His ballet is oriented towards intense key moments that have shaped the life and artistic work of the legendary composer, writer and conductor. His education, his love, his political interest and his relationships, his worries and struggles, his fame, his faith, his failure, his travels through countries and human feelings, all of this had a decisive impact on his artistic work and his personality; and ultimately gave him the significance which Wagner still holds today due to the revolution of musical theater initiated by him.
"He was a man with incredible sensitivity, but firm convictions, and therefore he was equally loved and hated," says Enrique Gasa Valga.
Friedrich Nietzsche – author of the eponymous book "The Case of Wagner" – writes: "Without Richard Wagner's music, my youth would have been unbearable." But he also writes: "I am far from harmlessly watching when this décadent ruins our health – and the music too! Is Wagner even a human being? Is he not rather a disease?" And: "It was my fate to turn my back on Wagner; After that, liking anything was a triumph. Perhaps no one was more dangerously entangled in Wagnerism, no one fought harder against it, no one was happier to get rid of it."
What is certain is that Wagner's modernity, his independence and loyalty to his convictions made him the author of immortal masterpieces. The revolution of theater and opera initiated by him, which continues to have an effect to this day, made him one of the most influential and most discussed personalities in music history.
Enrique Gasa Valga and his team find the ideal venue in the Festspielhaus Erl to bring this world premiere to the stage. Jennifer Selby and Enrique Gasa Valga himself are responsible for the libretto of the piece, the scenography comes from Helfried Lauckner and the costumes from Birgit Edelbauer-Heiss, all long-time members of Gasa Valga's creative team. Kenneth Winkler (Tyrolean composer and music producer) is responsible for the sound design to best stage Wagner's music as the connecting element of the evening. The performers, who have the task of translating and transmitting the story and its magic from the stage, are the highly praised dancers of the dance company La Limonada.