With "Herr Nuss," baritone Johannes Held and Austrian musician and theatre-maker Thomas Toppler present an extraordinary project: a song recital that combines classical music with theatrical satire and grotesque humor. At its center is the figure of Johannus Nuss, a singer and intendant who guides the audience through the world of art song with Schubert, Beethoven, and Schumann—while simultaneously exposing the mechanisms of cultural institutions. Between finely sung lieder and exaggerated scenes, an evening unfolds that breaks the boundaries between concert and theatre. Held, internationally known for his expressive song interpretations, lends the character a voice of touching intensity. Toppler, Nestroy Prize winner and specialist in bouffon theatre, provides the satirical edge and grotesque exaggeration that make the evening unmistakable. "Herr Nuss is a piece about power and music and about what power does to you once you have it," says Johannes Held. Herr Nuss is a piece about power and abuse, about longing and failure, about the fragile beauty of the lied and the grotesque reality of theatre operations. An evening that makes the audience laugh, compels reflection, and presents the art of song in a completely new light.
