Marco Dott
Marco Dott
© Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Marco Dott und Hana Kovalčíková
Marco Dott und Hana Kovalčíková
© Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Marco Dott
Marco Dott
© Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Marco Dott
Marco Dott
© Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Marco Dott
Marco Dott
© Anna-Maria Löffelberger
Marco Dott
Marco Dott
© Anna-Maria Löffelberger

Ne me quitte pas - Dott sings Brel

Premiere 06/02/2020 / Kammerspiele

Synopsis

Le Grand Jacques Brel. His expressive recital was the hallmark of his performances. Today he is considered the epitome of French chansonniers, even though he was actually from Belgium. He observes society from the outside so as to see it better. His home is so close to his heart that he needs a lot of distance from it, so he exchanges his Belgian home for life in Paris, which is alien to him. His songs are snapshots that tell miniature dramas about the great themes of life: They talk of loneliness and bigotry, of hypocrisy and misery, of sailors and whores, of death – and love.

Jacques Brel leaves his parental home (and a secure future as a cardboard maker) to live in Paris. He struggles to make a living in clubs and writes songs that are filled with anger and desperation – and originally intended for other performers. He finally grabs his guitar and takes the stage himself, deciding to seize a unique opportunity to reach a large audience. And suddenly, he becomes a big star who fills large concert halls all over the world. His departure from the public sphere is just as surprising. Eventually, he retires to the Polynesian island of Hiva Oa, where he volunteers as a mail pilot.

Marco Dott combines Brel’s songs, which are full of anger, yearning, humour, love and Belgian-French esprit, with the extraordinary biography of this uncompromising artist to create an evening of pulsating entertainment.

“Brel (1929–1978) staged his life like a director. Again and again, the man Jacques Brel saved himself from the star of the same name. Brel had a great capacity for enthusiasm and doubt, he was generous and unbearable. He was a master in the spreading of half-truths and blatant lies, but he was too honest to be guileful. ‘I don’t want to deceive,’ was the creed of this gambler, who was first and foremost a creative person.”   Olivier Todd

Marco Dott, who works as an actor and director in both the drama and the music theatre divisions of the Salzburg State Theatre, has charmed audiences in many different ways. With this evening he pays homage to a committed and highly musical artist.

Duration: 1h 50 min (inkl. one break)

Cast

Concept and performance Marco Dott

Musical Director Hana Kovalčíková

Scenic arrangement Sarah Henker

Reviews

"Marco Dott traut sich was. [Er] vermittelte die Melancholie, Wut, Einsamkeit, das Elend von Matrosen und Huren und die Scheinheiligkeit der bürgerlichen Gesellschaft authentisch und klangschön. Die Atmosphäre der Kleinkunstbühnen, auf denen Brel sang, bevor er die größten Konzerthäuser eroberte, ist lebendig geworden in den Kammerspielen. Das kraftvolle 'Amsterdam', das raffinierte 'Mathilde' oder das freche 'Marieke' holten zurück in die 50er- und 60er-Jahre. Eine bereichernde Begegnung mit Brel [...]."

Kronen Zeitung

"[Brel] zu erfassen, ihn zu spüren und seine inneren Kämpfe, seine Ambivalenzen und intensiven Gefühle nachzuempfinden, darin liegt wohl der Schlüssel zum Erfolg, den Marco Dott an diesem Abend feiern kann. Dott singt also nicht nur Brel, er versteht ihn [...] Dott fasst Brels Leben und Leiden, sein Singen und Schmachten in kurze Dialoge, in die er ab und an auch die Musikerin Kovalcíková dialogisch einbezieht. Der Zuschauer spürt ganz viel Brel, wie er trampelnd, fuchtelnd, grimassierend seine Chansons nicht singt, sondern sie durchlebt und durchleidet, so als sei es das erste und zugleich das letzte Mal: Voller Wut, Sehnen, Liebe und Verzweiflung, aber vor allem eines - Hingabe. Das schafft Dott auf seine Weise und kommt damit Brel ganz nah."

Traunsteiner Tagblatt