Surreal Estate
15 Thames St
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Performing Arts: Opera
The Last Dreams of Helene Weigel Or How To Get Rid of the Feminism Once and for All
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- When
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Thursday July 22, 2010 (8pm)
Friday July 23, 2010 (8pm)
Saturday July 24, 2010 (8pm)
Sunday July 25, 2010 (3pm)
Thursday July 29, 2010 (8pm)
Friday July 30, 2010 (8pm)
Saturday July 31, 2010 (8pm)
Sunday Aug 1, 2010 (3pm)
- Where
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- Price
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$10
- Links
“Playwright Bertold Brecht was a ladies' man, but none was more important to him than wife Helene Weigel. This formidable muse/actress/director/manager/activist is the topic of Esther Neff and Brian McCorkle's provocative documentary opera, The Last Dreams of Helene Weigel Or How To Get Rid of the Feminism Once and for All. Neff and McCorkle successfully transpose the satiric, sexual, and political aspects of Brechtian theatre for a wildly fanciful, song-filled exploration of Helene's (Andrea Suarez) inner world. Here, the original Mother Courage seeks out her spiritual mothers, medieval theologian Hèloïse (Katie Johnston), and Renaissance poet Sister Juana (Suarez again, on video), to better understand herself and her art. The Panoply ensemble supplies the strong performing and singing guiding her quest.”
Patricia Contino, Flavorpill
Panopoly says:
The Last Dreams of Helene Weigel or How to Get Rid of The Feminism Once and For All is an experimental, documentary opera following Helene Weigel, Bertolt Brecht’s wife and "the greatest actress who ever lived" as she snaps the neck of a wild swan, escapes robbery by door-to-door linoleum salesmen, and makes covert visits in her dreams to the nunnery cell of Héloîse d’ Argenteuil, the 12th Century philosopher best known in light of her lover Abelard’s castration. Helene is also haunted by Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz, the self-proclaimed "worst woman in the world" (also played by Andrea Suarez). Using these women as detailed examples of female constructions of self, PPL asks; is it true that women conceive themselves as a pattern of interconnections? Is "construction of self" a concept constructed by a male-centric philosophy of being? How have women felt about being women? Is one woman representative of every woman?
