Chamber Opera by Gavin Bryars
Marilyn Monroe was born Norma Jeane Mortenson in Los Angeles 100 years ago and rose to become one of Hollywood’s greatest female movie stars in the 1950s. She died in 1962 at the age of just 36 from an overdose of sedatives. Taking this mysterious death as its starting point, Marilyn’s life unfolds in the form of flashbacks in Gavin Bryars’ chamber opera (premiered in 2013). As if viewed through the lens of a camera, key moments and encounters that shaped her feelings and thoughts come into focus. The inner turmoil of a woman searching for self-worth and identity in the world of show business—a world based on male power structures—is laid bare. What begins like a crime thriller evolves into an atmospherically dense musical theater piece. A jazz trio, the opera chorus, and a chamber ensemble from the Neubrandenburg Philharmonic provide a soundscape reminiscent of old films.
With “Marilyn Forever,” Laura Scherwitzl once again turns her attention to a dazzling female figure, stepping into the role of this icon of film history herself, while Robert Merwald embodies several men in Marilyn’s life.
