Review of the play “Nathan the Wise” by Ulrich Rasche in Salzburg

The theater program of Salzburg, like the opera, consists only of premieres, and one of the most anticipated was the performance based on the play by Gotthold Lessing “Nathan the Wise” staged by Ulrich Rasche. Tells Alexey Mokrousov.

Many people were waiting for the premiere of Nathan the Wise at the Salzburg Festival. Lessing (1729–1781) has many interesting plays, but one can hardly find a work as politically pointed as Nathan the Wise (1779). In the USSR, another translation of “Nathan” was surprisingly published in 1953, which went down in Russian history as the apotheosis of anti-Semitism. The appearance of the German original at the end of the 18th century had no less effect. If not for the intervention of Goethe and Schiller, who staged “Nathan” in Weimar, it is still unknown how the fate of Lessing’s last theatrical experience, who wrote the play in the course of a controversy with a Hamburg theologian, would have turned out. Then Lessing was banned from publishing journalistic texts; in order to continue the discussion about faith, he created a drama from Jerusalem life in the era of the coexistence of crusaders, Muslims and Jews there.

The equality of religions and the right to freely discuss them, regardless of one’s own beliefs, the position of the Jews and the nature of anti-Semitism – in the 18th century the topics themselves provoked no less violent reaction than they do today. The play did not abolish anti-Semite traditions on the German stage, but at least offered an alternative view of social practice, anticipating a similar turning point in the English theater that occurred half a century later. Lessing got a “drama of ideas” – a type of theatrical text in which the content is more interesting than the form, but what will stop the director, who, as you know, can transfer the telephone book to the stage? People constantly turn to “Nathan”, seeing in him either a tragedy or a comedy, but in any case – the apogee of tolerance.

The premiere of “Nathan the Wise” was awaited by many. Lessing has many interesting plays, but one can hardly find a work as politically pointed as this.

In Salzburg, Lessing was staged by Ulrich Rasche. Five years ago, his “Persians” (for more details – in “Kommersant” dated August 27, 2018) made a splash here. The four-hour action unfolded on a turning circle, along which, without stopping, the actors walked against the movement, reading the text of Aeschylus in a rhythmic manner; the joint production with the Drama Theater of Frankfurt received the prestigious Nestroy Award at the end of the season as the best performance in the German-speaking space. Rasche’s new work was created only for the festival, for the stage in the former saltworks in Hallein, it will not be possible to see it later.

The principle is the same as in the “Persians”: turning circle, even three, one inside the other, different speeds, different direction of movement. Abstract scenery in the form of huge narrow panels, missing props, subtle play with light and smoke, live music, five musicians located on the sides of the stage behind a translucent curtain (composer Nico van Wersch also composed for The Persians), and uninterrupted, almost four hours , dialogues and monologues. The actors are always on the move, and at first it is no less interesting to follow the specific plasticity and choreography than the speeches amplified by the speakers. The texts of some characters are read by the choir, and even under the uniform clatter of heels, almost chanting, even if monotonous, but for a play from the German school curriculum, where Lessing is still included, this is an event, the destruction of the canon, a radical renewal of phonetics. A number of side stories have disappeared (playwright Sebastian Huber), but new fragments have been added, for example, quotes from Voltaire and Fichte, many authors of the Enlightenment wondered about the nature of anti-Semitism, it’s not their problem that many are still slow to answer.

The role of Nathan is played by Valerie Cheplanova, and this is perhaps the main discovery of the evening, it’s hard to believe that she got into the project at the last minute, replacing the sick actress. Cheplanova is from Kazan, at the age of eight she left with her parents for Germany. She studied at the Palukki dance school in Dresden and the Busch school in Berlin, but talent is not measured by the quality of the university. Although Cheplanova is a graduate of the German theater school, there is a special softness in her that is unusual for her German colleagues. You are waiting for her appearance on stage, thanks to her Nathan turned out to be really wise, and his image is voluminous. If you remember the change of sex, then only within the framework of the old theatrical tradition, the most famous example of which is Sarah Bernhardt in the role of Hamlet. The rest of the characters look and certainly sound more like a poster, although the actors themselves work literally for wear and tear, and Nicola Mastroberardino as a sultan or Mehmet Ateshi, who unexpectedly radiates danger as a templar, are real finds.

Ulrich Rashe is a master of all trades, he stages operas and designs his own performances himself, for which he receives separate awards; he also did the set design for Nathan himself. Freelancer Rasche works with various theater companies, for three years in a row his performances from Munich, Basel and Dresden were invited to the prestigious Theater Meetings in Berlin.

The production of Nathan fell on the year of the 150th anniversary of Max Reinhardt, the great reformist director who stood at the origins of the Salzburg Festival and actually led it until the Anschluss of Austria; the festival celebrates its anniversary with a large exhibition taking place in three halls at once. Reinhardt also loved the turning scene and also appreciated the choral recitations, in this sense Rasche’s genealogy is beyond doubt – already the success of The Persians made it possible to speak of a revived tradition. You cannot enter the same water twice, but the same technique in the theater can be used more than once, but how often and with what success? It may seem to supporters of choral recitation that their method is applicable to any text, but many shades of Lessing disappear with such a performance, irony, for example, completely disappears. The choral theater is inclined to influence intimidatingly, it is not up to shades of emotions. Of course, it is possible to imagine Hamlet, Woe from Wit or The Cherry Orchard in such a decision, but it is better to wait, the experience of Nathan suggests that this would be a wise decision.