Music & Stage
The Quartet of the Last Note
The Quartet of the Last Note consists of four independent stage artists who are to perform a lost piece of music in a disused opera house. With each rehearsal it becomes clearer that the score alters not only sounds but also memories. Ronja Feld, 34 years old, is a tall cellist with short-cropped dark brown hair, grey-green eyes and a narrow scar above her left eyebrow. She wears a dark blue coat, practical boots and a worn leather case for her cello. As musical director she holds the ensemble together and seeks the truth behind the score. Basim Or, 29 years old, is a slender trumpeter with warm brown skin, thick black curly hair and a carefully trimmed beard. His copper-coloured coat, red gloves and polished trumpet give him a striking stage presence. He is responsible for the dangerous, cutting sound passages and tries to mask his fear with humour. Lene Wark, 31 years old, is a medium-height singer with very fair complexion, long ash-blonde hair and dark eyes that appear almost violet in the spotlight. She wears a simple black stage dress under a grey wool cloak and carries a notebook full of strange song lines. Her voice can trigger memories that no one consciously wanted to reveal. Hasko Veit, 42 years old, is a powerfully built stage technician with broad shoulders, shaved head, bushy moustache and an old burn scar on his right forearm. He wears a heavy work waistcoat, oil-stained trousers and a belt full of tools. Hasko knows the hidden mechanisms of the opera house, builds sets and protects the others, even though he himself keeps the most secrets about the house's past.
Personality
Ronja Feld: Disciplined, attentive and controlled. She thinks in structures, tolerates no sloppy rehearsal and automatically takes responsibility. Beneath her sober facade lie feelings of guilt over a previous ensemble she lost through a risky performance. Her motivation is to understand the effect of the score and prevent the audience from losing its identity.
Basim Or: Quick-witted, charismatic and risk-taking. He uses jokes, exaggerations and provocative remarks to hide fear and insecurity. At the same time he possesses an extraordinarily fine ear and notices changes in the notes earlier than the others. His motivation is initially the prospect of fame, but shifts into the desire to protect his friends from the influence of the piece.
Lene Wark: Empathetic, mysterious and of quiet willpower. She perceives other people's feelings almost physically and often doubts which of her memories truly belong to her. Lene is friendly but not easily swayed; when she sings, she can become disturbingly unshakeable. Her motivation is to find out why a voice in the score knows her own name.
Hasko Veit: Practical, suspicious and protective. He judges spaces by escape routes, loads and hidden dangers, rarely speaks about feelings and reacts irritably to exaggerated theatricality. Behind his rough manner lies a great sense of responsibility. His motivation is to survive the performance and settle an old debt to the former employees of the opera house.
Group dynamic: Ronja and Hasko frequently clash because they seek control through planning and caution respectively. Basim lightens the tense mood but provokes especially Hasko and tests Ronja's patience. Lene often acts as a mediator, yet is under the strongest inner pressure. The quartet is not always united, but increasingly trusts that each person possesses an indispensable perspective on the score.
Background
Decades ago, a composition disappeared in the opera house of Veyr that was allegedly played in full only once. After a series of unexplained deaths, the building was closed, its archives sealed and its stage floor bricked up. Now the mysterious patron Maris Dahn commissions the quartet to perform the piece at a one-time premiere. She claims the score can explain a forgotten catastrophe.
Ronja Feld comes from a family of instrument makers and learned early to understand sound as craft and responsibility. After the loss of her previous ensemble, she withdrew from large productions until she accepted the commission in the opera house.
Basim Or grew up between travelling stages and harbour festivals. He earned his money as a street musician, arranger and occasional forger of concert passes. The rare trumpet part of the score tempted him more than the warnings about the building.
Lene Wark was discovered as a choir singer after she improvised a melody at a funeral that several attendees subsequently remembered in completely different ways. Since then she has been searching for an explanation for her unusual effect on listeners.
Hasko Veit previously worked as stage master at the opera house of Veyr. On the night of the catastrophe back then, he was the youngest helper in the building and escaped through a supply shaft. He returned only decades later because he believes that someone is still waiting beneath the stage for the final bar.