Lurking behind a large boulder and among branches is what is probably the creepiest item of stage décor in the Bregenz production of Der Freischütz: the giant serpent, a symbol of evil. It's lying in wait for its second season. "Like any good snake, it has had a good long hibernation," jokes Susanna Boehm, head of set and décor. "It has survived the winter remarkably well. Apart from a few dabs of paint, no repairs are necessary. We'll freshen up the red on her belly, so that it looks more dramatic again," she adds.
The theatre snake, modelled on a red-bellied black viper, was made from robust sheet aluminium. It consists of a head and a body which is fixed in place under water. Stage director and set designer Philipp Stölzl's requirements for the construction were ambitious: it had to look like a real snake, be stable enough to carry a person and, above all, it had to be kept well out of sight. Hiding it under water was not possible for technical reasons. So the decision was made to disguise it using imitation stones and branches. From above, the snake, which has a total surface area of 36 square metres, looks like a boulder. "But when it emerges, it should look like a snake, not like a snake with a stone on its head," says Susanna Boehm, describing the challenge. "We tinkered around for a long time until we found the right look."
But before that, Frank Schulze, a scenery builder from Potsdam (Germany) who has collaborated on lake stage sets at Bregenz for 30 years, had spent months working on the beast. The basic element of the construction is a steel tube with a diameter of half a metre. The tube houses the inner workings of the snake, providing space for cables and lighting. It's also the frame to which were attached countless metal scales that were riveted together in a ring. Each scale was cut individually by hand from aluminium sheeting. As Susanna Boehm points out: "the material is a great challenge for the sculptor. Normally you would carve a sculpture like this. Working the metal is extremely hard physically and it takes a lot of time so that you don't overwork your hands."
The snake's head also had to look very realistic and be able to do a number of things: open and close its mouth, expose its teeth and have glowing eyes. On top of that it had to be stable enough to carry a person. The individual components were transported from the Potsdam studio to Bregenz and assembled into the sculpture here in the festival's workshop. "With the utmost care, it was then hoisted by crane, upright, onto the stage," Boehm explains.
The serpent makes its grand entrance when it ignites the circle of fire in the Wolf's Ravine with a terrifying jet of flames. The pyrotechnic material is invisible and safely concealed. Safety is a key aspect of this sculpture. It's able to move vertically like a forklift truck. When the snake rises up from its hiding place, Samiel or the hermit is standing on its head. The sculpture measures 3.7 metres at its highest point. "The performer must of course be able to stand there in complete safely," Susanna Boehm says. That's why a tube disguised as a branch is attached to the snake's head. The actor can lean against it when high up in the air. He is also secured by a safety rope.
The snake will appear on the Bregenz stage from July 17 and give the audience goose bumps. After this summer's festival, it will be retired and scrapped like any other sheet metal construction.
(jb)
