W�LT DER ZWISCHENF�LLE 2005/2004

* For his first opera, the Icelandic composer Haflidi Hallgrimsson (b.1941) united 15 isolated sections of text by Kharms into a full-length collage, and composed the music in a mostly tonal manner.

Apparently, Hallgrimsson's point was not to impose his own musical style on a libretto, but rather in the first place to support, strengthen, and clarify the stories within the framework of musical possibilities. Schoenberg, Bartok, Weill and film music are called to mind. Diverse arrangements and tonal nuances are the main stylistic characteristics: from a string cluster through a melodious trombone solo to a humorous ragtime.

With the music hall only half-full - "small, but fine" - the public showed their appreciation for the performance with benevolent applause.
Clemens Frankowski, Wiener Zeitung, 01/04/2005
* The language of the music is clearly invested with "Eastern" appeal, a simplistic veneer but nevertheless complex, parodying and menacing at the same time. The stories, translated into German, are portrayed in witty scenes by the eight outstanding, articulate singers, sometimes solo and sometimes in staccato choral.

The implementation of the scenes is imaginative, precise, and unostentatious. As for the musical side, the ensemble "die reihe" (conductor: Frank Maximilian Hube) do their part in the pit quite superbly and with a lot of "groove". Recommended.
Heinz R�gl, Salzburger Nachrichten, 01/04/2005
* With the festival, "Out of Control", the group "NetzZeit" succeeded in pulling off a great coup.

The Icelander Hallgrimsson set some texts of the Russian literary figure Daniil Kharms to music in a catchy, partially swinging fashion. The powerfully rhythmic intermezzi are especially convincing.

, Kurier, 01/04/2005
* Hallgr�msson's music is the connecting element for the isolated and lone-standing incidents described in the texts by Kharms used in the opera . The opera is clearly structured and strongly marked by rhythm. As the separate incidents grow into a biting satire of the Stalinist dictator, the music gains an intensity in tandem with the mounting oppressiveness of the drama.
, dpa, 12/04/2004
* Anyone who has seen "Die W�lt der Zwischenf�lle" ought to be convinced that in spite of the half century delay, this work can become to the opera what "Waiting for Godot" is to the theatre, a classic of the Absurd.He mixes virtuoso instruments, from tremulous strings through bizarre interwoven brass, frequently overblown woodwinds, to percussion elements, such as timpani, xylophone, piano, or a wind machine. Hallgr�msson creatively walks the line between tonality and atonality. His sensual, buzzing tones are sometimes reminiscent of Mahler, sometimes of Wilfried Hiller.A great success, that brought much applause from the audience.
, Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag, 14/02/2004
* It had been his intention, explained Hallgr�msson, who is highly respected as a composer in England, to write "an opera for the 21st century," that is "modern and accessible." He aims to achieve a modern and acesible opera in embracing toanlity as part of the compositional style. Hallgr�msson�s musical setting is extensively syllabic as well as thoroughly singable, whilst being faithful to the text. Thanks to the delicately organised dynamics of the orchestra, every word can be understood. The music with its long held tremoli, oscillating surfaces of sound, solistic lines and jazzy interludes is pleasant to the ears. The public, reacted sensitively - amused, puzzled, thoughtful, and with appreciation.
J�rgen Kesting, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, 14/02/2004
* The first bars of the prelude already make clear where this opera journey is going - to Absurdistan. Hallgr�msson's music is characterized by rhythm and by a differentiated play with tone colors. He uses a small orchestra with a large percussion section, which is reinforced by a piano, celesta, harmonium and a wind machine. Time and again the composer also allows the orchestra to sound like a harmonium. Full chords with little instrumental solos determine the musical happenings. This is not really modern but very experienced and done with outstanding craftsmanship. The seven vocal parts are most impressive in the polyphone sections. Tension builds up slowly in the music of this opera; in the two final scenes it is almost unbearable. Here Hallgr�msson successfully creates a furious finale, that will be remembered. At the end there were great applause and bravos for opera singers, musicians, and conductor, and for the composer - this does not often happen with contemporary music.
, L�becker Nachrichten, 13/02/2004
* Hallgr�msson's music does not oppose tradition. It stretches out a supportive net in which Kharm's absurd miniatures seem to jump as if on a trampoline. With extended interludes, following in the tracks of Shostakovich, it designs an atmosphere of the grotesque, which also captures something from the Vita of the poet Charms. The public showed its appreciation with long, drawn-out applause.
Georg Friedrich K�hn, Deutschlandfunk: Kultur Heute, 12/02/2004

�Anyone who has seen Die W�lt der Zwischenf�lle ought to be convinced that in spite of the half century delay, this work can become to the opera what "Waiting for Godot" is to the theatre, a classic of the Absurd.�
Schleswig-Holsteinischer Zeitungsverlag