Schubert’s three great song cycles came about in a creative, spontaneous storytelling atmosphere where friends dressed up, recited poetry and brought along different instruments. Schubert 200, an idea dreamt up by director Tom Guthrie, will celebrate this historical approach, by creating touring performances of each cycle, using puppetry and arrangements for unusual instrumentation.
The touring performances of the three cycles will coincide with their respective 200th anniversaries (Die schöne Müllerin in 2023, Winterreise in 2027 and Schwanengesang in 2028), and will be recorded with the arrangements with international guitarist Craig Ogden and members of Barokksolistene.
In this video excerpt from a longer interview, Tom Guthrie speaks to Hannah Nepilova about his use of puppetry in the song cycles.
This is the latest in our series of video interviews with artists doing unusual things during the pandemic.
To read our interview with Tom Guthrie ahead of his production of Monteverdi’s l’Orfeo, click here.
To watch a video of Barokksolistene’s Alehouse Sessions, in which the ensemble reinvents a 17th century pub session, click here.