Belshazzar

The ruling strongman is back—the kind of man who wipes the slate clean, knocks things over, takes action, and grabs what he wants, all while feeling magnificent, youthful, and cheerfully destructive. King Belshazzar was one such figure, a despotic ruler from biblical times...

During a bacchanalian royal banquet, King Belshazzar taunts the Jewish god Jehovah and declares, ‘I am the King of Babylon!’ But at midnight, mysterious writing appears on the wall: MENE, MENE, TEKEL UPHARSIN. No one can interpret it. The wise Queen Mother wants to consult the Jewish prophet Daniel. Once summoned, he reveals the meaning. MENE: the God you’ve blasphemed has numbered your days and will bring them to an end. TEKEL: you’ve been weighed and found wanting. UPHARSIN: your kingdom will be divided between the Medes and the Persians. The oratorio ends with the prophecy fulfilled: the death of the tyrant king and the joyful deliverance of both Babylonians and Jews from his rule.

It’s the perfect material for Herbert Fritsch, who’s happily back for another run. In his hands, the story of King Belshazzar is transformed, with Handel’s oratorio becoming a wild dance. His unrestrained theatrical vision propels its characters through a tumult of psychological states—bluster and joy, love and hate, hope and hubris, horror and panic. Every emotional space finds its echo in Handel’s music. It’s from the finely woven textures of this baroque masterpiece that Fritsch extracts the motifs for his grotesque corporeal compositions. ‘Everything must be brought into a raging order’ wrote Antonin Artaud, offering a mantra that could likewise apply to this evening of Handel and Fritsch at the Komische Oper. Everyone’s on the edge of their seats—Fritsch included!