In August, Birmingham Opera Company are going to stage Stockhausen’s five-hour epic Mittwoch aus Licht (Wednesday from Light). Get this:
Featuring real helicopters, two choirs, octophonic sound, numerous musicians, the Radio 1 DJ Nihal and requiring two separate performance halls, this will be the first time that all six parts of the opera have been staged together.
Yeah, helicopters.
Wednesday from Light easily ticks the once-in-a-lifetime criteria. Its finale, in which a string quartet perform in separate helicopters – so the whirring blades become part of the music – has been performed in isolation, but never as part of a complete performance. Vick said the DJ Nihal would be part of the helicopter segment in the role Stockhausen intended for himself, as a kind of moderator or commentator.
What’s not to love about that?
Helicopters. Nowhere else has ever allowed it to be performed it for a reason.