The mystical Meister Eckhart relives at the Venice Biennale

The project brings the “Commentary on the Gospel of Giovanni” to the Portego of the Columns of the Great School of San Marco, the atrium of the monumental complex of sixteenth -century complex today known as the Civil Hospital Santi Giovanni and Paolo, with the actors Federica Fracassi, Leda Kreider, Dario Aita together with the choir of the Marciana chapel under the guidance of the master Marco Gemmoni. Dramaturgy and direction are curated by Antonello Pocetti and the scenic ideation of Antonino Viola, who for the Biennale had already signed the Prometheus of ninth in January, while the video images are designed by Andrew Quinn and the projection of the sound entrusted to Thierry Coduys.

The first five evenings of the “Commentary on John’s Gospel” will be introduced every time by a different personality of the cultural, philosophical, religious world: by the theologian, writer and poet Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, prefect of the Dicastery of the culture and education of the Holy See (5 March) to the philosopher Peter Slotterdjik, among the authors who have contributed most to the history of the second twentieth century (6 6 March), followed by the historic of art and curator Cristiana Collu, director of the Querini Stampalia Foundation (7 March), then the scholar of the classical culture Monica Centanni, professor of Greek language and literature at the IUAV University of Venice (8 March), up to the patriarch of Venice, Monsignor Francesco Moraglia, member of the Dicastery for the culture and education of the Holy See, as well as a great chancellor of the Faculty of theology del Triveneto (March 9).

Sicines Pietrangelo Buttafuoco, president of the Venice Biennale: “The word makes the world, in the word humanity proves, with the word the destiny of all is returned to the eternal. The special project that the Venice Biennale dedicates to the Adjustitio Sancti Evangelii Secundum Iohannem ‘by Mastro Eckhart pays attention to the verb, which of everything is originating. In the human dough and to give meaning to the world – in the long and hidden history of life – is the exercise of the vertigo that Eckhart forgia in a direction that today experiences a fact of art: a resounding of the verb in meat, voice and scenic action “.

“Expositio Sancti Evangelii Secundum Iohannem” is the scenic realization of the comment on the ‘Fourth Gospel’, the work of the Magister Sacrae Theologiae Johannes Eckhart, whose thought represents one of the highest moments of western mysticism, destined to reverberate until us after a long oblivion.

“Master of life and not only of doctrine” as the philosopher Martin Heidegger will call him, Meister Eckhart chooses to comment on the most personal of the four Gospels, the one written by John, “the disciple that Jesus loved”. Destined to be the most influential of the Gospels, compared to the so -called Synoptics of Matteo, Marco, Luca, the Gospel of John is the only one to highlight complexity and enigmaticity of the thought of Jesus. Whose strength is in the word, starting from the incipit – in the beginning was the verb – which Meister Eckhart dedicates much of his comment and destined for infinite interpretations. John’s Gospel, in reading Meister Eckhart is “The Gospel of Logos”, of “God as pure thought”, as explained by the theologian Marco Vannini.

It is in the place par excellence intended for ‘cure’, where for centuries Charitas and Culture have been talked about through the service of the two most important Venetian medieval ‘medieval’ institutions, the Grande School of San Marco and the hospital of San Lazzaro dei Mendicanti, now called Civil, which will take place the ten appointments illuminated by the writings of the German theologian and mystical Meister Eckhart, “Expositio Sancti Evaniiii secundum iohannem “.

Designed in dialogue with the very particular architectural and artistic space, the scenic structure conceived by Antonino Viola embraces the atrium in all its amplitude with a slightly elevated rectangular wooden architecture that alludes to the medieval Schola Cantorum to collect together the community of the public, the actors and the choir. All around the walls, on the other hand, a slight metal armor for video projections conceived by the artist and computer graphic Andrew Quinn runs. Curated by the director and playwright Antonello Pocetti, Expositio Sancti Evangelii Secundum Iohannem addresses five of the themes developed by the Dominican magister on five evenings in what is considered his maximum work in Latin language.

The path through the comment begins with the logos, that is, the search for an enlightened truth, Wednesday 5 March; Then it will be the turn of being, understood as one and multiple (Father, Son, Holy Spirit), also embracing the figure outlined by Eckhart of the right man, Thursday 6 March; Friday 7 March at the heart of the discussion will be love, a generating force of life, truth and good; The dualism well/evil will dominate the evening of Saturday 8 March, to finish, Sunday 9 March with the Soul/Body dialectic.

Introduced by different personalities, invited to reflect on the theme of each of the five evenings, the scenic work will then find alive expression in the songs of the recited commentary – part in the original Latin and starts in Italian by important interpreters of our theatrical and cinematographic scene: Federica Fracassi, just winner of five Ubu prizes for the theater, Leda Kreider, directed by the most beautiful names of the Italian and European direction, Dario Aita, Dario Aita. Paolo Sorrentino’s “Parthenope” film. Intertwined with those of the actors, with the fundamental contribution of the projection of the sound of Thierry Coduys, the voices of the Choir of the Marcian chapel engaged in Gregorian chant on the liturgical texts of the Giovanneo Gospel, under the direction of the master Marco Gemmini. At the center the word – sacred, mystical, criticism – all around the public, wrapped in the voices of the actors and singers Marciani. Meister Eckhart’s “Expositio Sancti Evangeli Evangeli Sehannem” is proposed as an immersive work that replaces the unique space of the Santi Civil Hospital. Giovanni and Paolo.

The participation of Peter Sloterdijk, one of the most influential contemporary philosophers, known for his analysis of modernity and for his criticism of the structures of western thought, is the result of the collaboration between the Venice Biennale and the Berggruen Institute Europe, which promotes dialogue between intellectuals, philosophers and leaders from all over the world, favoring a comparison between East and West on the great issues of the 21st century. In addition to presenting the evening of March 6 of the commentary on the Gospel according to Giovanni who has the center, the following day, March 7, Peter Sloterdjik will hold a lectio magistralis entitled “The midwife of the intellect: Meister Eckhart and the divine man”. The lectio magistralis will take place at 17.30 at the house of the three Oci.

Lorenzo Marsili, director of Berggruen Institute Europe declares: “The Expositio Sancti Evangelii Secundum Iohannem by Meister Eckhart represents a moment of extraordinary convergence between philosophical thought, mystical tradition and contemporary research on the human. Unique perspective on the relationship between word, thought and transcendence “.