How do we handle the Christian heritage of art and music, such as J.S. Bach’s gripping passions and oratorios, in an increasingly secularized society? Is it possible to keep them in repertoire and bring them “up to date”, in the vein of Regietheater? This is the question which Folkoperan in Stockholm seems to be asking, when they take on the challenge of staging the St Matthew Passion.
The production bears the signature of director Joshua Sofaer, who attempts a deconstructed passion without Evangelist. Instead, select ensemble members present their tribulations in pre-recorded interviews by Martin Widman, which are woven into the musical mesh. The result is a slightly sensationalist passion, where the ensemble members – all dressed in street clothes, posing on the steps of the amphitheatre-style stage with the orchestra at the centre - take turns observing and commiserating with the suffering which we all go through. Instrumental ensemble Rebaroque bring the music to life with riveting passion under the leadership of concertmaster Maria Lindal, with no conductor in sight. Two youth choirs, from the church of Adolf Fredrik and Hägersten respectively, produce fresh renditions of the chorales and choral movements. But the idea of mixing the Swingle Singer-style arrangements of chorales and arias with more traditionally sounding settings is awkwardly eclectic.
The idea of staging the St Matthew Passion, of course, is not new in any way. Choreographer John Neumeier and directors Jonathan Miller and Peter Sellars have undertaken similar missions. The drama is inherent in the story, as Mel Gibson’s The Passion of Christ exaggeratedly underlined – one needs only to look at the altar cupboards of the middle ages to realize the theatrical potential which Bach brought alive in his musical interpretations. Numerous composers have made their own statements, composing new passions – sometimes even with new texts.
In the case of the Folkoperan St Matthew Passion, the confessions of ensemble members provides a commentary under different headings: Pain, Comfort, Guilt, Love. A spotlight frames the alto soloist Janna Vettergren, while the birth of her first child is unravelled on the screen overhead, followed by the celebrated aria “Erbarme dich”. Similarly, soprano soloist Hanna Holgersson reveals the pain of witnessing her parents' divorce, and her struggle to rebuild confidence and trust, before plunging into the vulnerable aria “Aus Liebe will mein Heiland sterben”. A flautist tells the story of how she realized that she had betrayed her son by not being present in his life, dedicating herself instead to a new love.