loss and the depth of his own loneliness.
George Frideric Handel’s serenata, written in 1708 and inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, is more than a pastoral love story: taking the struggle between mythical powers, nature, and human passion as a starting point, puppet creator, designer, and director Janni Younge—whose poetic visual language has won her worldwide acclaim—and her South-African company expose universal and highly topical issues related to the fragile relationship between humans and the natural world. The Baroque specialists of the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin and a group of acclaimed soloists take on the musical side of this production, which is being created specifically for the Pierre Boulez Saal.
Introductory Essays and the full libretto can be found in our online program
explore the production
Supported by the Kulturverwaltung des Landes Berlin
YOUR VISIT
How to get there
Pierre Boulez Saal
Barenboim-Said Akademie
Französische Straße 33d
10117 Berlin, Germany
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Public transport
U-Bahn U2 Hausvogteiplatz (350m) U5 Museumsinsel, U6 Unter den Linden (600m)
Tram M1, M12 Mitte / Am Kupfergraben
Bus 147 Werderscher Markt (100m), 100, 300, N5 Staatsoper (300m)
By Car
Q-PARK parking garage Unter den Linden / Staatsoper
Bebelplatz 2
10117 Berlin
Theatre tariff (5:30 pm – 11:30 pm by prepayment): €10
More information on getting there by public transport, bike, or car is available on our Getting there page.
Opening Hours
Box Office
Monday to Friday 2 pm to 6 pm
Closed on weekends and holidays
On performance days, the box office is open one hour prior to an event on weekdays and two hours on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.
Papagena Call Center
Ticket hotline +49 30 4799 7411
Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm
Sunday and public holidays 2pm to 8pm
Food & Drinks
Casalot Catering welcomes Pierre Boulez Saal visitors before and after concerts, serving a variety of dishes of Arab cuisine.
On concert nights, the catering opens one hour before the start of an event and remains open after the performance. You may also place pre-orders for intermission right at the counter.
More info on our catering here.
Accessibility
To book wheelchair-accessible seating, other seats for visitors with disabilities, or companion seats, please contact us directly.
+49 30 4799 7411 | tickets@boulezsaal.de
All wheelchair seats are accessible by elevator. All visitors, including patrons using a wheelchair, will enter the Pierre Boulez Saal through the main entrance. Tickets will be checked at the hall doors.
In order to make access as easy as possible, we kindly ask that you inform us of your requirements when booking your tickets.
Restrooms for visitors with disabilities are located in the basement and on the balcony level and are accessible by elevator.
Four parking spaces for visitors with disabilities are available on the street Hinter der Katholischen Kirche.
