Yearning for the Presence

Many opera DVDs include a “making-of” featurette; this one essentially presents the supplement but omits the opera. Uli Aumüller's documentary follows the development of Mark Andre's Wunderzaichen (Miraculous Signs), commissioned by the Stuttgart Opera for a 2014 premiere. The idea for the piece was prompted by the Scriptural reference to the “disappearance” of Jesus, i.e., the time between the Resurrection and the Ascension. But the central character is Johannes Reuchlin, a 15th-century Christian scholar considered the founder of modern Jewish studies (an admirer of the Kaballah, Reuchlin spoke out against the burning of Hebrew books by the Inquisition). But here he is depicted as a modern man with a heart transplant who finds himself without papers at Israeli airport security, where he meets a woman named Maria (after Mary Magdalene), who reacts passionately after he suffers another heart attack and dies. The film follows Andre as he seeks to infuse his intricately designed, modernist music with mystical properties, traveling to a church in Jerusalem to record ambient sounds that he then manipulates at an electronic-music laboratory for insertion into the score. Viewers also witness the commitment of the director, singers, and opera house's technical team as they try to mount the work in a way that will faithfully reflect the composer's intent. Only brief rehearsal snippets of Wunderzaichen are included, which are insufficient to assess its overall quality. But Aumüller's film does clearly demonstrate the dedication and labor that went on behind the scenes. Presented in PCM stereo, this is a strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek)