Staging Lieder: Serious Art or Spectacle?

In this presentation I will consider the implications of staging a musical composition originally
intended as an un-staged work. Through personal reflection and data gathered from audience
feedback, my research contemplates what is gained, lost, or changed in transmission, translation,
and reception. What shifts when the ‘fourth wall’ is partially blurred, when the audience moves
from collective spectator to an integral part of the story-line? Does imaginative dramatization help
to diversify audiences by engaging them in an otherwise elitist art form? Do innovative
interpretations leave too little to the imagination? Particularly in Classical Western Art Music, can
‘pure recital music’ survive alone on the 21-century stage, or do audiences need additional multi-
media material to render repertoire and text accessible? In doing so, are we at risk of cheapening
music or dishonouring the (often deceased) composer? Is theatrical performance a gimmick to
increase ticket sales? I will focus on recently staged performances of German lieder, including my
recital in 2018 of Schubert’s Die Winterreise with soprano Pauline Graham. In our creatively
staged but ‘stage-less’ production at the University of Limerick, the vocalist wandered throughout
the room while audience members were situated by the piano, sitting on low-lying cushions or
reclining on yoga mats. My original photography accompanied the song cycle – each image a
commentary of Müller's twenty-four poems. Collaborating on the project was Dr. Marieke
Krajenbrink, who gave a pre-concert prese