31st DomStufen-Festspiele in Erfurt

The world-famous musical Anatevka (Fiddler on the Roof) celebrates its premiere on 2nd August 2024

For more than 30 years, DomStufen-Festspiele have been one of the highlights of Erfurt's cultural calendar and, thanks to the continued support of our sponsors, provide a very special cultural experience every year.

Today's press conference was opened by Frank Nickel, Management Board Member of Helaba (Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen), and Malte Wasem, Theater Erfurt’s Artistic Director, on the premises of the general sponsor, the Sparkassen-Finanzgruppe Hessen-Thüringen. With the catchy show tune If I Were a Rich Man, sung in German by Ks. Máté Sólyom-Nagy in the role of Tevje, all the guests got offered a musical appetizer to the touching and humorous story about Jewish milkman Tevje living in the small village of Anatevka and leading his family through difficult times.

The creative team led by director Ulrich Wiggers, Leif-Erik Heine (set design), Jula Reindell (costumes) and Clemens Fieguth (musical director) then took the opportunity to talk about the new production of the Broadway musical Anatevka (original title: Fiddler on the Roof).

08
Foto: Lutz Edelhoff | Leif-Erik Heine, Jula Reindell, Frank Nickel, Malte Wasem, Ulrich Wiggers, Clemens Fieguth
DSC01632web
Foto: Maurice Meß | Clemens Fieguth, Jula Reindell, Leif-Erik Heine, Kati Heidebrecht, Ulrich Wiggers, Bonko Karadjov

Regarding to Ulrich Wiggers, the play needs no updating: "Every single scene in this musical is so powerful, so timeless and so relevant that we can confidently leave it set in 1905," he says. The story deals with the same issues, problems and conflicts that could hardly be more relevant today. It’s about love, family and community, migration and xenophobia, religious tolerance and, ultimately, hope. "The play touches you," says Wiggers, promising audiences not only thought-provoking but also many humorous scenes.

The audience will see a stage design by Leif-Erik Heine in which a giant overturned milk churn symbolises the milkman's shattered world as well as the pogroms to which many Jews were subjected. At the same time, several formations of broken glass suggest the silhouettes of the shtetl Anatevka’s houses, creating interior and exterior spaces and referring, among other things, to the Jewish wedding tradition of breaking glass.

The prestigious musical cast performs in colourful period costumes designed by Jula Reindell. She has made a conscious decision to use a lot of colour reflecting the Jewish villagers’ joy of life and their attachment to tradition, which is also reflected in embroidery patterns. Kati Heidebrecht's choreography, inspired by Jewish and Slavic dances 'with a modern touch', also promises to be colourful and lively. Big, sweeping steps and gestures by soloists, opera chorus, back-up chorus and children's extras will literally set the cathedral steps in motion.

Tickets and information available at Besucherservice (Box Office) and online.