"The Other Mozart" to stage untold story of Mozart's prodigy sister
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The play had an off-Broadway run in New York at HERE Arts Center, in London at St James's Theatre and in Munich at the Pasinger Fabrik, and was presented in Salzburg at the invitation of the Mozarteum Foundation (inside Mozart's Wohnhaus apartment) and in Vienna at Mozarthaus Vienna (Mozart's Domgasse home). The monodrama continues to be presented internationally, currently in four languages, performed by Sylvia Milo or another actress, with over 250 performances to date.
"The Other Mozart" tells the true, untold story of another Mozart genius, Nannerl Mozart, the sister of Wolfgang Amadeus. She was a prodigy, keyboard virtuoso and composer performing throughout Europe with her brother to equal acclaim, but her work and her story have faded away, lost to history.
The play is set in a stunning 18-foot dress designed by Magdalena Dabrowska of the National Theatre of Poland. Directed by Isaac Byrne, the play is based on facts, stories and lines taken directly from the Mozart family's humorous and heart-breaking letters.
With the opulent beauty of the dress and hair design, the sweet smell of perfume and the clouds of dusting powder rising from the stage, the performance creates a multi-sensory experience and transports the audience into a world of outsized beauty and delight - but also of overwhelming restrictions and prejudice where, finally, this other Mozart tells her story.
Along with music composed by her famous brother and Marianna Martines (a female composer who inspired Nannerl), original music was written for the play by Nathan Davis and Phyllis Chen - featured composers of the Lincoln Center's Mostly Mozart Festival, the Brooklyn Academy of Music and the International Contemporary Ensemble - for the instruments Nannerl knew intimately, such as clavichords, music boxes and bells as well as teacups, fans and other ordinary objects that might have captured her imagination.
Period-style movement directed by Janice Orlandi creates a world of opulence and elegance through the articulate delicacy of expressive balletic gestures, reverent court bows and fan language.
"The Other Mozart" (in English with Chinese surtitles) is presented by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. The performances will be staged at 8pm on July 12 and 13 (Friday and Saturday) and at 3pm on July 13 and 14 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Studio Theatre of the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Tickets, priced $220 and $300, are now available at URBTIX (www.urbtix.hk). For telephone credit card bookings, please call 2111 5999. For programme enquiries and concessionary schemes, please call 2268 7325 or visit www.lcsd.gov.hk/CE/CulturalService/Programme/en/theatre/programs_797.html.
Meet-the-artist sessions with Sylvia Milo and Nathan Davis, to be conducted in English, will be held in the evenings on July 12 and 13 (Friday and Saturday) and after the July 14 (Sunday) matinee show. Members of the audience are welcome to stay behind for the sessions.
Ends/Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Issued at HKT 10:30
Issued at HKT 10:30
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