Dramatic Interpretation of Music and Theatre – Methods and Application Training

Immersing into the world of opera through action methods: basic knowledge about acting processes comes from individual experience and leads to the development of methodological competence and one’s own concepts.

The Dramatic Interpretation of Music and Theatre is a didactic approach to musical works used both in school music lessons and in the mediation work of opera houses and concert halls. The five-phase model structures the process and gradual learning about the levels of meaning in the work and the individual interpretation.

In the first part of the workshop (Day 1–4), the participants will gain fundamental knowledge and actively engage with the opera L’élisir d’amore by Gaetano Donizetti (Staatsoper Unter den Linden). We will attend a rehearsal and (or) performance and practice the action-oriented methods of Dramatic Interpretation. Afterwards, we will discuss the five phases of Dramatic Interpretation with regard to other music pieces (e.g., songs, programme music, absolute music, operetta, musical) and try out the constitutive elements such as plot, character, relationship, feeling in the context of other genres and absolute music.

In the second part (Day 5–7), the participants will develop their own concepts in small groups. They will apply a range of methods to a musical work of their choice and perform it with the whole group in a simulated play. Through mutual reflection and feedback from the group and the lecturers, the participants will expand their competencies in moderation, animation, and process design. During this phase, we will focus on the aspects of acting management and discuss them from an individual and systematic point of view. At the end of the workshop, the participants will get a certificate in play direction in the Dramatic Interpretation of Music and Theatre.

Rainer O. Brinkmann is a qualified high school teacher, theatre pedagogue, play director, and dramaturge. He teaches at universities, academies, and art institutions in his home country and abroad. He is known for his scientific research on the "dramatic interpretation of music theatre" and numerous educational publications on the subject. He has built up the Junge Staatsoper at the Deutsche Staatsoper Berlin and was the co-founder of the Institut für Szenische Interpretation von Musik + Theater (ISIM). In Salzburg, he curated the youth programme jung&jede*r of the Salzburg Festival and is the head of the "Music Theatre Mediation" degree programme at the Mozarteum University.

www.rainerobrinkmann.de

Photo: Enrique Toribio