Die schöne Müllerin

Musical theater evening based on the song cycle by Wilhelm Müller and Franz Schubert
Scenic song recital in German language

Musicbanda Fanui
Florian Boesch, bass-baritone
Nikolaus Habjan, staging, puppetry and construction
Musical arrangement/composition: Markus Kraler, Andreas Schett

Franz Schubert’s song cycle Die schöne Müllerin (The Fair Maid of the Mill) is a drama for a solo singer: An itinerant journeyman miller falls in love with his master’s wife. Initially elated by this love, he is later driven to despair and suicide when the miller’s wife rejects him. In the 20 songs written by Schubert in 1823 and based on poems by Wilhelm Müller, the tragedy slowly unfolds of a man seeking solace in nature but ultimately losing himself. Director and puppeteer Nikolaus Habjan, who most recently present Offenbach’s La Périchole at the MusikTheater an der Wien, has developed a stage version of Die Schöne Müllerin in collaboration with the bass baritone Florian Boesch. Together with Musicbanda Franui, who describe themselves as a “switchyard between classical music, folk, jazz and contemporary chamber music”, he retells the 200-year-old story through the interaction of the singer and live-size puppets.