The Venice Biennale is set to present a special project titled “Expositio Sancti Evangelii secundum Iohannem,” a scenic realization of the commentary on the Gospel of John by the mystic and theologian Meister Eckhart. The event will take place from March 5 to March 9, and again from March 11 to March 15, at 9:30 PM in the Portego delle Colonne of the Scuola Grande di San Marco, a monumental 16th-century atrium now housing the Ospedale Civile.
Directed by Antonello Pocetti, the production aims to bring to life Eckhart’s exploration of the Gospel of John. “Johannes Eckhart dedicated his whole life to this writing, his most important, for which in 1327 he was condemned for heresy,” said Pocetti, according to ANSA.
The scenic structure, designed by Antonino Viola, embraces the atrium with a slightly elevated rectangular wooden architecture that alludes to the medieval schola cantorum, gathering together the community of the audience, the actors, and the choir. Around the walls runs a light metal framework for the video projections conceived by artist and computer graphic Andrew Quinn. Sound direction is entrusted to Thierry Coduys.
The actors in the project include Federica Fracassi, winner of five Ubu Awards, Leda Kreider, and Dario Aita, who will alternate in the reading of the Gospel passages, partly in the original Latin and partly in Italian. They will be accompanied by the Coro della Cappella Marciana, under the direction of Maestro Marco Gemmani. Intertwined with those of the actors, the voices of the choir will be engaged in Gregorian chant, based on the texts of the Gospel of John, sung in the medieval manner.
Each of the first five evenings will be introduced by a different personality from the cultural, philosophical, or religious world. On March 5, Cardinal José Tolentino de Mendonça, theologian, writer, and poet, will inaugurate the series, focusing on the theme of the Logos, the search for an illuminated truth. On March 6, philosopher Peter Sloterdijk will introduce the evening, which centers on the theme of Being, understood as one and multiple (Father, Son, Holy Spirit). The participation of Sloterdijk, one of the most influential contemporary philosophers known for his analysis of modernity and his critique of the structures of Western thought, is the result of the collaboration between the Venice Biennale and the Berggruen Institute Europe.
On March 7, art historian and curator Cristiana Collu, director of the Fondazione Querini Stampalia, will present the theme of Love. On March 8, Monica Centanni, professor of Greek Language and Literature at the IUAV University of Venice, will discuss the dualism of good and evil. The series will conclude on March 9 with an introduction by His Eminence Monsignor Francesco Moraglia, Patriarch of Venice, focusing on the dialectic of soul and body.
“As the Berggruen Institute Europe, we are excited to collaborate with the Venice Biennale for this project, enriched by the participation of Peter Sloterdijk, whose philosophical reflection offers a unique perspective on the relationship between word, thought, and transcendence,” said Lorenzo Marsili, Director of Berggruen Institute Europe, according to Adnkronos. “The Expositio Sancti Evangelii secundum Iohannem of Meister Eckhart represents a moment of extraordinary convergence between philosophical thought, mystical tradition, and contemporary research on the human.”
In addition to presenting the evening of March 6, Sloterdijk will give a lectio magistralis titled “The Midwife of the Intellect: Meister Eckhart and the Divine Man” on March 7 at 5:30 PM at the Casa dei Tre Oci.
Meister Eckhart is recognized as one of the important theologians, philosophers, and mystics of the Middle Ages. He chose to comment on the most personal of the four gospels, the one written by John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved.” The Gospel of John is the only one that emphasizes the complexity and enigmatic nature of Jesus’ thought. The strength of the Gospel of John is in the word, starting from the incipit “In the beginning was the Word,” to which Meister Eckhart dedicates a large part of his Commentary.
The article was written with the assistance of a news analysis system.
This article was originally published at www.jpost.com
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