Vienna State Opera

How Beckett fits neatly into the opera garbage cans

The wheelchair-bound Hamm (Philippe Sly) and his servant Clov (Geogr Nigl)(Bild: (c) Wiener Staatsoper, Sofia Vargaiová)

"Fin de partie" as a successful Austrian premiere at the State Opera. György Kurtág's Beckett opera glistens precisely towards its endgame conclusion.

You find yourself wanting to get closer to these characters: to experience their facial expressions, their gestures choreographed with perfect precision by director Herbert Fritsch, who is not at all jokey this time.

Whether that is servant Clov. In the guise of Georg Nigl Buster-Keaton-like, he gymnasts with a ladder through the silhouette backdrop to let in the light from the broken world.

Or Philippe Sly's Hamm, who sits in his wheelchair for the entire performance. He makes a deep impression in the complex giant role when he monologues about things as he ponders the endgame.

Nell and Nagg: Hilary Summers and Charles Workman(Bild: (c) Wiener Staatsoper, Michael Poehn)

As his legless parents, Charles Workman, still soft and brightly phrased, and the late Staatsoper debutante Hilary Summers look out of their dustbins.

Simone Young makes Kurtág's score sparkle with the orchestra, in which he silicifies Beckett's words down to the smallest particle as if under a burning glass. All together, the result is great musical theater that demands attention. It is worth it!