- Emerging Opera Events at a Mining Farm in Saarland
"In the Saarland area, they've been hosting unique opera events at an unconventional site: They put on a showing of Mozart's 'Magic Flute' on a mining waste pile near Ensdorf. This daring performance took place at the 'Saarpolygon', a 30-meter-tall steel sculpture, which serves as a tribute to the end of mining in Saarland at a astounding 150 meters height.
Festival director Joachim Arnold spoke to the German Press Agency, stating, "It's a place full of meaning." They were the first to stage 'Magic Flute' on such a pile. "We decided to take on the challenge," he said.
Approximately 12,000 spectators were treated to a multi-media extravaganza. The monumental sculpture acted as the backdrop for the stage, while also serving as a canvas for video and light projections. The opera festival at Saarpolygon runs until August 25th. All eight performances, with around 12,000 spectators in total, have been booked out, Arnold confirmed.
Over 200 tons of materials were transported to the plateau for this project. According to Arnold, "Before this, there was nothing up here – no water, no electricity, absolutely nothing." A mining heap is essentially a pile of rock left behind due to coal mining. Coal mining in Saarland stopped in 2012.
The audience was shuttled to the special location via electric buses. An intriguing twist: the orchestra performed at the base of the heap in the mine building, with the conductor below and the performers above able to see each other live through video. The choreographer and director is Stefano Poda, and the musical director is Marcus Bosch. The festival's budget is estimated to be about 1.5 million euros, with 400,000 euros coming from the Saarland Ministry of Economics."
The opera festival at Saarpolygon is an unprecedented event, as they performed Mozart's 'Magic Flute' on a mining waste pile, transforming it into an operatic stage. Spectators were amazed by the opera performance set against the impressive backdrop of the Saarpolygon, a 30-meter-tall steel sculpture that symbolizes the end of mining in Saarland.
