Chicago at Komische Oper Berlin
The German localization is great. Not only is the translation great, but the show is noticeably adapted for a German audience, at times with local vernacular and sociocultural references. Who knew a thick Berlin accent could make murder sound so glamorous?
⭐️⭐️⭐️
🎭 Chicago
🎶 Bob Fosse / John Kander / Fred Ebb
💭 Barrie Kosky, 2024
🏛️ Komische Oper Berlin
🗓️ 12.12.2024
“WHO SAYS THAT MURDER’S NOT AN ART?”
Broadway, made in Berlin! CHICAGO at @komischeoperberlin is an incredible showcase of camp, glittery, talented, queer, hilarious, sexy vaudeville extravaganza. The production by Barrie Kosky leverages everything that a large opera stage and orchestra offer, and merges those benefits with classic Broadway directing, creating a whole new way to enjoy the iconic musical numbers.
CHICAGO itself is a searingly satirical critique of celebrity culture, fame corruption, and media manipulation. While set in the titular city of the 1920s, it feels particularly resonant today, considering that a 34 times convicted felon elected with the help of algorithmically generated filter bubbles and biased (because purchased) social networks will enter the White House (again) next month. What CHICAGO does well is highlight the moral ambiguity of its plot, its characters, and their choices, showing that as usual, things aren’t just black and white.
The staging reflects this ambiguity: for much of the show, the stage is awash in the brilliance of thousands of lightbulbs arranged on multiple parallel and moving lattices, which in their construction and arrangement evoke Baroque wing-and-shutter systems. Some of the lattices revolve, in turn giving the audience a glimpse of the dark flip side of the staging to emphasize the less glamorous aspects of the show.
What I loved about this production is its unapologetic queerness. Obviously I might be biased in my perception or interpretation of queerness with my homonormative perspective, but I found Billy Flinn to be delightfully queer, at one point implying he had done the male doctor a sexual favor for his cooperation on the witness stand (we stan!). “Rasende Reporterin” Mary Sunshine was played phenomenally by a countertenor, and Mama Morton got very intimate with her prison girls (lots of touching and kissing—slay). How truly blessed we are to live in a time where queerness is openly celebrated on one of the hottest opera stages in the world.
While it was a bit of a bummer to not see the musical with its original English libretto, I must concede that the German localization is very well done. Not only is the translation great, but the show is noticeably adapted for a German audience: at times with local vernacular, sociocultural references, even the Merkel Raute™ makes an appearance. Who knew a thick Berlin accent could make murder sound so glamorous?
Komische Oper Berlin
