©Standpunkt
Participants and Collaborators
Sinfonieorchester Opus125 e.V. — Orchestra and artistic development of the project
Javier Álvarez Fuentes — Musical direction and leadership of the music workshop
Paula Vollmer — Scenographic direction and leadership of the scenography workshops
Zentralbibliothek Mönchengladbach — Support in the implementation of the workshops and exhibition
Standpunkt — Editorial coverage through interviews, reports and podcasts
Elfriede-Kürble-Stiftung — Funding and support for the project
Verein der Freunde und Förderer der Musik e.V. — Funding and support for the project
Landesmusikrat NRW — Funding and support for the project
Volksbank Mönchengladbach — Funding and support for the project
Von Sommernachtstraum ins Morgenland
What happens when a piece is heard not only as sound, but also as story, image and a reflection of its time?
With Vom Sommernachtstraum ins Morgenland, the Sinfonieorchester Opus125 e.V. developed an interdisciplinary project around works by Georg Philipp Telemann, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Edvard Grieg and Carl Nielsen. The programme brought together figures, myths and fantastic worlds: Don Quixote, Shakespeare’s nocturnal universe, Peer Gynt and Aladdin. The starting point was to explore how music transforms these stories into sound while at the same time preserving the ideas, dreams and representations of the period in which it was written.
The work began between February and April 2025 with a series of preparatory workshops at the Zentralbibliothek Mönchengladbach. Under my direction, young participants approached the concert programme from a musical perspective, with a particular focus on Carl Nielsen’s Aladdin Suite. The aim was not only to analyse and listen, but also to explore personal associations and to recognise that music is always an expression of a historical and cultural context.
Building on this musical work, scenographer Paula Vollmer led the visual workshops. Light, colour, material and space became tools for translating musical atmospheres into images. The participants developed moodboards, sketches and models; some of these ideas became part of the concert’s scenographic concept and of the accompanying exhibition.
On 17 May 2025, Opus125 presented the programme at the Kaiser-Friedrich-Halle Mönchengladbach under my musical direction and with scenographic direction by Paula Vollmer. Large-scale projections and semi-transparent fabrics created a visual landscape between imagination and reality, drawing on the locations and atmospheres of the works while still leaving room for the audience’s own associations.
The independent Standpunkt editorial team once again accompanied an Opus125 project through interviews, reports and podcasts, documenting the rehearsal process, the creative work and the development of the concert.
Vom Sommernachtstraum ins Morgenland grew out of the meeting of interpretation, scenography and participation. Not to add images to the music, but to open different ways into it and to hear these works anew from the perspective of the present.
Javier Álvarez Fuentes
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