”Werckmeister Harmonien ist the first theater music production at the Staatsoper Unter den Linden – that evolves around deal with the job description of the piano tuner. The work of the piano tuner is indispensable for all concert and opera performances, but takes place in secret, out of the public eye. The striving for perfect tuning, like so much in life, necessarily leads to compromise due to external conditions. This was already recognized by the music theorist Andreas Werckmeister, who in the late 17th century worked through the pitfalls of mid-tone tuning and sought to bring order to things.
In Thom Luz’ music theater creation, Werckmeister’s cryptic-philosophical texts are spoken by five piano tuners. Using an entire piano park, the interrelationship between tuning and music is made audible through compositions by Schütz, Werckmeister, Bach, Purcell and Mark James, as well as Charles Ives’ “Quarter Tone Pieces.” For the second time since the renovation of the Staatsoper, the Apollosaal will be the venue for a staged production
