Praise to the faithful Penelope

Magnificent Primadonna

There are these theatre nights, that are positively dominated by one extraordinary actor - on Sunday, this was mezzo-soprano Maria Rebekka Stoehr as Penelope. In a way, the waiting wife has the most boring part - always lamenting, hesitating, repudiating, defending her honor.
But Stoehr succeeded with Grandezza. The picture reminds one of an old Technicolor Movie with Melina Mercouri: in a black mourning dress, with ravishingly beautiful profile and golden hair, she stand at the stairs of an amphitheatre, the mediterranean sea with galleys in the back, the full moon overshining the scene. Stoehr's deep, smooth lament decelerates the listener, her meditative quietude serves as a source of energy. It's as enthralling as a modern drama when she refuses to recognize Ulisses at the very end mistrusting her fortune.

Münstersche Zeitung and Ruhr Nachrichten | PDF
September 2011