With shock, I heard the announcement on Sunday morning in "Klara staat op" that director Pierre Audi had passed away.
There are people you can hardly imagine losing, or refuse to believe it could happen, yet it does—people who suddenly disappear. Pierre Audi was still incredibly active and far too young regardless. He was born in Lebanon in 1957; his parents emigrated to France, and Pierre Audi found his way into theater through Oxford and London. Alongside contemporaries like Robert Wilson and Robert Lepage, he developed a contemporary and experimental vision for theater and opera. In 1988 he came to the Netherlands. There he left his mark on opera productions at the National Opera for many years. Whether it was Gluck, Mozart, Monteverdi, or Richard Wagner, his approach and style were always recognizable. He had an insight into character, poetic, aesthetic yet sober in execution, and deep respect for the music. Contemporary, unconventional but without far-fetched or pointless adaptations to current events—he had too much respect for the music and the composer's context for that.
He also created some memorable productions at the Münchner Staatsoper at the invitation of Peter de Caluwe, with whom he collaborated for many years in the Netherlands. His in Brussels. (with sets by Anish Kapoor) from 2008, I can still see it as clearly as if I'd watched it yesterday. That he was invited to complete Wagner's Ring of the Nibelungs with the final two parts convinced me to go see the rest of the Ring at the Münchner Staatsoper. I was absolutely convinced of his Ring production in Amsterdam, which I attended twice. The production of Tristan and Isolde which he would revive next season at the National Opera is on the schedule. A brief passage about Isolde's Liebestod from the program notes for this Tristan revival now takes on a very special meaning: "At the end of the opera, at its conclusion, nothing remains but a black silhouette. She is ultimately just a voice. Thus the Liebestod becomes what it is—an aftermath of the opera, with a view toward an unknown future".
