Music Theatre NOW 2012 by Music Theatre NOW

A competition and a meeting dedicated to worldwide exchange in new opera and music theatre.

Music Theatre Now A competition and a meeting dedicated to worldwide exchange in new opera and music theatre.

Meeting and presentations of the selected works Scenkonstbiennalen Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts Jönköping, May 22nd – 26th, 2013.

The second edition of the competition Music Theatre NOW presented by the Music Theatre Committee of the International Theatre Institute in cooperation with the German Centre of ITI took place in 2012.

Contents 12 The Music Theatre

Music Theatre Now

Table of Contents

Committee

The Meeting

Jury Meeting in Beijing 18 From the Jury 25 We proudly present

28 Blauwbaard 32 Flyway 36 Geros dienos ! 40 El Gran Teatro de Oklahoma

52 Maschinenhalle #1

76 Thanks to my Eyes

56 The Navigator

60 Red Shoes 64 Samotność pól bawełnianych

44 Homework

68 Schlimmes Ende

48 Josefine singt

72 T.E.L.

还魂三叠 Table of Contents

Welcome

Programme

84 Three Mile Island

07 Music Theatre Now

88 Up-close 92 War Sum Up

99 Credits 113 Imprint

Welcome

Music Theatre Now

music theatre productions will present their selected works in Jönköping / Sweden, and theatre-makers and their audiences will be able to focus on new music theatre’s diversity of forms. And so Music Theatre NOW opens its doors and gates to a sensual or factual, aesthetic or borderline, fantastic or streamlined, colourful or consciously colourless but always inspiring and forward-looking world of new music theatre. I welcome you into the world of the 2013 edition of Music Theatre NOW. And I hope that not only your curiosity will be satisfied by the selection of music theatre projects, but also that the presentations, discussions and encounters encourage you to open wide the gates to new music theatre, both today and in the future.

Tobias Biancone Director General International Theatre Institute / ITI

It is a great pleasure for us to be hosting Music Theatre NOW, one of the most important events for radical and experimental music theatre in its infinite variety at the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts in 2013. In fact, for us it has been a long-cherished dream to bring this provocative and thought-provoking multinational showcase to Scandinavia, after having had the privilege of following it closely in places like Munich and Berlin. First and foremost, it is a marvellous opportunity for composers, dramatists, directors and performers to meet in one place over a couple of days and to see presentations of music theatre from all over the world, which would otherwise require more travelling than most of us can manage. It is also the place to be for networking amongst presenters, publishers, curators and critics interested in new music theatre. Music Theatre NOW will be part of the first Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts, which will be held in 2013 in the beautiful new Spira building in Jönköping, home of both the Smålands Musik & Teater and Jönköpings Sinfonietta. After two decades and ten theatre and five dance biennials in Sweden, the decision was made to create a joint meeting place for theatre, dance, music theatre, performance and related forms

and genres. The programme for the 2013 biennial includes sixteen productions from all over Sweden selected by a jury, international guest productions, student productions, seminars, workshops, discussions and meetings. You are most welcome to join this celebration of the performing arts!

Stefan Johansson Head of dramaturgy Malmö Opera / Royal Swedish Opera Member of the Music Theatre Committee

Ann Mari Engel Secretary General Teaterunionen / Swedish ITI Director of the Biennial

Welcome

More than 400 new music theatre productions from every continent, produced over the past four years, participated in the second call for entries to Music Theatre NOW; five superb jurors examined the submitted works and selected 17 exceptional productions – leaving me overcome with tremendous admiration for the music theatre committee of the International Theatre Institute, who initiated Music Theatre NOW. This admiration is mixed with increasing amazement and leads to an overwhelming curiosity – a curiosity that was originally nourished by the presentation of the best projects of the year 2008. What I experienced in Berlin in 2008 was, and remains, a defining experience for me. As for many other artists then, my knowledge was limited to what was conventional and frequentlyperformed on stage. It amazed me how varied the forms and tones of new music theatre could be. It also amazed me that, since the creative approaches were so fundamentally different, none of these presentations were in direct competition with each other. I left the occasion with a much greater appreciation for this work, and since then I have experienced music theatre with fully-attuned senses. 17 outstanding creators an teams of

Welcome to Jönköping!

09 Music Theatre Now

Welcome

The Gates to Music Theatre NOW 2013 Are Wide Open!

Music Theatre Now

Since its first edition in 2008 in Berlin, Music Theatre NOW has not only received twice as many submissions but has also become a project based on partnership. It enjoys the support of both of its two European organisers. The project’s inspiration, however, comes from a jury assembled from around the world, an international music theatre committee, and countless theatres, festivals, organisers, ensembles and artists. We wish this important meeting the best of luck in its endeavours!

Thomas Engel Director ITI Germany

Communication between performers and creators is necessary for growth in any art form. However, despite globalisation, this interaction between artists remains extremely localized in opera and music theatre. Since the emergence of music theatre as we know it today in the 70s and 80s, the work and interest in it has grown exponentially. However in the network of performing arts practitioners committed to contemporary and experimental work, music theatre is still marginalized. Ten years ago when Roland Quitt and I started working on developping a new concept for ITI’s Music Theatre Workshop, it seemed acutely necessary to create an event that would primarily serve as a platform for exchange between creators, producers and presenters of this genre. Through the ongoing support of the German ITI centre and a small group of idealistic colleagues, we were able to establish Music Theatre NOW in 2008. Back then we were a bit ashamed that we could only offer the ‘winners’ of our little competition the chance to participate in a small meeting in Berlin. However, at that first event we were overwhelmed by the positive reaction of the participants, who were so grateful simply to have the opportunity to meet fellow artists from far away and to disco-

ver each other’s work. This optimistic feedback gave all those working on the project new energy to push forward. For this second edition of Music Theatre NOW, with the help of Stefan Johannsson, the Music Theatre Committee member who had stuck with the project the longest, we were able to cooperate with the Swedish ITI. This enabled us to expand the project as a whole and to ask a group of esteemed colleagues to participate as jurors. We were unprepared, however, for the explosion of interest from all parts of the world. The jury did an incredible job in grappling with the enormous application pool. I am very grateful not only for their hard work, but for their support for this event as a whole. Particularly to Danny Yung, who hosted our jury meeting in Beijing and continues to assist us in many ways. Not only has the interest in participation in the competition grown, the group of colleagues committed to this event has expanded greatly since we started Music Theatre NOW. This is also the first edition at which other colleagues will offer additional awards – opportunities for future performances of some of these works. Thirty years ago the Music Theatre Committee of the International Theatre Institute held the first Music Theatre Workshop. At the time this was an informal meeting for insiders to find out what each other was doing in the field of contemporary opera. Today the workshop has become an international meeting. A few days of presentations has become a three-day marathon of music theatre reflecting the enormous diversity and creativity in this genre. This book documents a project, which we hope will continue to grow and expand in the coming decades. I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all who contributed to Music Theatre NOW 2013 and to the creators of the works presented here, for making this all possible.

Laura Berman Artistic Director Music Theatre NOW

Welcome

The oldest committee of the ITI, the Music Theatre Committee, demonstrates with this project what a successful international collaboration should look like. Music Theatre NOW is both a competition and an international get together: the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts has enabled both the Swedish and German ITI to reflect these two fundamental aspects by presenting the winners set out in this book at their festival in 2013. Over 400 productions from 35 countries were submitted, making this the second worldwide competition to date – previously it was coordinated by ITI Germany under the artistic guidance of Laura Berman. And because a large-sized festival is the best framework in which to present the 17 prize-winners of such a competition, we are especially pleased that the 2013 edition of Music Theatre NOW has become a feature of the first multi-disciplinary Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts.

A platform for International Exchange

11 Music Theatre Now

Welcome

Music Theatre – Now!

Music Theatre Now

The Music Theatre Committee (MTC) of ITI is committed to the artistic development of music theatre worldwide. From experimental projects to productions in opera houses, the committee embraces all forms of music theatre, including hybrid theatrical forms, where music is a crucial and indispensable aspect in the performance. The committee takes a special interest in music theatre outside of the Western European tradition and in contemporary work which reflects these other traditions. The MTC is a democratic body, which shares the UNESCO goals to acknowledge cultural diversity and further the exchange of ideas and knowledge between peoples and nations. The committee’s main task is the dissemination of information and audience education. Its goal is to raise audience awareness of new opera and music theatre around the globe. Through its ever-expanding network, the MTC seeks to facilitate the production and presentation of contemporary music theatre, and to assist in the organization of cooperation and exchange of productions among producers. Committee members are ITI members whose professional work is directly related to the creation, production or presentation of contemporary opera

and music theatre. The group includes directors, composers, dramaturgs and producers from all over the world. New members can be asked to join but local organizations and individuals who work in the field of music theatre can also take the initiative to become a member of the committee.

Nico Schaafsma, Netherlands, President Laura Berman, Germany Guy Coolen, Belgium Roland Quitt, Germany Nick Rong jun Yu, PR China Axel Tangerding, Germany

History In 1983 the committee initiated a triennial event, the Music Theatre Workshop, whose goal was to exchange ideas on new works and developments in this genre. The artistic teams – composers / and or librettists and directors were invited to give lectures presenting the productions with the use of video.

The list of works presented over the years includes the following composers: Louis Andriessen, Georges Aperghis, Giorgio Battistelli, Hans-Jürgen von Bose, Chaya Czernowin, Peter Eötvös, Jonas Forssell, Roberto Gerhard, Philip Glass, Heiner Goebbels, Detlev Glanert, Helmut Lachenmann, Liza Lim, Luca Lombardi, Jin Hi Kim, Giacomo Manzoni, Wolfgang Mitterer, Per Nørgård, Jocy de Oliveira, Aribert Reimann, Alfred Schnittke, Michael Tippett, Awet Terterjan, Rodion Shchedrin, Judith Weir. In 2008 the workshop was transformed into a worldwide competition with a professional jury, reflecting a conscious attempt to expand the scope of the project outside Europe and North America.

Music Theatre Committee

About the Music Theatre Committee

International Music Theatre Committee Board

13 Music Theatre Now

Music Theatre Committee

The Meeting

The presentations will take place in Fokus / Stadsbiblioteket.

Kulturhuset SPIRA, Jönköping, Sweden The Meeting

The meeting Music Theatre NOW will take place in Jönköping in the frame of the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts 2013.

Music Theatre Now

The Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts 2013 After two decades with 10 theatre and 5 dance biennales in Sweden, it was decided to create a joint meeting place for theatre, dance, music theatre, performance and related forms and genres. The program of the 2013 biennale includes 16 productions from all over Sweden, selected by a jury, international guest productions, student productions, seminars, workshops, discussions and meetings.

Music Theatre NOW Within the meeting the artistic teams of 17 productions will present their work followed by questions and answers. The detailed schedule will be provided in an updated programme of the Swedish Biennial for Perfoming Arts. It is the marvellous opportunity for composers, dramatists, directors and performers to meet in one place over a couple of days to see presentations of music theatre from all over the world. It is also the place to be for networking amongst pre-senters, publishers, curators and critics interested in new music theatre. All the participants will have the opportunity to take part in a workshop.

May 22nd

May 23rd

welcome reception

09.30 – 12.30

Kulturhuset SPIRA

presentations 1 – 3 Lunch 14.00 – 17.00 presentations 4 – 6

May 24th 09.30 – 12.30 presentations 7 – 9 Lunch 14.00 – 17.00 presentations 10–12

May 25th

May 26th

09.30 – 12.30

10.00 – 12.30

presentations 13 – 15

workshop

Lunch 14.00 – 17.00 scenkonstbiennalen.se/music-theatre-now/

The Meeting

Sunday, May 26th

Music Theatre Now

Thursday, May 23rd

Schedule

presentations 16 – 18

Jury Meeting

16 17

Music Theatre Now

Jury Meeting December 10 – 11, 2012

Jury

Music Theatre Now

Biography Brett Bailey is a South African playwright, designer, director and the Artistic Director of THIRD WORLD BUNFIGHT. He has worked in several African countries, in Haiti, the UK and Europe. His acclaimed iconoclastic productions, which interrogate the dynamics of the post-colonial world, include Big Dada, Verdi’s macbEth, iMumbo Jumbo and Orfeus. His performance installations include EXHIBITs A & B. He directed the opening show at the World Summit on Arts and Culture in Johannesburg (2009), and the opening shows at the Harare International Festival of the Arts from 2006-2011. He was curator of South Africa’s only public arts festival, Infecting the City, in Cape Town from 2008-2011, and was chair of the jury of the 2011 Prague Quadrennial. His works are presented across Europe, Australia and Africa, and have won several awards, including a gold medal for design at the Prague Quadrennial (2007).

After seeing more than 400 works, it was not easy for me to have a definite idea of what could be referred to as the current panorama of contemporary music theatrical creativity, but after discussions with the other members of the jury, I gained a much clearer picture. First of all, I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the huge number of applications, which clearly shows that the world of music theatre and contemporary opera is very much alive. It is still a field of activity or work that is very attractive and appealing to its creators (composers, librettists, stage directors, videographers, etc.), and is obviously much more than simply a challenging exploration of what is undoubtedly a complex area. It seems that there are certain ideas which cannot be expressed with music, dance or prose individually … creators need something else. In general, the works featured a huge variety of creative resources which were presented with a wide range of different materials and procedures. It is also interesting to see how new media is gradually finding its place in this kaleidoscope. On the other hand, what still seems to be difficult is establishing how to develop ‘an idea’ in the fullest sense of the word: an idea which is absolutely clear, or better still, completely new. Of course some of the works did manage to achieve this. It is also still difficult to envisage the various different layers that make up a work or a show (music, text, performance, lighting, video, sound) without the various narrative hierarchies that interconnect them. This is where we see how the weight of tradition is still playing a key role, even in pieces which offer a clearly experimental approach. The influence of academicism, with its excessive attachment to large cultural institutions and organisations, is still something of an impediment to the creative impulse. It

is not easy to arrive at a unified whole as opposed to presenting several good ideas in parallel on stage, but fortunately a number of the works managed to do so. Finally, following the extensive discussions in Beijing, I feel that it is wrong to put the emphasis on cultural differences, either for juries or creators, despite the fact that they may come from the most distinctive places on earth. There is something that transcends this and allows us to observe the wide range of different artistic productions through the same looking-glass, even if they come from a cultural world which is very different from our own.

More recently he has gravitated toward music theatre. These works have been presented at: The Kitchen (New York), Dartington Summer Festival (UK), Podewil (Berlin), Singapore Arts Festival, Zurich Opera House, Edinburgh Festival, Pfefferberg (Berlin), Villa Romana (Firenze) Oficina Musical (Oporto). As a stage director he was responsible for the first performance in Buenos Aires of Salvatore Sciarrino’s Infinito Nero and Vanitas as well as works by Satie, Joyce and Cage. His work The Loser, based on the novel by Thomas Bernhard, was voted the most important piece of the year by the Music Critics Association in 2004.

Biography

Martín Bauer regularly

gives lectures and seminars in his Martín Bauer, guitarist, composer

country and abroad on topics such

and professor, is currently Direc-

as Samuel Beckett and music, sce-

tor of the CEAMC Foundation

nic music, Argentine experimental

(Center of Advanced Studies in

music, and John Cage in Latin

Contemporary Music) and since

America. He is currently Director

1997, of the Ciclo de Conciertos

of the Centro de Experimentación

de Música Contemporánea del

y Creación del Teatro Argentino

Teatro San Martin, which is consi-

de La Plata, a centre specialising in

dered one of the most important

new opera and music theatre.

festivals for new music in Latin America. In the past he was Director of the Experimental Centre of the Colón Theatre in Buenos Aires, a space for new opera, music theatre and performance. Over a five-year period more than forty works, several of them by young Argentine composers, were presented with great success.

Martín Bauer has com-

posed chamber music, as well as music for ballet, theatre and film. His music has been presented in major concert halls in his country and abroad. The government of Argentina has given him several awards including the Premio a la Excelencia en la Cultura, and also from the National Arts Fund.

From the Jury

Looking at about 400 DVDs of fulllength music theatre productions – and processing synopses and librettos – is not to be taken lightly. The multidimensional art form of performance is flattened by the screen, fragmented and reinterpreted by the videographer, and robbed of its essential ‘live-ness’. Nevertheless it is clear that music theatre is thriving, evolving and fusing with other disciplines in pockets all over the world. As an artist working in the field, I was inspired by many of the DVDs I watched. Of course personal taste plays a significant role in the amount of time one gives to any work: regardless of high production values or creative virtuosity, there were those DVDs that I ejected after a couple of minutes, and there were those gems – rough or polished, lucid or baffling – that gripped me from beginning to end, and even drew me back for a second viewing. My own shortlist of nominees was mediated by a desire to include works from the sharp angles on the edges of the mainstream – those that stretched the shape of the music theatre genre – and also to reflect the cultural diversity of the submissions. Flyway took a tiny group of spectators wearing headphones on a walking tour of Sydney to look at images of birds – mediated and free – within an urban context. There was no live music, no hallowed performance halls, and the birds could hardly be accused of being performers … Likewise, although there are shadowy walk-on parts in the beautifully crafted and mesmerising Blue-

beard, it is much more a work of creative genius exploding through new media than it is a performance. Works such as these two bring oxygen flooding into the genre and point the way to the future. My personal favourite works were In the Solitude of Cotton Fields and Have a Good Day! The former, with its gorgeous text, strong performances, hard music and razor edge, fuses poignant theatre and 80s pop concert in a work completely severed from the pompous over-budgeted music theatre productions of the grand bourgeoisie. The latter work is deceptively simple – a long line of cashiers at supermarket tills, gently allowing us to peer into their inner worlds: a socially critical work of deep pathos. So where, in the jury’s final selection, are the works that reflect global music theatre in all its cultural diversity? Well, there’s some way to go still in opening this competition up to the world, but given that networks in some regions are isolated and undeveloped, time must be allowed; and this robust and pioneering competition, I believe, is the means to bring all the threads together. There were indeed many more submissions than before from non-European countries, but although I was the ‘African representative’ on the panel, and there were three submissions from Africa, I was not prepared to make patronising token nominations of works that I felt did not stand up in the competition. The difficulty in assessing works from traditions that I was unfamiliar with lay in having no sense of the place of these works within those traditions: the very fact that some of these works were exotic to me could make them appear intriguing and fresh; but then I was unable to detect the nuances that might distinguish a boundary-breaking work from one that was utterly conventional. As the reach of the competition expands, finding ways of giving such works fair representation is one of the challenges to be grappled with by the organisers.

19 Music Theatre Now

From the Jury

Brett Bailey

Martín Bauer

Music Theatre Now

Biography Beth Morrison Projects is the realisation of Beth Morrison’s (Artistic and Executive Director) deep commitment to supporting and empowering composers and artists as they create new work. The Wall Street Journal recently said about her extensive history in the development of new opera and theatre, “Ms. Morrison may be immortalized one day as a 21stcentury Diaghilev, known for her ability to assemble memorable collaborations among artists ... [she is] a vital link in the music-industry food chain.” She previously served as administrative director at Boston University’s Tanglewood Institute, a programme that connects young musicians with the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s world renowned Tanglewood Festival. In addition to Beth Morrison Projects, Ms. Morrison served as producer for New York City Opera’s VOX: Contemporary American Opera Lab for the 2010-2011 seasons, as well as a three-year founding tenure with the Yale Institute for Music Theatre. Ms. Morrison is also currently the founding coartistic director of Prototype, a contemporary opera-theatre / music-theatre festival produced with HERE Arts Center in New York City. Ms. Morrison holds a bachelor of music from Boston University School of Music, a master of music from Arizona State University School of Music, and a master of fine arts in theatre management/producing from Yale School of Drama.

I was the only member of the 2012 jury who was also a juror for the first edition of Music Theatre NOW. Compared to 2008, it was striking not only how much less opera there was amongst this year’s submissions, but also how sharply the number of contributions in which singing played a dominant role had declined. Interestingly, this fundamental shift was accompanied by another: a decisive increase in productions whose work relied on film and video technology. Everywhere, the filmed image became a fundamentally existential metaphor for living in a media-driven world. At the same time, an up-and-coming generation of music theatre creators are taking what they need from the new mixed media art form, as opposed to reflecting on the mature traditions of music theatre, whereby music becomes just one of many ingredients to be freely mixed with others. Yet, the opera submissions were of a higher quality than in 2008. Have composers who continue to follow this path become more aware of the genre’s problems, have they begun to deal more cautiously with its pitfalls? I was very surprised, not only by the music and overall theatrical concept of The Navigator, but also by its staging – the way it came up with elements of performance – and almost completely freed itself from any ‘as if’ in opera. Any place in the world where music theatre has started picking up traces of western avant-garde, music, as a result, can only be on an equal footing with other aspects of theatre and can only aesthetically succeed as a genuine multi-media attempt to interpret reality. Composers, therefore, have either to learn to work in a team and stop claiming, in a totalitarian fashion, that they alone are creating musical art within theatre, or they have to become theatre people themselves, capable of ‘composing’ what is to be received by the ear in direct relation to what is to be received by the eye. However, for myself, even

under such conditions I still look for a music theatre that fuses a radically new theatre with radically new and, in itself, discerning and complex music. As in 2008, works submitted that placed such high demands on music in theatre came largely from the German-language world, where complexity in music is still a traditionally-sanctified value. But at the same time, the pool of composers who work in the German-language arena remain more or less international. An aesthetic gulf divides contributions from the German-language territories and those from neighbouring Belgium and the Netherlands. For a long time, both of these regions were considered to be subsidy-paradises in comparison with the rest of the world, and together they accounted for almost half of the submissions. Flemish submissions were more conceptual, more ironic, more reduced, and at the same a great deal more sensual than the German-language ones. They remain linked to an ideal being much proscribed in Germany, namely, that art should provide intelligent entertainment. In the Flemish region, narrative discourse and character, two elements that have virtually been banished from progressive theatre in Germany, find a new justification, as once did the tonality of Milhaud’s and Stravinsky’s ironic art. Viewed in comparison, German music theatre appears almost expressionist in its approach, it is less methodical, often goes for the highest risk, and, as a consequence, frequently fails; it spends every moment deconstructing the previous one, it launches into dialectic flights whose most important goal is to have audiences leave the theatre, if not deeply shaken, then at the very least in a bad mood; anything, apart from feeling ‘entertained’. I cannot generalise where I reviewed a smaller number of submissions. The Canadian works that I watched were often tradition-oriented. All Scandinavian contributions were looking for

new paths. Submissions from England were divided between the traditional and a fringe obligation towards humour. Sad to see that so little came from Italy. All the jurors found the off-theatre productions from Eastern Europe and Russia very intense. An aesthetic awakening is palpable there. I remain amazed at how many different ways music theatre manages to express itself. Amongst the winners, Flyway, Josefine singt and T.E.L. are examples of extreme positions. Perhaps the most decisive difference between 2008 and 2012 is that – for the first time – MTN has an international jury. Not everything could be agreed upon, and some of the submissions I would have liked to see amongst those invited only drew disconcerted stares from my colleagues. There remains a residual incommensurability between different theatre cultures that even dialogue will never clear. On the other hand, through such dialogue we were able to achieve a consensus in many cases. This shows the possibility, the opportunity and the significance of such talks, and it perfectly shows what Music Theatre NOW is all about.

Biography Roland Quitt is a freelance dramaturg, author and curator from Germany working predominantly in the field of new music theatre. He studied Music, Philosophy and German at Berlin’s Freie Universität. After several years in fringe theatre as a director, actor and head of an opera ensemble, he began working as a dramaturg for various theatres. Since 1996 the main focus of his work has been the field of advanced contemporary music theatre. In the German city of Bielefeld he founded the ‘visible music’ series, which pioneered as an arena for experimentation in forms of music theatre outside opera, and which was later continued in Mannheim. He has been responsible for the conception and commissioning of several world premieres and has collaborated with many of Europe’s leading composers for new music theatre. For several years Roland Quitt has been an active member of the ITI Music Theatre Committee’s board.

From the Jury

The most impressive element that this competition represents is just how vast the interest is in the creation of new music theatre and opera theatre works in the 21st century. Recognizing that over 400 works were submitted with the stipulation that they could only have premiered in the last four years signifies that a staggering amount of work is being created, and that music theatre and opera works are vibrant and also have the opportunity to be the most important art form of the century. The other very interesting thing was how vastly different these works are from continent to continent and country to country, both musically and theatrically. Though we are a ‘global’ world, our performing arts vary significantly. I am very happy to have had the opportunity to review so many works from all over the world. As a producer and presenter of new music theatre and opera theatre works, this experience was invaluable in seeing quickly what is happening NOW in our art form across the globe.

Roland Quitt

21 Music Theatre Now

From the Jury

Beth Morrison

Music Theatre Now

In 2009, Yung received the Merit Cross of the Order of Merit from the Federal Republic of Germany in 2009 in recognition of his contribution to the arts and cultural exchange between Germany and Hong Kong. In 2008, he was honoured with the Music Theatre NOW award for his Tears of Barren Hill.

Danny is not only ac-

tive in the arts and cultural development in Hong Kong and the Asia Pacific regions, he is also dedicated to promoting international cultural exchange and arts education. He is currently an international consultant of the UN Consul-

The Jury

The 400 plus entries this year comprise many different kinds of music theatre and provide a glimpse of what‘s going on in different continents at the moment. The entries go from traditional to experimental, low budget productions to large-scale ones, café performance to gallery installation, and of course, the use of conventional venues too. Amongst the works are operas, musicals and music performances (concert), whilst the definition of music theatre is becoming more hybrid and/or multifaceted. As a genre, music theatre is evolving and defining itself. On the other hand, only a handful of the creative works seem to be aiming for or experimenting with challenging and crossing these boundaries. In other words, most of the pieces reviewed are conforming rather than self-challenging and can be placed securely within established frameworks or institutions. From a strategic point of view, Music Theatre NOW is an engine to push the concept and practice of music theatre to new frontiers. On top of activities that exist already, such as competitions, the presentation of awards, and invitations to performances, more opportunities for artistic exchange would be invaluable to the development of music theatre. Artist exchanges through topical research presentations, for instance, could be one way of laying a solid foundation for creative dialogues. These kinds of meetings would be beneficial to practitioners of music theatre by keeping them informed of the latest developments in the genre. The establishment of a database of the entered works would be an effective tool for information dissemination and help the system to be more organised and open to all.

The Jury

tant System (UNCS) of UNESCO, chairperson of the Asia Pacific Alliance of World Cultural Forums,

Biography

chairperson of the Hong Kong– Taipei–Shenzhen–Shanghai City-

Danny Yung is an experimental

to-City Cultural Exchange Confe-

art pioneer, the founder and co-

rence, vice president of the Asia

artistic director of Zuni Icosahedron

Pacific Performing Arts Network,

and chairperson of the Hong

and is on the board of the West

Kong Institute of Contemporary

Kowloon Cultural District Autho-

Culture. Over the past 30 years,

rity and the Lee Shau Kee Hong

he has been deeply involved in

Kong School of Creativity.

various aspects of the arts, namely theatre, cartoon, film and video, visual arts and installations, and is widely regarded as one of the most influential artists in Hong Kong and its neighbouring regions. He is a keen advocate of experimental arts and new art forms, and has been involved in over 100 theatrical productions as director, scriptwriter, producer and stage designer, and these works have been staged in over 30 cities. He has also contributed significantly to the provision of a platform for both acclaimed and emerging artists to explore and practise theatre art in Hong Kong, as well as across Europe, Asia and the United States, thereby winning great acclaim.

Clockwise from left: Beth Morrison, Martín Bauer, Danny Yung, Brett Bailey, Roland Quitt

23 Music Theatre Now

From the Jury

Danny Yung

and more site-specific performances. Many writers, composers, directors and performers, who are pioneers in their profession and who seek to experiment in the performing arts, feel at home in this genre. It has been questioned lately whether music theatre is ‘the’ art form of the 21st century. The committee’s answer is a resounding ‘yes’. We see a huge potential for music theatre today, also outside the European tradition. The Music Theatre Committee would like to thank the jury for doing the enormous task of making a selection from the more than 400 productions. We thank ITI Germany for its long-term commitment to the project and their financial support, and we thank the Swedish Biennial for Performing Arts and ITI Sweden for their generous hospitality. We hope you will enjoy the event and that the meeting and networking during Music Theatre NOW will inspire you, and that it will lead to future collaborations and to new developments in music theatre.

Nico Schaafsma President of the Board of the Music Theatre Committee

25 Music Theatre Now

Music Theatre Now

The enormous diversity and innovative power of music theatre can be seen in the productions of this edition of Music Theatre NOW. By organising this global competition and the meeting in Jönköping, the Music Theatre Committee of ITI wants to facilitate an exchange of ideas between creators, performers, producers and the public. Founded in 1969, the Committee has a long-standing history, amongst its members it had the privilege to count the directors Walter Felsenstein and Harold Prince, who were leading figures in their respective fields: opera and musical. Now music theatre has developed into much more than opera or musical. It has become a rich genre in which elements of theatre, music, dance, film, performance and installation are combined to make new art forms. Boundaries between the disciplines in the performing arts are crossed and sometimes even disappear. Increasingly, concerts incorporate scenography or some form of staging, and similarly, music is playing a more important part in ‘regular’ theatre productions. Community projects are also emerging where the distinction between professionals and amateurs is less obvious. The diversity in music styles in music theatre is wider than ever before, from classical and contemporary compositions to pop, jazz and world-music. In the presentation of music theatre we see a significant shift from the traditional venues such as theatres and opera houses, to festivals

We proudly present

26 27

Music Theatre Now

The Selected Works

33⅓ Collective

Music Theatre Now

The classic tale of La Barbe bleue (Bluebeard) tells the story of a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives, and the attempts of one wife to avoid the fate of her predecessors. At the beginning of the 20th century, the period in which Sigmund Freud developed and deployed his theories, it was said that the castle dwelling, which plays such an important role in the Bartók opera, mirrors the workings of the duke’s (and therefore man’s) psyche, and that the drive of the female protagonist to enter its rooms (whatever the outcome) represents women’s desire to understand (hopefully to her advantage) that psyche. In our Bluebeard, the fate of this female is depicted not by an actress, but by a virtual representation of an actress. Bluebeard’s male protagonist also becomes a virtual entity. The spectator witnesses the emotional quest of the wretched female creature. She leads us through Bluebeard’s dwellings in such a manner that we feel as if we are part of the plot: experiencing her fear and disgust and undergoing her inescapable destiny; an experience that is introduced by an enigmatic prologue and enhanced by a series of musical improvisations, soundscapes and lyrics. Through this approach, virtual, multilayered, mysterious and constantly-changing spaces are visualised and projected onto the floor as well as onto the geometrical environment of a large (sometimes pivoting) cube.

Van Hulst, Dijkstra and Huisman

Blauwbaard

Bluebeard

Is Bluebeard an opera – and if it is not opera, then what is it? In fact, we too find it difficult to determine what exactly our Bluebeard is. All we know (and have learned from our audiences and the various press reviews) is that we have developed a kind of narrative which does not yet have a name. By nature we (the 33 ⅓ Collective) jump out of all boxes, even our own. We do not fit within the template of ‘music theatre praxis’, i.e. the development phases: composer writes music, librettist constructs text, dramaturg applies drama, musicians rehearse, director directs etc. We aim to do things differently, experiment, find new ways of developing a combined musical and visual language. The New York Times Magazine even judged: “Video has infiltrated mainstream opera houses, too, but in Bluebeard, three young artists with a white box have unstopped a stream of 3-D illusions that the Metropolitan Opera should really be coveting. … it’s left a message blinking on Big Opera’s screen: CAN YOU DO THIS?”

29 Music Theatre Now

Blauwbaard

Jules van Hulst, Douwe Dijkstra and Coen Huisman

About / Music

Music Theatre Now

site.33one3rd.com/#BlueBeard

Michael de Roo invited us to create a contemporary version of Duke Bluebeards Castle, Bartok’s famous opera, based on La Barbe bleue, a French literary folktale, the most famous extant version was written by Charles Perrault and first published by Barbin in Paris, in January 1697. Many a writer and composer has been inspired by this gruesome tale of the ugly Duke killing his many wives, not least Béla Bartók and Béla Balázs, his librettist. It was our dearest wish to use both the soundscapes created by Michael de Roo and excerpts of the wonderful 1966 Decca recording of Bartóks Bluebeard’s Castle, where Judith’s part is sung by Christa Ludwig and the Duke’s by her husband Walter Berry. We engaged an agent to inform the Bartók estate of our intentions and obtain the copyright, which, unfortunately, was not granted. As the premiere was only a couple of weeks away we found ourselves in quite a predicament. How to premiere a (video) opera without the usual suspects or the music? That was the question we

Blauwbaard

Bluebeard – Or how to perform an opera without the usual suspects

had to solve. And we did solve it. It took us three days with the wonderful input of Rosa Ensemble to create a score, prologue and lyrics - and another two days to synchronise the new material with the existing imagery. Our Bluebeard was ready to go! The inspiration for the cube came from our basic approach towards this project: instead of creating a classical setup, we wanted to upset the understanding of classical opera, in our case the understanding of Bartóks Bluebeard’s Castle with the seven rooms that Judith has to enter, which had been our original inspiration. After trying out many options we decided to lock the opera (the singing protagonists) into a cube and use the cube and the space around it to express (through our projected images) Judith’s emotional quest.

Music Theatre Now

Blauwbaard

We are Jules van Hulst, Douwe Dijkstra and Coen Huisman, three individual artists working together to produce a 100% result. As 33 ⅓ Collective we create images, atmospheres and theatrical scenes primarily using projections to tell a story to which improvised and/or composed music is added. Our approach is to visualise virtual, multilayered and mysterious spaces that change constantly. Through the use of projectors we create disorientating differences in visual perspectives and distances. During our time as students at ArtEZ we collaborated on a range of projects, including The Falls, an experimental opera based on one of Peter Greenaway’s earliest works. Greenaway himself was closely involved in this production, for which we created the visual input.

Music Theatre Now

Flyway is a site-specific, interdisciplinary work that investigates the enchanting nature of migratory birds. Wearing headphones and binoculars, a small audience is enveloped in a lush soundscape and guided on an intimate bird watching tour through urban spaces to encounter special moments dotted along the path â&#x20AC;&#x201C; birds framed by screens, optical lenses and the city itself. Using music, video and performance, Flyway merges foreground and background and points to our mediated experience of â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;natureâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;. Video artworks and the live environment are made viewable through binoculars, which become channels to cinematically frame the field of view and momentarily collapse the outside world. The Flyway guide, Elizabeth Dunn, is a silent presence who gently leads the flock via a series of video installations, which utilise existing city screens in businesses and public locations. Hypnotic imagery is infused with a continuous 80-minute soundscape of atmospheric music and bird calls crafted by sound artist Lawrence English. This ethereal sonic cocoon, combined with the physical act of walking and the environmental shifts as dusk settles, creates a meditative, moving and strangely intimate journey. Familiar city spaces are slowly raised to a level of wonder and subtly repositioned to invite an altered and deepened perspective on what and how life coexists within. Exploring our ecological connections, Flyway draws on the mesh of humans, birds and intangible forces engaged in the phenomenal act of moving onwards. It is created from research into the plight of migratory shorebirds, meetings with bird watchers and conservationists, and site visits to collect the audiovisual field recordings that form the richly layered sound and video artworks. Drawing further on ecological philosophy and personal mythologies, a poetic flyway field guide accompanies the work and serves as a reference point for its conceptual explorations. Flyway is a response to the existence of migratory birds and the mystifying, ancient, epic journeys fewer and fewer of them make each year. Flying thousands of kilometres non-stop, their places to rest and feed are being consumed by the pressures of ever-growing industry and population. Moving from place to place, between two ends of the earth, the birds are invisible to many. But, there are the committed few who illuminate their plight, protect their sites and hospitably welcome them as they make their way. In its simplicity and directness Flyway generates a space to consider different, perhaps conflicting, ways of mapping a landscape. In its longing to consider the city from a different perspective, it begins to dismantle the conventions and proscriptions that make up our urban experience.

Flyway

Elizabeth Dunn

33 Music Theatre Now

Flyway

Elizabeth Dunn

Music Theatre Now

is a Melbourne-based interdisciplinary artist working across video, installation, performance and participation to consider social ecology, ‘nature’ and place. Her practice is informed by a background in spatial design, education, and regional arts and her solo and collaborative works have been presented across Australia. She is an artistic associate with Aphids.

Lawrence English is a composer, media artist and curator based in Brisbane, Australia. Working across an eclectic array of aesthetic investigations, his work prompts questions of field, perception and memory. Utilising a variety of approaches, including live performance and installation, he creates works that ponder subtle transformations of space, and asks audiences to become aware of that which exists at the edge of perception.

Lara Thoms

The Flyway sound exists somewhere between the real and the dreamt. It is a composition of suggestion and invitation, rather than direction and didacticism. Inspired by colossal migrations, Flyway’s sonic character suggests thick clusters of bird flocks, dense and rich clouds of sound, shifting up and down along the coasts of nations. Distant melodic phrases suggest a longing, a desire for both journey and destination, but remain free-floating and ultimately adrift. There is no final place of rest, just repeated cycles as the birds move back and forth in an elegant seasonal symphony. Using field recordings sourced along Australia’s Queensland coast and composed sound elements, Flyway’s soundtrack acts as an acoustic blanket creating an auditory envelope around participants in the 35 piece. The disconnection of the self from the outside sonic world creates an opening through which participants can venture into an internal space. It’s an internal space that’s partly imagined, partly real – rooted in the field recordings – but wholly personal as it’s the participants’ histories, experiences and understandings that inject meaning into the sonic materials and add colour to the journey.

Flyway

Flyway is an interdisciplinary project exploring the phenomena of migration, ecology and coexistence. As a site-specific outdoor work it engages with local people, birds, architecture and businesses to create an experience responsive to the time and place in which it occurs. Flyway is conceived, directed and performed by Elizabeth Dunn. Created in collaboration with sound artist Lawrence English, artistic consultant Lara Thoms and co-producers Aphids and Next Wave, it was developed in partnership with leading Australian ornithological organisation, Birdlife Australia.

The Music

Music Theatre Now

Biographies / Background

is interested in socially engaged, site-specific and participatory possibilities in contemporary art. She is based in Australia between Sydney and Melbourne. Her inter-disciplinary projects have been presented nationally and internationally. She is an artistic associate with Aphids.

Aphids is an artist-led interdisciplinary arts organisation creating collaborations across artforms and borders. Aphids’ projects sit at the nexus of contemporary music, performance, technology and site-specific practice.

www.aphids.net

Operomanija

Geros Dienos !

Music Theatre Now

Geros Dienos !

The plot of this opera is set around the inner lives of cashiers in a shopping centre and looks at everything that lies behind the mechanical “Good afternoon. Thank you. Have a good day!”, followed by a smile. The faceless, robot-like shop workers to be found in everyday life are transformed into striking opera characters; their secret thoughts and biographies are revealed to the audience and turned into short, personal dramas. The characters of the various saleswomen represent the social landscape of Lithuania and reflect the topics of the day, such as emigration, unemployment and a patriarchatedominant mentality, or serve as stylistic figures created for musical and textual variation. Inner monologues reflect each cashier’s personal characteristics, education, the way they speak and their personal problems. The libretto of the opera combines documentary and poetic layers. The text itself is a revealing mosaic of spoken language, poetry and social issues. To avoid any moral or condemnatory suggestion, a critical attitude towards capitalism is expressed through humour, paradox, irony and poetry. The mosaic of different destinies is transformed into one ode suggesting the pleasure of consumption. The audience is doing more than just snooping on the inner worlds of the cashiers, they are also acknowledging that they too are part of the unavoidable circle of earning and spending. The atmosphere of a supermarket is established before the audience even find their way into the hall: on the door, their tickets are checked by security guards – a very familiar presence in shopping malls – one of whom will play the piano later on. A glinting and buzzing installation of daylight lamps connects the audience space with the ten cashiers on stage. The physical qualities of the performers are precisely tuned to the musical and textual score, each face tells a separate story. The lighting design has two layers: the first aims at creating a realistic, aesthetically cold atmosphere, whilst the second has a theatrical effect, highlighting each cashier when she sings. Goods – the obligatory decoration of a shopping centre – exist only in acoustic and verbal form: monotonous melodies and an abundance of groceries attack the viewers’ ears and imagination. The only actual props are transparent lists of bar-codes that are scanned by the scanners, beeping and blinking their red lights throughout the entire performance. All the cashiers in the opera are imprisoned in their workplace, only occasionally are they able to leave it for a short period.

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Geros Dienos !

Have a Good Day!

Music Theatre Now

Independent creative group OPEROMANIJA is a collective of artists of the younger generation from various spheres: poets and composers, theatre directors and soloists, instrumentalists and conductors, video artists and stage designers, whose goal is to create contemporary opera. Over a period of five years since 2008, OPEROMANIJA has organized five contemporary opera festivals NOA (New Opera Action) and created and staged over 30 contemporary Lithuanian operas. OPEROMANIJA is an active promoter of music theatre and contemporary art in Lithuania. The opera Have a Good Day! is the result of a close collaboration between composer, librettist and director. All aspects of the opera – the text, music and visual aspect – were created simultaneously. None of these aesthetic positions is considered more important than the other.

Lina Lapelytė, composer

Vaiva Grainytė (1984) is a Lithuanian writer, poet and essayist. Using her texts as media, she collaborates with various artists and participates in audio-poetry projects. Her debut book Beijing Diaries was nominated for the Year of the Book 2012 and is acclaimed as a stylistic phenomenon. Grainytė’s oeuvre comprises poetry, wit, surrealism and a critical attitude towards social issues. She is currently working on a new book of short stories and is also an editor of an arts news website.

Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė, director Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė (1983) is a film and theatre artist from Lithuania. She received her bachelor of arts in Theatre Directing and Cinematography at LMTA (Vilnius) and her master of arts in Screen Documentary at Goldsmith’s (London). Rugilė experiments with the boundaries between documentary and fiction, performing and being, filming and seeing. In her theatre works she uses elements of environmental art and cinema, such as unconventional solutions to the scenic space, participatory position of the audience, realistic acting, and true narratives.

Lina Lapelytė (1984) lives and works in London and Vilnius. She is an artist, composer and performer currently exploring the phenomena of song. Using song as an object, Lina examines the issues of displacement, otherness and beauty. Re-enactment supports her investigation into aesthetics, control and reality. Lapelytė has been exhibiting and performing at the DRAF, Royal Festival Hall, ICA, BBC Proms, Tate Modern (London), CAC (Vilnius), CCA (Glasgow), Ikon (Birmingham), Skopje Biennale and the Holland Festival.

Geros Dienos !

Operomanija

Vaiva Grainytė, librettist

39 Music Theatre Now

Biographies / Background

The Music Have a Good Day! is an ode to capitalism that illustrates the inevitability of consumption. In the opera, the anonymous cashier one meets every day takes on the nuances of an individual character. Performers reject a classical vocalizing and instead the cashiers’ arias sound more like repetitive, trite melodies, reminiscent of the endless, monotonous movement of goods along a conveyor. The minimalistic score is composed of various sounds from an environment and reflects acoustic diversity of a shopping centre. “The key sound throughout the opera is the monotonous beeping that happens every time an item is scanned. It might get louder or quieter, but it is always there. The songs that accompany the beeping are as monotonous as the process of shopping and selling. Instead of becoming the main focus of the opera, the music underlines the thoughts of the cashiers – it enables us to hear their voice.”

Lina Lapelytė, composer

www.haveagoodday.me

Teatro Argentino de la Plata and Marcos Franciosi

Music Theatre Now

“Based on the final chapter of Franz Kafka’s novel Amerika, the opera is set over five scenes during which a group of people, including the central character Karl Rossmann, try to overcome numerous impediments to join The Great Theatre of Oklahoma, a strange organisation willing to recruit people who wish to ‘belong’ to it. Kafka never finished the chapter, so we offer our own interpretation of the story based on the logic of Kafkaesque nightmares: the characters are torn between reality and dreams in an atmosphere of constant uncertainty. Although in our version of the story those who are taken on achieve their aim, the opera recreates the cyclical nature of nightmares in which something starts and ends with the same sense of ambiguity. In this respect the opera uses the essential narrative character of the novel, albeit offering a more psychological account of the course of events. By emphasising certain passages of the text, we expose the emotional profile of the characters using a mixed time frame, which combines the concept of the instant with the intrinsically dynamic, inevitable and cyclical nature of dreams. Using an analysis of the text, we sought to establish a common language between the literary ideas, audio concept

and staging, with the aim of strengthening the link between what the audience sees and what it hears. This connection is not necessarily depicted in an iconographic or figurative sense, but through the construction of symbolic parallelisms in which one of the elements – literary, visual or audio – helps us to create the atmosphere for certain specific parts or for the piece as a whole. Thus, we based this connection on a combination of text and sound to see the repercussions it would have on the performance. However, during the course of the compositional process we reversed the order of the elements to suit the specific needs of the performance. Both the characteristics of the venue and those of the instrumental and vocal ensembles had a decisive influence on the compositional strategies adopted in terms of sound and space. They also affected the interpretation of the text, as roles and characters were redefined in accordance with the specific possibilities of the vocal ensemble. Thus, some of the spaces featured in Kafka’s work were adapted to the specific atmosphere of the venue where the piece was staged.”

Marcos Franciosi, composer

El Gran Teatro de Oklahoma

The Great Theatre of Oklahoma

41 Music Theatre Now

El Gran Teatro de Oklahoma

Music Theatre Now

The Music

The first adaptation from the original was based on the dialogue and resulted in a dramatic, mainly theatrical structure. The translation of this text to music meant a reinterpretation of the original libretto which, in turn, became a new adaptation from the original dialogues, emphasising the internal monologues of the characters and inducing in them permanent changes in their physical, psychical and musical positions. In terms of the musical composition, our work was based on four main elements:

— — — —

Vocal treatment of the literary text. Use of every day objects as instruments to produce sounds. Extensive and conventional use of normal musical instruments. Process of sound in real and delayed time.

The various formal and textural configurations are based on the association of sounds with the specific sources which generate them. As such, objects such as car or bicycle horns, glass goblets, corrugated hoses, and megaphones represent a specific sensory material reality: the sound of air, glass, metal, water, and wood. Through the cognitive identification of these elements, listening becomes a symbolic exercise in which the sound itself describes a ‘specific state’ which is directly or indirectly associated with the drama, thereby enhancing the various semantic elements of the text.

composition completely based on a musical score, and could therefore also be staged in other venues. As for the TACEC, it is an additional space at the Teatro Argentino de La Plata constructed from an area in the basement of the Sala Mayor Alberto Ginastera, where the goods lifts for the main venue are still situated. The TACEC is now a proper venue, but in 2010 using it to stage a production implied the concept of ‘intervention’ in an unconventional space. Its appearance, including its lighting and its smell, were more typical of an engine room than a conventional theatre, and these aspects were used to maximum advantage in the staging of the piece. The Nonsense Ensemble Vocal de Solistas, which was established in 2009, is unique in Latin America and is dedicated to a modern vocal repertoire for solo artists. It comprises eight vocalists including its director, Valeria Martinelli, who directed The Great Theatre of Oklahoma. This was the first opera the ensemble ever performed. Seven of its members wrote the piece, basing it on the group’s specific characteristics.

www.teatroargentino.gba.gov.ar

El Gran Teatro de Oklahoma

In Argentina there are two important centres for experimentation: the CETC and the TACEC (in the Teatro Colón and Teatro Argentino de La Plata respectively). Both were conceived as spaces that could be used to produce, promote and increase awareness of experimental contemporary art. Even though economic subsidies for productions are never sufficient, the two spaces offer artists the kind of infrastructure which is to be found in proper theatres, such as a stage, sound, lighting, set design, etc. Most composers, myself included, are more than willing to participate because these essentials are provided. Even so, not all Argentinean composers opt to base their work on experimentation. In the case of the The Great Theatre of Oklahoma, I decided to adopt this approach because in terms of art theory, I have always been interested in a perspective rooted to some extent in Duchamp’s principles. The choice of objects used in the piece interacts with writing techniques that are part of what we understand as musical tradition. Notwithstanding its experimental nature, and the fact that the piece is also inspired by certain characteristics of the space itself, it is a traditionally-written

43 Music Theatre Now

El Gran Teatro de Oklahoma

About

Music Theatre Now

“(…) the basic premise of Homework is the assumption that we all perform superficial, obvious activities in our lives – drinking coffee, hammering nails, etc. – as well as activities linked with our subconscious, and therefore not quite so obvious. Some theories suggest that these subconscious activities have much to do with sexual urges. Whether this is true or not is not really the point here. In Homework, I wanted to try to find a way of showing how the transitions between these two kinds of activities flow. I show people doing things that at first seem simple and obvious then become very unusual, so that the viewers can see how what plays on the surface does not correspond with the real desires of the characters. In Homework there are three characters, completely independent of each other: the first constructs a toy, the second prepares for a rendezvous, and the third cooks. Three fundamental human pastimes – building, loving, eating. The first of the three characters reads the instruction manual for a mechanical toy, but what he actually does is somehow unrelated to this activity. It is precisely this discrepancy which shows us what he really wants. As viewers, we see that we are in the realms of the mechanical and the building of something, yet everything we see somehow fails to fit together. It is in these gaps that we can read a great deal about the moments in question: about the subconscious, the ritualistic and the musical. Because music means more than plucking a string: music is everything that lies between gestures. My idea was to utilise elements of music and video to show that something else is also present, so that the viewers experience much more about the people on stage than they are aware of. Of course this is also amusing, since this form of discrepancy makes people laugh. Homework operates on many different levels of this kind, all basically addressing the same thing though in different ways: viewers find themselves either laughing or suddenly recognising something they find alarming.

In this work the activities in themselves are unimportant. I merely chose simple things which we all know, which we have all done at some point, and which could then be transformed into a kind of ritual. Which in turn shows that people do these things to obtain gratification.”

François Sarhan from an interview with Babette Karner

Homework

Homework 45 Music Theatre Now

Homework

François Sarhan

Music Theatre Now

“(…) as a child I was used to doing all sorts of things. I wrote, I painted and I made music. Later I studied literature.

There were two turning points in my life: I met two artists who showed me how it is possible to work simply and comfortably when you stop worrying about technique. The first was the Czech artist Jan Svankmajer, who at one time belonged to the old school of Surrealists in the former Czechoslovakia. He spoke bluntly about being totally indifferent to technique and just making what he liked. The other, with whom I’ve since collaborated, is the South African artist and director William Kentridge. We created a piece together and I spent a lot of time with him in his house in South Africa. It was like an enlightenment for me: in a single morning, in his studio, he moved back and forth with great ease between making charcoal drawings and computer animations,

writing and photography. This method was completely normal and natural for him. He just did it, and it meant nothing to him if someone said “But you aren’t a professional writer!” That’s what makes him able to create so many things. I thought to myself, “If something like this is possible, why do I think so much about what I make? From now on I’m going to allow myself the freedom to experiment with things I’m not an expert in!” It’s a much more interesting and relaxed way to work. I always felt a lot of inner pressure when I composed: that my works never fitted into the established order of things, that they weren’t good enough, things like that.

[…] On the other hand, though, to make a film is a lot more exciting because it speaks directly to a childlike way of working: you can play with different elements. And when you play, you come closer to yourself and you discover many things that would otherwise remain hidden in your subconscious.”

François Sarhan from an interview with Babette Karner

“The music alludes to the ritualistic aspects of the piece and gives it its dramatic direction. It also shows the destruction of the individual through a paroxysm of physical activity. I must say, however, that the narrative is quite elusive and doesn‘t establish a distinct plot. My difficult task was to be both precise and elusive … The idea of body percussion creating short, percussive sounds is linked to the idea of building a mechanical / electronic device, both through the types of sounds and the DIY concept (the person in his garage building something produces all the sounds himself). This contrast between the mechanical and the absence of any instrument is the central point of the piece, questioning the existence and the nature of the thing, the tool, the object. Each of the three characters brings a different perspective: the guitar player integrates the instrument into his actions whilst the man going on a date is more of an actor. The music is the hidden link between the three characters. It is what provokes the major crisis point and change in their behaviour.”

Homework

Homework was initially a concert piece commissioned by the Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik festival. In 2011, it was reworked for the stage and commissioned by Kunst aus der Zeit for the Bregenzer Festspiele. The original idea comes from studying the relationship between musical activity and maniacal activity and asking what kind of gestures and sounds this produces.

The Music

47 Music Theatre Now

Homework

About

François Sarhan

www.fsarhan.com

opera silens

49 Josephine, die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse (Josephine the Singer, or the Mouse Folk) is the last short story written by Franz Kafka. It primarily details a community and its relationship with a renowned singer named Josephine. The story was included in the collection Ein Hungerkünstler (A Hunger Artist) published soon after Kafka’s death. The novel tells the story of Josephine the Singer, a rarity amongst the mouse people for having an innate ability to sing, which no one else in the community possesses. She can not only sing, but can sing beautifully, helping all the mouse people to tolerate their unusually hard lives. Some of the mouse people claim to dislike her and do not believe she is truly singing, while others adore her and consider her a communal treasure: Nevertheless, all the mouse people gather round to listen to her, and once she is singing, forget their reservations. Throughout the story, the narrator, who at first purports that whoever has not heard Josephine sing does not know the true power of music, begins to doubt his own judgement. He suggests

that what is held so dear by the mouse people is not Josephine’s ‘ability‘ but the silence that falls over the people and their settlement when she is singing. While he never ostensibly decries or criticises the beloved singer, he gradually whittles away at her character, finally describing her as someone of little talent who dislikes and often shirks her work, and who sometimes brings danger to her people (for her singing can act as a beacon to the many enemies of the mouse people). Still she is considered a gift and adored by the community; yet, when she ‘disappears‘, allegedly because she did not feel her music was appreciated, little sleep is lost over the matter - the lives of the mouse people continue as normal. It is uncertain if the mouse people actually are mice. Although one of their number – who is also the narrator – describes them falling ‘quiet as mice’ when Josephine begins to sing. Aside from the title, this is the only time that mice are referenced.

Music Theatre Now

48 Music Theatre Now

Josefine singt.

Josefine singt. (K)ein Liederabend nach Franz Kafka

Josefine singt.

Josefine sings. (Not) a Recital after Franz Kafka

www.2eleven.de/projekte

Music Theatre Now

opera silens was founded in Hamburg in 1997 by director Hans-Jörg Kapp, composer Jochen Neurath, singer Ulrike Bartusch, dancer Wobine Bosch, dramaturg Thorsten Beyer, stage designer Christian Wiehle and costume designer Irène Favre de Lucascaz. As opposed to making use of traditional methods of storytelling by staging a conflict and offering modes of identification to the spectator, opera silens basically separates text, music, image and acting and recombines these elements. The first two opera silens productions Satie/Amnesie in 1997 and the asynchronous opera Amnesie International (1999) – both of which premiered at Hamburg’s opera stabile – recombined text and music by composer Erik Satie. Satie/Amnesie was also shown at ArtGenda Festival in Stockholm in 1998. In 2001, opera silens created two baroque opera productions at Kampnagel Hamburg. The first production, acqua acqua acqua acqua was based on the idea of building a baroque Wunderkammer on the basis of Monteverdi’s Madrigal book VIII Libri amorosi e guerrieri. Then, In Earth combined a new approach to baroque gestures with music by Purcell and Bach. In both productions opera silens recombined the musical pieces and rearranged them with contemporary instruments and electronics. In 2005, opera silens cooperated with composer Johannes Harneit by staging Robert Walser’s novel Der Raeuber at opera stabile. In 2006, opera silens commissioned Russian composer Vadim Karassikov to contribute music to the installation-based music theatre production see my songs at Altonaer Museum. This piece explored the visual and acoustic borders of perception. The piece was shown at the festival Rainy Days in Luxembourg in 2008. In 2008, opera silens premiered gehen gehen gehen. Kein Theater nach Thomas Bernhard in co-operation with the Hamburg Theatre Academy and composer Fredrik Schwenk. At this time music producer Thomas Schmoelz joined opera silens. Focusing on contemporary music, he complements the work of Hans-Jörg Kapp by developping musical concepts. For the last but one production Neurovisions – eine gesamteuropäische Touretterie (Kampnagel Hamburg, 2010) opera silens collaborated with neurologist Prof. Alexander Münchau and three Tourette’s patients. Neurovisions combined songs from the Eurovision Song Contest with music by composer Charlotte Seither. opera silens is currently developping a new music theatre piece in co-operation with Kampnagel Hamburg,

In his final piece of prose, Josefine, die Sängerin oder Das Volk der Mäuse, Franz Kafka does not tell us the wording of the arias sung by the mouse Josephine in front of an enchanted audience, who are caught up in the extraordinary beauty of her voice. When I was asked to provide some music for the opera silens production Josefine singt, I imagined these to have been the sibylline words of the fragmented song Viel hab ich dein, which Friedrich Hölderlin notated in the Homburger Folioheft, the sketch book that accompanied him through a catastrophic watershed in his life. In my music, Josephine’s voice is represented by the sounds of a cello playing natural harmonics in the highest register. Thus we do not hear the words of the song, even though they are precisely encoded in the virtuoso performance of Agnieszka Dziubak’s left fingertips and in the emphatic movements of the cellist’s right arm controlling the bow and her hand articulating the melody. I asked the production team to use my score freely, cutting it up into 42 phrases that are distributed throughout the entire play.

Wolfgang von Schweinitz

Josefine singt.

opera silens

The Music

51 Music Theatre Now

About

with each other, sometimes in solos or chorally, sometimes synchronised or contrapuntally – but always unpredictably with respect to their sequencing and spatial distribution. The automated machine-piano has a singular, technical virtuosity impossible for a human player. The dancers, however – equally virtuoso but yet individual – convert its machinegenerated rhythms into complex, wildlydrawn or gently-suggested movementadventures. They provide an expressive contrast to the totally identical apparatus. An alongside-and-with-each-other of man and machine, smoothly-running and progressive. Of course the incorporated subtext is also political. It tells of the power of the collective, the power of machines. It tells of the dialectics of passion and terror, of coordinated rhythms produced by large masses, of the machine-like quality of repetition, and the obsessive nature we observe as much in addicts and the psychically ill as we do in many of today’s working practices.

Maschinenhalle #1

A confined space in which machines shape their own world, and where we can observe and analyse but cannot influence them. We can hear, see, and feel their systems but never figure them out. We are at their mercy. With Maschinenhalle #1, choreographer Christine Gaigg, composer Bernhard Lang, computermusician and artist Winfried Ritsch, and light and set designer Philipp Harnocourt, created a choreographed musical piece far removed from the conventions of music theatre, in which individual elements are joined by invisible threads: performance venue (hall), machines, and people become the meta-machine whose rules specify the sequences. Twelve dancers in a feedback situation of movement and self-generating sounds perform on twelve seriallyordered stations, each consisting of a resonating platform and an automated piano. The music is created indirectly like this: the dance steps on the resonating platform are translated by the computer, transferred to the keys of the automated piano, and then played back again and reinterpreted with human possibilities. The movements sculpted by sound material change in their repetition: newer rhythms are produced and demand the dancers’ creativity and precision. The twelve units communicate

Machine Shop #1

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Maschinenhalle #1 Music Theatre Now

Winfried Ritsch, Christine Gaigg, Philipp Harnoncourt and Bernhard Lang

Maschinenhalle #1

About

Music Theatre Now

Bernhard Lang, composer www.2ndnature.at

Bernhard Lang began exploring electronic music and computer technology at the Institute for Electronic Music (IEM) at the University of Music and Performing Arts in Graz / Austria. Since 2003, he has been focussing on dance and developing projects with Xavier Le Roy (The Theatre of Repetitions, 2003), Willi

The Music “The starting point for the composition was the instrument Winfried Ritsch developed as part of a long-time artistic collaboration with me and choreographer Christine Gaigg. It consists of 12 resonating platforms, 12 automated pianos, 12 computers, and 12 performers. Their movements generate sounds and rhythms, which – through the feedback processes of sampling and looping – in turn serve as the impulse for new dance-related movements. This is therefore a self-generating composition which more or less invites the composer, as its creator, to retreat into the background. The piece is a borderline experience between the perpetual tipping of ultra-precise directions and sensual blurring, which it also consciously plays with. The interesting thing about all this – precisely from the perspective of composition – is that there is no telling whether the movement produces the sound or the sound the movement. Essentially this makes the composition not only a work of musical theatre but also a piece of aesthetic, philo-sophical and artistic research.”

Bernhard Lang

Maschinenhalle #1

Dorner and Christine Gaigg in particular. For the 2nd Nature label, Gaigg produces contemporary dance projects, often in collaboration with lighting and set designer Philipp Harnoncourt. Winfried Ritsch is associate professor at the Institute for Electronic Music (IEM) and also heads the Atelier Algorythmics studio.

55 Music Theatre Now

Maschinenhalle #1

For some years now, Christine Gaigg, Bernhard Lang, Philipp Harnoncourt and Winfried Ritsch have been working – sometimes in different combinations – on a loop grammar, which structurally connects music and dance (or movement) in space. Several of these works from the so-called TRIKE series, developed since 2004, depict electronic music and movements on top of one another; others work perfectly without technology, with the performers creating a moving landscape consisting of visual and acoustic rhythms produced without sound feeds. Metal-resonating platforms were first used early in the TRIKE series, in which the electronically-amplified steps of the dancers on the raised platforms become sound material. Other pieces from the series explicitly deal with a technology based on the process of cutting and repeating short sequences, a computer-generated video repetition – the visual loop generator. At the same time, attention was focused on the dialogue between the visual projections of dance movements and a real, moving body. The latest production of this series – like Maschinenhalle #1 (2010) – places the sound projection on a musical instrument in the foreground, with the instrument or the idea of the instrument extended by the trias resonating platform, piano, and loop generator.

Music Theatre Now

some of the disorientations of ecstasy – the special kind of mad aliveness when all the senses are sharpened and one can access states of transformation. The opera is not about narrative form or psychological development – instead it describes a series of states of being. Aspects of two great epics, The Mahabharata and Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde, are symbolically pivotal to the opera. It is not the stories themselves that are important, rather certain energy patterns of risk and transformation. The idea of the gamble comes from the dice game scene in the great Indian epic The Mahabharata. Briefly, King Yudishtira is drawn into a dice game where he stakes all that he owns, including his kingdom, his brothers, himself and his wife. Because of his unstoppable addiction, he gambles and loses everything, including that which is most loved. The opera begins at this catastrophic moment of total loss. So the gamble is about an extremity of desire which might lead towards ecstasy (lovers) or perhaps towards disaster or annihilation (war).”

Liza Lim from an interview with Jérémie Szpirglas

The Navigator

“The Navigator is an opera about extreme passion, about Eros and Thanatos, Desire and Death, the hazard of lovers, and of war and choices made between annihilation and creation. The subject of The Navigator is an erotic paradox – or perhaps more precisely, the structure of the paradox that is theatricalised in Eros – the name the Ancient Greeks gave to the divinity of desire. The Greeks described Eros as the ‘weaver of fictions’, ‘the bittersweet’, pointing to the ambivalence, the dilemma of sensation and the illusory conditions that underpin the erotic. The journey then is not so much a linear journey from one place to another, but more a to-and-fro, a place of deferral. What is desire but a longing for that which is out of reach – a trajectory of longing that moves endlessly to an impossible vanishing point? A triangular geometry is created in which the lover yearns to be one with the beloved, yet also strives to maintain the distance that is the condition of the erotic (think of Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina, Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, Stendhal’s On Love, Roland Barthes’ A Lover’s Discourse, Sappho’s poetry). The opera’s journey plots the co-ordinates of desire – a staging of shifting positions: of distance and nearness in musical space; convergence and divergence of different temporal forms. The figures in my opera, the characters of the Navigator, the Beloved, the Fool, the Crone and the Angel of History, move in shifting constellations to describe

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The Navigator

ELISION ensemble

The Navigator

About ”In late 2004, I sat alone in the darkened concert hall of the Sydney Opera House listening to the Sydney Symphony under Gianluigi Gelmetti play the rapturous music of the Prelude to Tristan und Isolde. From that moment, I wanted to write an opera about ecstatic engulfment and the ambiguous space of desire. I avidly followed performances of Wagner’s opera – in Brisbane, in Paris and in Essen. From there The Navigator began to evolve.“

Music Theatre Now

But I think you can see that I am working more with certain abstract patterns that are expressed in these great classic stories without necessarily ‘setting’ the story. Myths are incredible storehouses of deep cultural knowledge so I find them endlessly fascinating, relevant and alive.“

„One of the themes that I was really drawn to in the Tristan und Isolde story – which is perhaps not the first theme one usually thinks of – is the theme of the chaos of false signs: in an early Breton version of the story, Tristan is waiting: does Isolde’s ship fly the white flag of good news or the black flag of disaster? Tristan hears the report of a black flag and dies just as Isolde arrives. Are we actually that reliable witnesses to our own desires or do our projections cast a veil on whatever we experience? Ouch!

[…]

www.elision.org.au

I wasn’t thinking of Aboriginal myths but the librettist Patricia Sykes, interestingly, read very widely on myths surrounding the Greek Pleiades, the constellation which also figures very prominently in Australian Aboriginal stories about the Seven Sisters,

Liza Lim from an interview with Jérémie Szpirglas

Liza Lim Liza Lim‘s work as a composer is focused on intercultural exchange, looking particularly at Chinese and Australian Indigenous art, aesthetics and ritual culture. Her projects encompass opera, chamber & symphonic music and site-specific installation. Recent commissions include Ensemble musikFabrik & Holland Festival, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Ensemble InterContemporain, Salzburg & Lucerne Festivals, Bavarian Radio & SWR Orchestras, Sydney Symphony and Festival d’Automne à Paris. She has been closely associated with the ELISION Ensemble with whom she collaborated on three operas. She is Professor of Composition at the University of Huddersfield, UK.

”Cicadas were an image of desire for the Greeks – they had a story that once upon a time, the cicadas were human. When the Muses arose, they were so enamoured of music that all they wanted to do was sing and forgot all else, perishing in this suffused state of desire. The recorder is another image of this trope of desire. The Ganassi flourished in 15th century Venice in a school of recorder playing that was highly virtuosic and full of extravagant ornamentations. As an instrument, it was associated with the supernatural, the melancholic, the pastoral and the erotic. That particular tradition died out when Baroque recorders came to supremacy but strangely, it was an Australian instrument builder, Fred Morgan, who spearheaded the revival of the instrument about forty years ago. So its use for me is also tied up with strange pathways in recapturing and remaking the past - it is both authentic and recreated – a product of research and imagination. I love the expressivity of the Ganassi recorder – the immediacy that the sound has, with its closeness to breath – it registers every subtle shift and nuance in the body. These various kinds of instruments emerging from different historical periods, for me, create different musical spaces – sometimes very congruent, sometimes clashing. Each instrument comes out of particular sound worlds – each with its own performance histories, different physicalities and aesthetics of listening and expression, and somehow the mix provides me with access to a highly textured mix of gestural languages and ‘affects’ (to draw upon a very Baroque understanding of music). Instead of a smooth and historically coherent ensemble, you end up with a lot of ‘boundary situations’ – the electric guitar against the recorder is one extreme example. I like to work with these polarities, finding ways of weaving connections across boundaries or intensifying the differences and the friction between elements which then forms part of the expressivity of my musical language.“

Liza Lim from an interview with Jérémie Szpirglas

59 Music Theatre Now

The prelude to this ‘alchemical dream opera’ is played by a Ganassi recorder, an instrument long associated with lamentation, the erotic, and pastoral and supernatural realms. A counterpoint is provided by the sound of cicadas, a high pitch of desire, and the rustle of the quivering feathers of an entrapped Angel of History.

The Navigator

The Music

Music Theatre Now

Degenerate Art Ensemble’s Red Shoes is a re-imagining of Hans Christian Andersen’s tale of a girl who is cursed to dance herself to death for following her creative desires. DAE’s interpretation of this beloved fairy tale / horror story is a rich drama of dreams, passion, discipline, desire, trauma, transformation and reinvention. DAE‘s work shows parallels between this story and the struggle to follow one’s creative path in contemporary society. In the 2011 premiere, the performance began in Seattle’s Frye Art Museum galleries and spilled out onto the streets. The group created a theatre inside an abandoned supermarket, performed in a cathedral courtyard, in a fountain and around a bonfire in the back streets of Seattle’s first hill neighbourhood. Red Shoes brings together non-verbal theatre, dance, song, live music and visual art sensibilities to create a performance environment that is both immersive and abstract, poetic yet narrative.

Red Shoes

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Red Shoes

Degenerate Art Ensemble

Music Theatre Now

Joshua Kohl and Haruko Nishimura are co-founders and co-artistic directors of the Seattle-based multi-art group Degenerate Art Ensemble (DAE). DAE’s work has been presented by major dance and music venues, has been shown in galleries, and was featured as the subject of a large scale exhibition at Seattle’s Frye Art Museum in 2011. Nishimura’s passion as a director and performer is to question the relationship between audience and performer – to put them in each other’s way, to cause collision and conflict – with the goal of awakening and transformation. Kohl’s approach to music is similarly combustive: it is dedicated to the exploration and proliferation of genre-free music that utilises all the available tools of music-making, from classical instruments to electronics and new inventions. In addition to his work with DAE, Kohl is also an avid conductor of indie classical music.

Red Shoes emerged from DAE’s deep relationship with Seattle, as residents, creators, and influencers of its cultural landscape. Red Shoes emerged in a yearlong series of impromptu solo performances by Haruko Nishimura in Seattle’s streets, city parks and neighbourhoods. Incubated by the full DAE company in a Frye Art Museum residency and a residency at director Robert Wilson‘s Watermill Laboratory of Performance in New York, Red Shoes was nurtured and produced in the embrace of an unprecedented neighbourhood partnership that included Seattle’s Frye Art Museum and St. James Cathedral. The work has since been developped into a touring project that works to engage with the community, architecture and culture of the venues at which it takes place. Red Shoes was directed by DAE’s Haruko Nishimura with original music by Joshua Kohl and Jherek Bischoff and video by Leo Mayberry.

Degenerate Art Ensemble has a highly collaborative approach to music making. Upwards of 8 composers have joined minds for the creation of past DAE performance scores. Swapping themes, stealing ideas from each other and remixing each others‘ sounds are common practices in the group‘s work. The score for Red Shoes was cocreated by composers Joshua Kohl and Jherek Bischoff in collaboration with the cast of Haruko Nishimura and Dohee Lee. The lines of composer and performer are blurred as the performers are asked at times to create their own melodies, which are then in turn reinterpreted in new scores. While much of the music is notated, musicians are also asked to improvise within the compositions, aiming to create a more razor-edge connection between music and theatrical performance. In line with the community-collaborative nature of Red Shoes, the group has been working with local musicians for the performances, adding a greater dimension of community involvement. This not only builds closer relationships with the cities in which they perform, but also brings new influences and energies to the work itself.

Red Shoes

Degenerate Art Ensemble

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The Music

About

www.degenerateartensemble.com

Stefan Żeromski Theatre

Music Theatre Now

“I was looking for young directors interested in challenges and new means of expression in theatre; directors who would blow fresh air into the theatre repertoire. Radosław Rychcik, who had previously directed a performance entitled Versus in the New Theatre in Kraków, was one of them. I invited him to collaborate on something and he proposed In the Solitude of Cotton Fields by Bernard-Marie Koltès in an interesting arrangement. Around that time he had came across the group Natural Born Chillers (whose members are Bartosz Ignor, Michał Lis, Piotr Lis and Maciej Matysiak), and he was so fascinated by their music that he came up with the idea of a performance-concert. Although the idea of staging musicians playing live alongside actors delivering Koltès’s texts seemed risky, I decided to take the risk. The combination of the group’s music with the actors’ performance and video projections by Marta Stoces turned out to be very successful, as proved by the fact that the performance was invited to participate in more than a dozen national and interna-

tional festivals, as well as gaining fans and highly-favourable reviews. The director’s subsequent collaboration with the Natural Born Chillers resulted in further projects, both in the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce and elsewhere. Thanks to the use of live music, In the Solitude of Cotton Fields has an unusual rhythm and expression. The musicians help the actors to play as if in a trance, which is a great advantage to the performance, and full houses show that the audience also appreciate the collaboration.”

Piotr Szczerski, Managing and Artistic Director of the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce

Samotność pól bawełnianych

In the Solitude of Cotton Fields

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Samotność pól bawełnianych

Biographies / Background

Music Theatre Now

Samotność pól bawełnianych

Radosław Rychcik graduated in Polish philology from the University of Warsaw and studied theatre direction at the Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Cracow. He started out working as Krystian Lupa’s assistant on Factory 2, a performance inspired by Andy Warhol’s work. In developing his performances Rychcik tries to act on emotions as strongly as possible: not only does he place extreme expectations on his actors, he also tests the endurance of the audience. “It is my dream to arouse emotion in the audience, to touch them and unleash feelings. I wouldn’t desire any situation in which an audience considered my performances well-designed theatre. And only that. I choose theatrical means so that the actor, who comes out on stage and has to act very strong emotions, has to show his own distance from the emotions that he will present in the next few moments. He does not pay any attention to himself but to the fact that he serves. Only then is there a chance that the viewer will feel something.”

Wojciech Niemczyk Wojciech Niemczyk graduated from the Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Cracow, having previously studied archaeology at Jagiellonian University. He participated in many theatre projects whilst studying at drama school, and also has roles in television productions. He sings, plays the guitar (electric, bass and classical) and dances.

Tomasz Nosinski Tomasz Nosinski graduated from the Ludwik Solski State Drama School in Cracow in 2008. He frequently works with director Radosław Rychcik. In fact, Rychcik’s production In the Solitude of Cotton Fields determined his professional future as Nosinski has been a resident actor at the Stefan Żeromski Theatre in Kielce since the 2010/2011 season. He had also participated in Krystian Lupa’s workshops. In the Solitude of Cotton Fields turned out to be a tremendous success, and at the end of the 2009/2010 season Tomasz Nosinski was honoured by the Kielce press for his role as the Client.

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Samotność pól bawełnianych

Radosław Rychcik

The Music “The music to the show In the Solitude of Cotton Fields was created very fast – in only one week. It was the first time the band had ever worked with director Radosław Rychcik to create music. Our plan was simple – to write music that perfectly matched a particular scene. For example, when Rychcik said: “Here we need winter”, we played only dominant minor chords with a lot of reverb plus icy electronic drums in order to get a result that we could work with. The music throughout the show is different and varied, going from rock & roll to techno, where we used elements from the band Kraftwerk. I don’t think I have ever heard of a performance before that links so many different music styles, and what’s more, the music is played live and fitted to the actors.”

Michał Lis, composer

www.teatr-zeromskiego.com.pl

Schlimmes Ende

The Awful End

Music Theatre Now

What’s it all about? Eddie Dickens’ parents suddenly look strangely ‘yellow and crinkly around the edges’. That’s why he’s been fetched by his mad Uncle Jack and even madder Aunt Maud, who drive him in a large carriage to their house called Awful End, of all things. Philip Ardagh’s education theory is pitch black, the adult world is a nightmare, the director of the orphanage is a horrid and unspeakable woman, and Malcolm, the stuffed weasel, is actually called Sally, or is it the other way round? Eddie doesn’t let anything intimidate him; he conquers the bearded man with his unpredictable aunt and, in the role of an impoverished orphan boy, becomes the glamorous hero of St. Horrid’s House for Grateful Orphans. For Eddie Dickens, the world of adults is totally unpredictable, latently cruel and always good for unexpected turnarounds. But he never gives up and each time tries to fight his way through every adventure according to the new rules of the game.

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Schlimmes Ende

Philip Ardagh turns the world of children upside down: nothing is the way the children imagined it would be according to their parents and teachers. To enjoy a book, a reader must be able to free him or herself from well-rehearsed thought structures and have a passion for developping creative thinking. In this way, taking in the novel becomes a school for creativity and free thought, the precondition to discovering new worlds. In The Awful End we have to distance ourselves from the idea of transposing everything identically. Yet how do you portray the surreal? Ideally, we should be confronted with a staging using puppets that combine human with superhuman abilities. Amongst the adults’ insanity, Eddie Dickens is the only one who is apparently normal, and he is a onemeter-tall puppet. The Awful End defies categorisation. In Frank Schulz’s production everything can turn into anything: musicians become actors, puppeteers become singers, the harpsichordist a horse. And this production cannot be assigned a customary, generic name: even though the music is the defining entity, The Awful End is not a children’s opera, nor is it a drama with musical inserts, it is certainly not a musical, nor does the term musical comedy quite fit.

Schlimmes Ende

Theater Kontra-Punkt

The Music

Music Theatre Now

The production partners come from all over the German-language region. In 2011, the successful Orchestra Olympics project was invited to Taiwan and enjoyed its first staging in Mandarin Chinese. The last two young people’s projects with contemporary music, Die Odyssee – akustische Turbulenzen für Stimmbänder und Instrumente (The Odyssey – acoustic turbulence for vocal chords and instruments) as well as Tanz der Maschinen (Dance of the Machines), received the NRW’s broadcasting network’s “Kultur prägt!” prize. In addition, a subsequent production received the cultural prize of the federally-funded MIXED UP Awards.

Schlimmes Ende

Since its founding in 1984, Theater KontraPunkt has considered itself to be, in the broadest sense, a music theatre for adults, children and young people. In our productions we work with both classical and early music, but the emphasis is on contemporary music. We initiate music theatre experiments, searching for unusual combinations of arts and multi-disciplinary theatre experiences. Our pieces are created in collaboration with musicians, singers, actors, and dancers. Our main focus lies in the realisation of world premieres. We deal intensively with the possibilities of production location: theatre as installation (as, for example, the Rhine Bank Tunnel in Düsseldorf, Ulrich Rückriem’s sculpture exhibition, warehouses, etc.) and space as a resonating instrument. Another speciality is developing new concepts for family concerts. Together with large, national and international orchestras we develop programmes that aim to acquaint children and families with orchestra music in playfully intelligent ways. We think of family concerts as an independent art form, which aspires to make music more theatrical, to bring professionals and amateurs (children) together, and to forge a path to contemporary music.

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Schlimmes Ende

About

The world is insane. Its rules constantly change and neither human relationships nor the laws of nature can be depended on. What used to be right is now wrong – and the reverse. And we, that is through the character Eddie Dickens, have no resources to oppose the unpredictable chaos of reality. Or almost nothing. Except our fantasy. We find the figures of musical characterisations in everyday objects separated from their original purpose – tin cans, air pumps, styrofoam plates and small percussion objects; a harpsichord, accordion and brass instruments - Eddie Dickens listens to them, trying to get a general view of his world. He alone is the ‘sensible’ one, the one who seems to speak normally. All the others sound strange and are dressed in musical tones: the orphanage director is a euphonium coupled with a vocal ensemble, the circus director sings operatically to harpsichord accompaniment, the police officer rattles like a tin man with every step he takes, and the horse is a harpsichord, a clock … song-like passages change places with slapstick-like recitatives and purely instrumental music. The music wins by reduced means, and with it, for Eddie Dickens, a reality in which he orients himself in the awful end. Eddie’s world is made of tones. And these tones have the exact meaning that Eddie, as we, can win by playing them.

www.kontra-punkt.de

Fanny & Alexander

T. E . L . T.E. Lawrence’s utopian obstinacy, his failure, and the utopian obstinacy of drama in today’s society. We identified a set of guiding themes and images which drove the project:

Seven Pillars of Wisdom, Thomas Edward Lawrence

Music Theatre Now

72 T.E.L. is a device for utopian communications. Two actors are in two different places, distant in space and perhaps in time. However, they are always connected through satellite internet and establish a remote dialogue. Two different audiences simultaneously witness their impossible-possible exchange.

[…] Then the two actors swap places. So those who wish to can see the whole picture, the other side of the coin, the complete dialogue between the two. An actress and an actor are on stage in two different places. The two places are always linked and this gives life to a radio correspondence, a remote dialogue between the two. This type of performance needs the presence of a live audience, but it could also be followed by a remote audience (radio drama). The themes of radio transmission and of being remote are closely linked to the rise and fall of T.E. Lawrence, as they are set against a backdrop of war. The essential themes of the project emerge from a key parallelism:

of the Arab people/the utopian search for independence from any form of power as a spur for artists; — The failure of the utopia of the Arab revolt / failure as a daily horizon of utopia for actors on stage and for artists in society; — Loneliness in facing the utopia of the revolt / the loneliness of actors on stage and of artists in society; — Glory / success — Shame after failure, the shame of the body/shame, the modesty of the bodies of actors on stage; — The sacrifice of the body in the revolt /the sacrifice of the bodies of actors on stage; — The desert where images come from / an empty scene to be filled with images; — L awrence’s multiple identities/the multiple identities of actors — The impossibility of total empathy, difference as a feeling of betrayal / the impossibility of total empathy with the work and with the audience.

T. E. L.

— The utopian search for independence

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T. E. L.

“All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”

About Fanny & Alexander Fanny & Alexander is an artists’ workshop founded in Ravenna in 1992 by Luigi de Angelis and Chiara Lagani. Fanny & Alexander produces theatrical performances, video and cinema projects, installations, performative actions, photo shows, publications, conferences and seminars, festivals and exhibitions. Since 2001 it has run Ardis Hall, a space for productions, rehearsals and drama workshops, and since 2009 it has run Artificerie Almagià, a cultural facility, under an agreement with the Municipality of Ravenna and in collaboration with Associazione Almagià. In 2012, Fanny & Alexander members set up Cooperativa E with the artistic groups of the Menoventi Company, gruppo nanou, and ErosAntEros.

Luigi de Angelis

Music Theatre Now

T. E. L.

Chiara Lagani

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T. E. L.

Luigi de Angelis is a director, set designer, graphic designer, light and sound designer, music editor and performer. He studied Gregorian chant and piano. His productions always stem from an interplay between music, sound and stage, and are inspired by figurative arts and contemporary music.

Chiara Lagani is a playwright, writer, linguist, costume designer and actress. For many years she has pursued complex projects in cultural interweaving and thematic investigation, leading training workshops in Italy and Europe. She has also participated in conferences in universities, theatres and cultural centres.

The Music

www.fannyalexander.org

„The ethno-folk soul of this work stems from a choice to compose mostly with pre-existing recordings, without making new ones. I set off on a musical research trip to North Africa and the Middle East with Luigi de Angelis. These areas were all touched in some way by the stories and the figure of Thomas Edward Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia. Over the course of some months I was able to collect a great deal of old recordings. The materials I chose mostly date back to the 1950s and 1960s. They are therefore of great interest for my research because they bring back rites and ceremonies belonging to villages and tribes from a distant past. I let myself be guided by the musical structures typical to these places on the shores of the Mediterranean. They are simple in terms of composition, and for this reason powerful and hypnotic. I was particularly interested in the insistent rhythm and obstinate repetition of chants and litanies. The electronic aspects of the work originated from my need to break the original structures and replace those rhythmic structures with a more obsessive and sequential pace. It is therefore also a work of electronic manipulation, but the aim was to hide rather than to reveal the electronic sound. I wanted to create an all-embracing electronic web, a structure or cage within which the echoes of that distant world could be present.”

Mirto Baliani

Music Theatre Now

“I had told myself that I would not write a classical opera. A priori, it is something that does not appeal to me. Nor in theatre, for that matter. I would never put on socalled ‘repertoire’. It is not my way into theatre, which is truly linked to the notions of creation, imagination and the search for form. It was evident I would not become an ‘opera director’ in the same way I am not interested in becoming a ‘theatre director’. Antoine Gindt approached me with a creative project. Above all, with a project that could include theatre. The first discussions with Antoine were about the possibility of a theatricality similar to the one I practice.

[…] Aymar’s parents are a very old woman, who feels useless, and the greatest comedian in the world. His father would like to pass on his artistry, and Aymar really would love his parents to be proud of him. But, well, Aymar is not made for laughter and captivates on the contrary by its sick sensibility. Every night he meets a strangely shy young woman who attracts him. What guilt when he should be himself completely in the service of the paternal dream! “It seems to me that Joël Pommerat’s text – perfectly suited to his kind of theatre, which is intentionally more prosaic than poetic – would find a musical expression more suited to opera though the sounds of the English language. By which I don’t mean a refined British English, but an English of the ‘middle ground’, a neutral international interaction. I also wanted to create a real break between the original work and the opera, yet not change the story in any way. By using English words (bearing in mind their specific sonic component, which is very different to the French one) I could keep a sense of the text, yet at the same time radically transform its sound. And lastly – and to my mind, most importantly – I was keen for the poetic experience of the theatrical performance, as conceived by Joël Pommerat, (the text as pretext) to be supported by the music. Make the spectator/ listener live an ‘other’ kind of experience, deeper, more personal, that is what I wish for as a composer.”

Oscar Bianchi

And then the idea came quite quickly that I would work on my own writing. I had told myself that if one day I were to approach opera, it would be because I could approach it as I do theatre: as an author. Although of course, there is also the vital collaboration of a partner, the composer, who doesn’t exist in theatre.”

Joël Pommerat

Thanks to my Eyes

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Thanks to my Eyes

Oscar Bianchi and Joël Pommerat

Music Theatre Now

Oscar Bianchi studied music at the Milan Conservatory, in Paris at IRCAM, and in New York he pursued his doctorate in composition at Columbia University. He is the recipient of awards such as the Gaudeamus Prize (2005) and he‘s been a featured composer in festivals such as MUSICA Strasbourg, Ultraschall Berlin, Archipel Geneva, Lincoln Center New York. Notable compositions are his cantata MATRA (2007) for Ictus, Anahata Concerto (2009) for Klangforum Wien, Anja Concerto (2010) for the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Adesso (2011) for Quatuor Diotima. Upcoming projects include works for the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig under conductor Riccardo Chailly, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Ensemble Modern, Ensemble Remix, Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart.

Franck Ollu, musical direction In 1990 Franck Ollu became the lead horn player in the Ensemble Modern (Frankfurt), of which he is now one of the regular conductors. Since 2003 he is artistic director of the KammarensembleN of Stockholm. Over the course of his career he has directed amongst others the Ensemble Recherche and Musikfabrik (Germany), the Asko Ensemble (Netherlands), as well as numerous symphonic orchestra at an international level. He conducts works of various composers, including, with the Ensemble Modern, Landschaft mit entfernten Verwandten (Heiner Goebbels), ... Ce qui arrive ... (Olga Neuwirth), Passion (Pascal Dusapin). Furthermore he regularly performs at national and international festivals.

Joël Pommerat (1963) is one of the most important French playwrights and stage directors of the present day. He founded the Louis Brouillard company in 1990, whose activity and reputation has grown considerably since the success of Au monde in 2004. From March 2007 to the spring 2010 Pommerat was artist-in-residence at the Bouffes du Nord theatre in Paris, associate to Peter Brook. Since 2012, he is associate artist at the Odéon-Théâtre de l’Europe in Paris. Joël Pommerat has received the Molière Award for French playwright and companies several times. Most notable amongst his upcoming projects is an opera with Philippe Boesmans as librettist and stage director at Théâtre de la Monnaie in Brussels, based on his play Au Monde.

Eric Soyer, scenography and lighting After studying interior architecture at the École Boulle, Éric Soyer came to theatre via the English-speaking company ACT, who introduced him to the technicalities of staging. Among others, he has done the lighting design for the Partage de Midi by Paul Claudel (2007, Comédie Française), for The Scream (Le Cri, 2008, for the choreographer Nacera Belaza) and for Les Sentinelles (2009, Nacera Belaza). Eric Soyer has been in charge of scenography and lighting for Joël Pommerat for the past 12 years. In 2007 he received the prize of best set design from the trade association of Theatre, Dance and Music critics for his set designs and lighting of the Marchands. He was nominated for the Molières for his lighting design in 2008 for Je tremble, in 2009 for Canard sauvage, in 2010 for Cercles/Fictions and in 2011 for Ma chambre froide.

Thanks to my Eyes

Oscar Bianchi, music

Joël Pommerat, libretto and stage director

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Biographies / Background

Isabelle Deffin, costumes

The Music

After studying fashion design in Rennes, Isabelle Deffin trained as a costumier at the school of the Théâtre National de Bretagne. Isabelle Deffin works as creator and designer for theatre as well as for dance. She worked as a wardrobe designer for cinema, among others on the medium-length films of Jean-Claude Monod and JeanChristophe Valtat, which were awarded prizes at the Clermont-Ferrand festival in 2003. Furthermore she works as assistant on many of the performances written and staged by Joël Pommerat.

How do you deal with the vocal strength of each individual character?

Dominique Bataille, sound engineer In the 1990s, Dominique Bataille was sound engineer at the Grande Halle de la Villette in Paris. He worked with theatre and stage directors such as Jean-Pierre Vincent, Patrice Chéreau and Jean-Louis Martinelli. He also collaborated with several composers: Pascal Dusapin for the operas To be Sung and Medea Material, François Sarhan for Kyrielle du sentiment des choses, James Dillon for Philomela, and finally Wolfgang Mitterer for Massacre in 2010. In 2010, Dominique Bataille’s recording of Philomela received the Orphée d’Or Award for best recording of 21st century lyrical music from the Académie du Disque Lyrique.

www.oscarbianchi.com

“By respecting the rules of operatic conventions: these force one to consider the clarity of the text whilst writing, and to give each character the most appropriate vocal colour for the role. The role of Aymar, who is not yet a man psychologically, is sung by a countertenor. This is such a special voice, and the ambiguity of its vocal range seemed to me to fit the character’s profile perfectly. In Aymar there is a beauty in his naivety that a countertenor voice is particularly able to reveal. The role of the Father, whose career as the greatest comedy artist in the world is very dubious, naturally goes to a baritone - the clichéd voice of the impostor in opera. The two Young Ladies are sopranos, one lighter and clearer than the other. On the other hand, the exhaustion and the weakness of the Mother facing the end of her life, made me decide to give that role to an actress rather than a singer. The physical energy necessary to sing seems actually incompatible with the expression of this weakness – despite the numerous romantic heroines who die with the full strength of their vocal resources at their disposal … .”

Oscar Bianchi from an interview with Christine Prost

Zhou Long

Music Theatre Now

中国古典戏剧舞台上的“人鬼情未了” The Ghost on the Chinese classical xiqu stage.

生可以死，死可以生，只有爱不能忘记 Man is mortal and love is immortal.

戏曲表演与现代手段的机巧结合 The combination of the traditional xiqu performance with a modern approach.

古典风韵与当下思维的奇妙穿越 Connection to the classical style with a modern concept.

古代与现代善恶美丑的叩问与碰撞 The collision of kindness and evil, beauty and ugliness between the past and the present.

古人与今人爱恨情怨的交集与对话 A dialogue of love and hatred, affection and resentment between the ancient and the modern.

空荡荡舞台，水袖、折扇、手绢，打破时间、超越时间 On an empty stage, water sleeves, a folding fan, a handkerchief, transcend time.

对影成三人，歌唱、吟咏、身段，展现古今、来往生死 The three women’s singing, reciting and physical gestures, allow the past and present to unfold, oscillating between life and death.

还魂三叠

Three Haunted Souls is an experimental drama conceived for a small theatre which employs elements of Chinese traditional xiqu (Chinese traditional theatre /opera) and treats them with a modern touch. Unlike in a traditional dramatic style, the linear plot structure is broken and the narrative is acted out, without attempting to tell a complete story, in an extremely minimalized, abstracted and unrestrained fashion. Thus the traditional xiqu is performed with a contemporary and innovative spirit – a concept free from the limitations of space and time. The traditional roles are conceptualised and abstracted, they become more individualized, giving them a relevance to today’s society. The ancient ideas, way of speaking, singing, the physical postures are all constructed and deconstructed, then brought together in a modern form. This allows a contemporary concept of love, life and moral values to be reflected, as well as addressing the eternal notion of love. This work is about an eternal philosophical idea of love that combines modern and ancient understanding.

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还魂三叠

Three Haunted Soul

还魂三叠

The choice of the subject matter

Music Theatre Now

Three Haunted Souls has been adapted from familiar sections of xiqu (Chinese traditional theatre /opera) works, The Peony Pavilion ‘Love-making in a Dream’, The Red Plum Pavilion ‘Setting Pei Free’ and The Wulong House ‘Holding Captive’. The vigour and fervour of Setting Pei Free, the delicate and subtle character of Lovemaking in a Dream and the sad, sentimentality and ambiguity of Holding Captive dissolve in a minimalistic context on the simple, and vacant stage. When the old stories are paraphrased in a modern presentation, we are able to capture the traditional cultural quintessence in a brand new theatrical form. The adaptation of these three excerpts is performed as a kind of montage, jumping back and forth between the stories, the fragments are sometimes related, sometimes not, resulting in a unique staged vision.

The Characters

international.nacta.edu.cn/en

In each of these excerpts of classical works the main female character dies and comes back to life. Each character is reinterpreted by actresses of today, revealing the inner world of the women of the past. Li Huiniang in The Red Plum Pavilion comes back to this world in order to carry out a dangerous rescue. A pair of long fluttering sleeves creates an atmos-phere of tension and portrays her brave and decent character. Du Liniang in The Peony Pavilion is reborn in order to find her beloved. She uses a folding fan to represent the character’s elegant and pure personality as well as her narcissism. Yan Xijiao in The Wulong House wants to take her beloved with her to the netherworld so he can remain her husband eternally. A pretty and coquettish handkerchief and sensitive movements of her hands and feet reveal the extreme selfishness of her quest. The actresses shape the characters with their body language as well as the soft and delicate lines of their singing. They perform their roles, and yet at the same time they stand outside their characters as onlookers. They show us three tempers, three types and three symbols. They represent their ‘love’ in three different ways.

The classical style serves as a foundation for the music. Elements of ancient music are interwoven in a contemporary musical structure. Kunqu (Kun opera), Jingju (Peking opera) and Shanghai Yueju (Yue opera), the three major traditional genres among the many in China, are treated in an abstract manner: the resulting minimalism preserves the unique character of the traditional melodies. The inner tension of each of the three female characters is embodied by the clear and pure sounds of the strings, recitation and singing. The distinct sonority of the different musical instruments xun, xiao, zheng, pipa and drum serve to represent the different characters: the music supports the acting, as well creating a background which determines the mood of the entire performance. During the rehearsal process, the songs, the melodic lines and interpretation were formed through improvisation, playing music without melody and singing songs without rhythm – sometimes referencing the classical system and sometimes without adhering to these limitations. Using the improvisational system of classical music as a starting point, modern thought is interwoven with classical song and gesture and movement, resulting in a new free form or style.

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Three scripts annotate three kinds of spirit. Three souls achieve three types of life. Three kinds of Chinese traditional opera present three styles. Three actresses tell three stories. Three skills stand for three focuses. Three intonations depict three states of mind. Three musical instruments suggest three forms of emotion. Three shades of colour set off three artistic conceptions.

还魂三叠

The Music

Director’s words

Music Theatre Now

Three Mile Island – The Parable of a Scientist of the faces of the accident victims whom we met in Pennsylvania last autumn. The only element of ‘fiction’ is a narrating voice entrusted to the figure of Sky Woman, a myth closely connected to the culture of the Iroquois Indians, the legitimate inhabitants of Pennsylvania before they were exterminated by English settlers. Despite appearances, Three Mile Island is neither an indictment against the use of nuclear power plants, nor a warning about the hidden risks of using nuclear energy for civilian purposes. What we are recounting is the parable of a scientist who, thanks to his perseverance, his rigour and his research methodology, manages to establish a simple and incontestable truth. He fights to ensure that truth is acknowledged, but death keeps him from pursuing his battle. We wanted simply to document his heritage and transform it into a performance. We could have chosen to write a biography or a scientific paper, or made a film or documentary. Instead we chose the most complex route, the only one we know: we have put Ignaz’ existential and ethical parable on stage using the apparently classical instruments of music theatre, namely

music, song, projection and narration. It is not our duty to judge the final result. We do not even know what name we will give to this creature we have brought to life. What is Three Mile Island? An opera, a concert, a story in sound and image, a multimedia project (to use horrible modern terminology)? This uncertainty, this doubt, forms part of the same material of which our ‘show’ is made: a question mark, that which must necessarily end any authentic, honest and free testimony.

Guido Barbieri

Three Mile Island

Andrea Molino

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Three Mile Island

Three Mile Island is not the reconstruction of a forgotten catastrophe, nor is it an account of the nightmare that for the first time in recent history shook confidence in the progressive propagation of nuclear energy. It is, or at least aims to be, purely the story of a scientist and his human, ethical and scientific experiences. The case of Ignaz Vergeiner, the true heart of our work, represents in our view a general paradigm that does not exclusively concern those events in Pennsylvania. In our eyes, the parable of Ignaz is the story of a conflict with science on one side and power on the other. On one side a solitary man, a scientist who collects safe, reliable, unmistakable data, on the other a lobby, or several lobbies, defending their own economic, political and legal interests and questioning the value of scientific research. Ignaz unmistakably proves that the radiation levels to which men, women, children, animals, meadows, woods and plantations were exposed between 28 and 31 March 1979 were much higher than the authorities admitted. The principal element of our representation (it could not have been otherwise) is therefore authentic testimony from those who experienced the tragedy first hand. Together with this, we show some

The Music

Music Theatre Now

wind, lightness, delicacy – convinced me that the challenge of giving an artistic shape to this story rather than a […] traditionally journalistic one really had a chance of success. After two years The sound of his voice, his inflections, of study, of analysis and of preparation accents, pauses, even the smallest (my correspondence with Guido and details that had no semantic meaning Karl now exceeds one thousand emails!) but great emotional value, become the I once again met my companions. core around which the musical disTogether we set out for Pennsylvania, course revolves. The voices of the Neue to Harrisburg, to that Three Mile Island Vocalsolisten and the instruments of the in the middle of the Susquehanna River. Klangforum accompany it, in the most And together we met Marjorie, Paula, humane sense of the word, delicately Ann, Mary, James, Joyce, Kay and Robert: and respectfully. As I have done previvictims and witnesses of the accident. ously in other works, I gave Ignaz’ voice After thirty years, their memory is still an instrumental alter ego, the double alive, their willingness to tell the truth is bass in this case. Then I did the same still intact. Andrea Molino with the saxophone for the voice of US scientist Arnie Gundersen. We interviewed him during our research trip to the US and he appears extensively in the narration. The other key element is air, the medium used by Ignaz to develop his contribution to truth. Of course I did not imitate the sound of air with vocal or instrumental writing, even though some onomatopoeias may surface in the musical discourse from time to time. Andrea Molino

www.andreamolino.net

Three Mile Island

Almost three years ago Guido Barbieri came to my dressing room after a concert to greet me. We had already met before and initiated a promising dialogue. Before taking his leave Guido said to me: “I leave you with three words: three, mile, island. Try to put them together and let me know what you think.” At that time I had only a vague idea of what these three words meant. I remembered an accident at a US nuclear plant some years ago, yet – like so many others – I knew neither the details nor the consequences or implications of that event. A couple of weeks later Guido called me and asked: “So, did you put those three words together?” We met again in Venice and Guido told me about Ignaz Vergeiner, about Karl Hoffmann (“a very talented journalist friend of mine”), about a car journey at night from Palermo to Catania whilst he was working on another project. Even before the encounter, I knew that I would accept Guido’s proposal. A few weeks later, Karl sent me a first section of the long and complex filmed interview with Ignaz Vergeiner that would form the basis of the project. Examining the footage, I was overwhelmed by the lightness of Ignaz’ personality, by his delicacy, his vivacity. Ignaz did not just use air and wind to read the truth; it was as if he himself was made out of air. What convinced me above all else to accept the challenge of Three Mile Island was the feeling that it would be possible to create an indispensable, strong and vital relation between the libretto of the opera – that was still to come into existence – and the context that had generated it. We would take Ignaz’ heritage and transform it into music, into words and into images, ensuring that it reached ears that would otherwise never have heard it. The aesthetic and artistic qualities of what we possessed – Ignaz, the air, the

The source material for Three Mile Island was a long in-depth video interview that Karl Hoffmann did with Ignaz Vergeiner before he died. First and foremost, this meant for me that the core of the work had to be his voice.

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Three Mile Island

About

Michel van der Aa

Music Theatre Now

never ‘narrates’ the film, but somehow the two layers seem extentions of each other moving around a common subject. Furthermore, the live instruments are augmented with an electronic soundtrack, which at times seems closely related to their music and at other times appear to derive from the ‘concrete’ sounds of the action on screen. Are these plural realities or versions of a single experience? Much is left unexplained and the course of the piece, including a striking coup de théâtre towards the end, provides no easy answers. One theme that does emerge, however, concerns loneliness. As in other van der Aa pieces – such as the video opera One or the ensemble piece Mask – elements of an uncanny, inscrutable ceremony are never far away and in Up-close these become part of the difficult ritual of human to human contact. Visual references recall the methods of the Dutch Resistance of World War II, but it is the spirit of secrecy, protocol and adversity that pervades, rather than any specific historical setting. The woman is apparently trying to transmit coded messages of some sort and, at one of the work’s climaxes, she employs a large mechanical decoding device built especially for this piece by the composer. As it decodes the woman’s messages, the machine creates music of its own. This intertwines with the sounds of the ensemble, a singular moment when film and music cross over into each other’s realms. If anything, we are left with more mystery, not less.

Tim Rutherford-Johnson

Up-close

In Michel van der Aa’s cello concerto Up-close, the traditional interaction of soloist and ensemble is reflected by a mysterious, mirror reality seen on film. When the piece begins, a solo cellist and a string ensemble sit on the right of the stage; on the left stands a large video screen. On the screen we see an elderly lady sitting among an arrangement of chairs and music stands which parallels the real-life version on the other side of the stage. It soon becomes clear that this is only one of a variety of interactions across a hall of mirrors created by the soloist, ensemble and film. Up-close, commissioned by the European Concert Hall Organization and featuring the Argentinean cellist Sol Gabetta and the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, is thus a cello concerto duplicated and magnified until it reaches the boundary of video opera. Are the elderly woman and the cellist playing out the same role? The film is seen in excerpts ‘inserted’ into the music, so is the music driving the film, or the film the music? The music

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Up-close

www.vanderaa.net/up-close

Biographies / Background

Music Theatre Now

Sol Gabetta, cellist The cellist Sol Gabetta was born in Cordoba, Argentina, in 1981. She was only ten when she won her first competition in Argentina, and has received many more awards since then. From 1992–94 Sol Gabetta studied at the Escuela Superior de Musica Reina Sofia in Madrid, after which she moved to Switzerland to pursue further studies with Ivan Monighetti at the Basel Academy of Music. After further years of

Candida Thompson, conductor Candida Thompson studied with David Takeno at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. She developed her studies further at the Banff Centre for the Arts in Canada and played with several international orchestras such as Moscow Chamber Orchestra, The English String Orchestra and Amsterdam Sinfonietta. Since the summer of 2003, Candida Thompson is Amsterdam Sinfonietta‘s artistic director and leader.

Amsterdam Sinfonietta The ensemble consists of 23 chamber musicians and its repertoire covers a variety of styles, extending from the Baroque repertoire to contemporary works. The main focus lies on string

The Music ensemble repertoire, including chamber music performed in string orchestra format. On occasion, Amsterdam Sinfonietta perform as a chamber orchestra with additional instrumentalists. The ensemble is characterised by an innovative approach to repertoire, often presenting unexpected and exciting programming combinations. Alongside performances of mainstream repertoire, Sinfonietta frequently draw attention to unjustly neglected or new works.

As a cello concerto it gives me the opportunity to display a whole spectrum of technical virtuosity and expressiveness. But even at a purely musical level there is a technical aspect – the playback – that, based on conventionally produced sounds, introduces a new level that is not an accessory, but rather a dialogue partner. The principle of the dialogue is then further developed by means of the film level in which I, as the soloist, suddenly become part of the drama that, without a concrete plot, leaves room for reflections in the most varied directions. Just as the musical playback already reflects the sounds and places them in new contexts, the images of the film also open up an entirely new perspective of the performance in which the orchestra and I, as a musician, do not merely bring to life the notes of a score, but rather we all become a part of a mystical action. And thus I am no longer just a cellist, but also perform very much as an actress in the room, whereby my actions are mirrored by the elder woman in the film. Or is it actually I, who mirrors the woman in the film? In any case, I am no longer just the musical soloist here, but simultaneously also the protagonist on the stage, an experience that was an absolutely new and awe-inspiring one.

Sol Gabetta

Up-close

Michel van der Aa (Netherlands) is a composer, film and stage director as well as a script writer. Before studying composition (with Diderik Wagenaar, Gilius van Bergeijk and Louis Andriessen), van der Aa trained first as a recording engineer at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague. Many of his works are as visual as they are aural. An important aspect of van der Aa’s work is collaboration and interdisciplinarity. He has worked with leading classical performers such as Sol Gabetta, Barbara Hannigan as well as the Portuguese fado singer Ana Moura and well-known European actors like Klaus Maria Brandauer and João Reis. He has directed both the filmed and staged elements of all of his works. His operas have been staged in more than a dozen countries.

study with David Geringas, she took her concert exam in 2006 at the Hochschule für Musik Hanns Eisler Berlin. Over the past few years, Sol Gabetta has made guest appearances with the Munich Philharmonic and the Vienna Symphony Orchestra, amongst others. Ms. Gabetta regularly appears at major festivals such as the Rheingau Musik Festival in Verbier or at the Menuhin Festival Gstaad. She has also founded her own chamber music festival in Switzerland entitled ‘Solsberg’.

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Up-close

Michel van der Aa, composer

War Sum Up

Music Theatre Now

93 War is as simple and as complicated as man itself. The nature of war is everchanging, adapting to the era’s usable weapons and to the culture within which it takes place. War develops new technology, new strategies, and new opinions. War Sum Up tells of war through three main characters: The Soldier is sent home from war. He suffers from PTSD (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder) and no longer feels at home in civilian society. He returns to the war and dies in an explosion. A monument is raised in his memory. His fate and this phenomenon still exist today. The Warrior is killed in battle. His unnatural death prevents his soul from a natural transition to the world on the other side. He becomes a spectre, a ghost who must tell his story in order to find peace. An old superstition which still exists in many cultures. The Spy is captured in the war. In order to be freed she must relearn her abilities in martial arts and transform herself. She turns into a superwoman and escapes. She is a part of the fantasygenre as well as popular culture. All three stories are framed by

the Woman in Yellow. She is the game master who starts the war. But she is also the person who goes on working, for everyday life must continue even though there is a war. She is part of the Civilians’ choir that intensify and expand the never-ending story of war. Light and darkness, colour and pattern in black and white together, with manga drawings in XL format, form intense visual narrators.

Kirsten Dehlholm and Willie Flindt “The man-machine interface, the new environment or computer space, which machine and man inhabit together, is not an extension of the body but a total environment. It is the context for a new corporeal reality, an entirely new world in which war is conducted, a world into which we are not only sensorially but also physically incorporated and assimilated.” (Christopher Coker from The Future of War)

Music Theatre Now

War Sum Up

Hotel Pro Forma

Music Theatre Now

Hotel Pro Forma is an international laboratory of performance and installations. Perception, perspective and themes from the world are blended into a conceptual, visual and musical art form. Each work is developed through an almost natural-science approach to study and research, and subject matter is often taken from this world-view. War Sum Up is the result of a unique cooperation between Hotel Pro Forma, the Latvian Radio Choir and the Latvian National Opera, with Kirsten Dehlholm as director. The British symphonic pop orchestra The Irrepressibles, and Latvian composer Santa Ratniece, composed the new music, which is performed by twelve singers from the Latvian Radio Choir under its conductor Kaspars Putnins. The Danish fashion designer Henrik Vibskov created the costumes, and the lighting designer Jesper Kongshaug provided the lighting with his usual contextual flair.

Kirsten Dehlholm, direction and concept With a background in the visual arts, Kirsten Dehlholm has worked with performance art for over 30 years. She began with Billedstofteater (Theatre of Images) from 1977 to 1984, and she founded Hotel Pro Forma in 1985. She created over 100 performances, ranging from site-specific performances for museums, city halls and other architecturally significant buildings, to performances for prestigious venues around the world, including the Venice Biennial, Berliner Festspiele and Brooklyn Academy of Music.

Formed in 2002, The Irrepressibles are a performance pop orchestra created by artist and composer Jamie McDermott. The Irrepressibles perform a ’spectacle’ show, which brings together choreography, interactive set, lighting installation and musical performance to inspire the emotions of the ‘inner child’ of their audiences.

Santa Ratniece, composer The Latvian composer Santa Ratniece is considered by many to be one of the most promising young composers in the Baltic region today. She has won several prizes for her work and participated in numerous festivals around the world.

War Sum Up

Hotel Pro Forma

The Irrepressibles

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Biographies / Background

Gilbert Nouno, composer Gilbert Nouno is a composer, teacher, recording sound artist and a researcher at IRCAM. He was awarded the Villa Medici Roma grant in 2010/2011 and the Villa Kujoyama Kyoto grant in 2007. He holds a Masters and PhD degree in Acoustics and Signal-Processing applied to Music from IRCAM and the University of Paris.

Latvian Radio Choir, vocals Founded in 1940 the Latvian Radio Choir is considered to be one of the most boldly-innovative choirs in Europe today. Their vast repertoire extends from early Renaissance and Baroque music to complex works of contemporary classical music.

The Music Kaspars Putnins, conductor Kaspars Putnins is a staunch supporter of new vocal music. For his choir, this means performing challenging and stilldeveloping music that often leads into unexplored territory. He has collaborated with various Baltic composers to develop works with a new musical language and expression.

War Sum Up is inspired by the powerful expression of Japanese poetry, pop music, their precision and brutality. The libretto is created with texts from Noh-theatre and others, written by Japanese masters. The old world meets the new world as the deep tone of poetry unfolds in an electronic musical universe. Several different musical expressions and styles combine. Together with the sung voices, newly-composed classical music creates a spheric, electronic sound. Specially-composed pop music describes the three main characters in a mix of chamber pop and electronica where man and machine melt together. “I was chosen to make pop. Pop is not specific in genre terms and has a line all the way back to folk-music, everything from a melody in a music box to instruments that represent country music, to the style of music that one might associate with manga culture.”

www.hotelproforma.dk

Jamie McDermott, composer

“Another dimension of the sound is created by electronics: it is like another acoustic universe with varying sound sources. Electronic sound space is used as a self-contained musical instrument. The electronics are made so exquisite as to create a sense of inner voices, audible only to the internal mind.”

Santa Ratniece, composer

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Music Theatre Now

Credits

33 ⅓ Collective

Concept/Musical Direction

Michael de Roo

Peter te Nuyl

Dramaturgy

Credits

Music Theatre Now

100

Musical Arrangements

Mete Erker and Martin Fondse (2011) & Daniel Cross (Rosa Ensemble) 2012

Featured Singer

Stephanie Pan (2012)

Soundscapes

Michael de Roo

Video

Douwe Dijkstra, Coen Huisman and Jules van Hulst

Kevin Walton

33 ⅓ Collective

Mark Groen

Voice-over Artist

Artistic Consultant

Lara Thoms

Writer, Flyway Field Guide

Catherine Ryan

Production Manager

Jane Smith

Producers

Aphids

Co-Producers

Next Wave Festival

Partnered by Birdlife Australia

Photographer

Flyway, 2012 Next Wave Festival.

John Possemato

Images courtesy of

Prologue/Lyrics

Geros dienos! (Have a Good Day!)

Photographer

OPEROMANIJA

Flyway Elizabeth Dunn

Composer

Indrė Anankaitė Veronika Čičinskaitė Erika Zaleckienė Milda Zapolskaitė Vida Valuckienė

Altos

Liucina Blaževič Virginija Linkevičienė Rita Račiūnienė Kristina Svolkinaitė Rima Šovienė

Kęstutis Pavalkis

Lina Lapelytė

Piano

Live Electronics

Production

Independent creative group OPEROMANIJA

Photographers

Kęstutis Serulevičius Dovydas Petravičius Simonas Švitra

El Gran Teatro de Oklahoma (The Great Theatre of Oklahoma)

Vaiva Grainytė

Teatro Argentino de la Plata and Marcos Franciosi

Rugilė Barzdžiukaitė

Librettist

Director/Set Designer Costume Designer

Daiva Samajauskaitė

Eugenijus Sabaliauskas Mindaugas Skuminas

Valdas Karpuška

Lawrence English

Sound Artist

Elizabeth Dunn

Sopranos

Lina Lapelytė

Principal Artist

Cashiers’ Choir

Lighting Designers Choirmaster

Milda Zapolskaitė

Sound Director

Costume Design

Synthesizer

Electronic Device

Percussion

Joanna Nogueiras Yankelevich

Yamil Burguener

Ricardo Toro

Juan Molteni

Diego Ruiz

Daniel Serale

Diego Alberti

Teatro Argentino

Assistant Director

Director of Cameras

Video Programming

Production

Teatro Argentino de La Plata (Argentina)

Commissioned by TACEC

Photographer

Marita Machetta

Voices of the Nonsense Vocal Soloists Ensemble

Sopranos

Lucía Lalanne Nadia Szachniuk

Evangelina Bidart

Martín Díaz Juan Francisco Ramírez

Alejandro Spies Javier Lezcano Instrumental Ensemble Süden

Juliana Moreno Sergio Catalán

Federico Landaburu

Carlos Britez

Mariano Malamud

Martín Devoto

Facundo Ordóñez

Contralto Tenors

Baritone and Bass

General Manager

Cr Leandro Manuel Iglesias

Art Director

Marcelo Lombardero D irector of the Center

for Experimentation and Creation (TACEC)

Martín Bauer E ditor of The Grand

Theatre of Oklahoma

MELOS EDICIONES MUSICALES S.A.

Homework François Sarhan

Composer / Director Staging / Design

François Sarhan

Flutes

Ictus Ensemble (Brussels)

Composer

Clarinet

Saxophone

Violin

Keyboards

Viola

E-Guitar

Cello

Trombone

Bass

Drums

Marcos Franciosi

Diego Cosin Marcos Franciosi Based on the novel Amerika by Franz Kafka

Text / Librettist / Staging

Musical Director

Valeria Martinelli

Scenery / Lighting

Fabian Nonino

Matthieu Metzger

Jean-Luc Plouvier Tom Pauwels Alain Pire

Gerrit Nulens

Credits

Blauwbaard (Bluebeard)

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Kunst aus der Zeit, Bregenzer Festspiele

Photographer

Credits

François Sarhan

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Josefine singt. (K)ein Liederabend nach Franz Kafka (Josefine sings. (Not) a recital after Franz Kafka) opera silens Composer

Wolfgang von Schweinitz

D irector / Staging Hans-Jörg Kapp

Dramaturgy Mascha Wehrmann Stage Design / Costume

Marcel Weinand

Sound Design

Thomas Schmölz

Assistant Director

Laura Nerbl

Cast

Soprano

Frauke Aulbert

Kurt Glockzin, Ludwig-Christian Glockzin

Two Narrators

Violoncello

Agnieszka Dziubak

Maschinenhalle #1 (Machine Hall #1) Christine Gaigg, Bernhard Lang, Winfried Ritsch and Philipp Harnoncourt Composer Bernhard Lang Concept

Christine Gaigg Bernhard Lang Winfried Ritsch Philipp Harnoncourt

Stage Design / Light

Philipp Harnoncourt

Choreography

Christine Gaigg

Technology & Development

Winfried Ritsch / Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics (IEM) Dancers Quim Bigas Bassart Sara Canini Ella Clarke Alexander Deutinger Christine Gaigg Robert Jackson Milla Koistinen Anna Majder Asher O’Gorman Eva-Maria Schaller Magi Serra Foraste Veronika Zott

Production

steirischer herbst 2010

Photographer

Wolfgang Silveri / steirischer herbst

The Navigator Elision Ensemble Composer Liza Lim Libretto

Patricia Sykes

Director

Conductor

Manuel Nawri

Set Design / Costumes

Alice Babidge

Cast

Light Design

Damien Cooper

Sound Design

First Siren / The Crone

Philip Larson (Bass baritone) Second Siren / The Fool Omar Ebrahim (Baritone) Third Siren /

Commissioned by Brisbane Festival 2008, Melbourne International Arts Festival and the ELISION Ensemble with the support of the Australian Government‘s Major Festivals Initiative, managed by the Australia Council, its arts funding and advisory body, in association with the Confederation of Australian International Arts Festivals. The creative development phase of this project was also supported by the Perth International Arts Festival.

Ricordi London / Universal Music Publishing Classical

Photographer Justin Nicholas / Copyright Elision Ensemble

Michael Hewes

The Navigator Andrew Watts (Countertenor) The Beloved Talise Trevigne (Coloratura soprano)

Elision Ensemble

Barrie Kosky

Production

The Angel of History

Deborah Kayser (Baroque alto)

Red Shoes

Video

Leo Mayberry

Set / Prop Design

Jason Puccinell Colin Ernst Ela Lamblin

Created with the support of The Frye Art Museum, Watermill Center a Laboratory for Performance, Center for Performance Research, National Endowment for the Arts, Neighborhood Matching Fund, Mayors Office of Arts and Cultural Affairs Seattle and 4Culture

Photographer

Bruce Tom

Samotność pól bawełnianych (In the Solitude of Cotton Fields) Stefan Zeromski Theatre Composers

Director

Ignor Bartosz Michał Lis

Primary Performers

Marta Stoces

Degenerate Art Ensemble Composers Joshua Kohl

Jherek Bischoff

Haruko Nishimura Haruko Nishimura Dohee Lee

Ignor Bartosz Michał Lis Piotr Lis Maciej Matysiak

Director / Staging

Radosław Rychcik

The Natural Born Chillers Stage Design

Credits

Géry Combier

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Bass

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Photographer

Maciej Żórawiecki Grzegorz Kaczmarczyk / Copyright Zeromski Theatre

Cast Dealer

Wojciech Niemczyk

Client

Tomasz Nosinski

The Natural Born Chillers Band

Bass

Bartosz Ignor

Michał Lis

Keys

Maciej Matysiak

Keys / Guitar

Drums

Piotr Lis

Stage Direction Frank Schulz Puppet Direction Evelyn Arndt Cast

Actress

Annette Bieker

Matthias Flohr

Bariton Matthias Sprekelmeyer Puppeteer Michael Hatzius

Vanessa Valk

Jörn Wegmann

Trombone/Accordion Cembalo Frederike Möller

Theater Kontra-Punkt Composer Hauke Berheide Libretto

Annette Bieker (after Philip Ardagh)

Musical Direction Norbert Kleinschmitt Dramaturgy Thalia Schuster Stage Design / Puppet Construction / Costume

Jan Kocman

Actor Marco Cavalcali Tour Manager Marco Molduzzi

Production Fanny & Alexander /

Tempo Reale

Photographer

Enrico Fedrigoli

Cast Aymar

The Mother

Director

Brian Bannatyne-Scott

Anne Rotger

Keren Motseri

A Young Woman in the Night

Zhou Long

A Young Blonde Woman

Jiang Jinghong

Liu Xiaoqing

Han Jiang

Chinese Academy for Dramatic Art

Fflur Wyn

The Man with Long Hair

Antoine Rigot

Ensemble Modern

Norbert Kleinschmitt

Production

Producer Theater Kontra-Punkt Co-Producer

Oscar Bianchi and Joël Pommerat

Co-production

Theater Freiburg

Photographer

Maurice Korbel

T.E.L. Fanny & Alexander / Tempo Reale Composer

Mirto Baliani

Director / Stage / Light Designer

Luigi De Angelis

Dramaturgist / Actress

Chiara Lagani

Composer Oscar Bianchi Libretto / Staging

Joël Pommerat Based on his play, Grâce à mes yeux (translated by Dominic Glyn)

Franck Ollu

Eric Soyer

Isabelle Deffin

Dominique Bataille

Philippe Carbonneaux

Marie Piémontèse

Musical Director Scene / Light

Costumes

Sound Design

Artistic Collaborator to the Director Artistic Collaborator to the libretto

Festival d’Aix-en-Provence

T&M-Paris / Théâtre de Gennevilliers CDNCC Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie Festival Musica - Strasbourg

With support of SACD, of Fonds de Création Lyrique

T&M-Paris avec le soutien du Réseau Varèse et de Pro Helvetia, Fondation suisse pour la culture

T&M-Paris/Réseau Varèse and Festival d‘Aix-en-Provence Editions Durand / Universal Music Publishing Classical

Production on Tour

Commissioned by

Photographer

(Three Haunted Souls) Chinese Academy for Dramatic Art

Hagen Matzeit

还魂三叠

The Father

Thanks to My Eyes

Schlimmes Ende (The Awful End)

Sound Design

Damiano Meacci Francesco Casciaro

Philippe Stirnweiss

Dramatist

Yan Quanyi

Music Designer Styling Designer Lighting Designer

Production

Three Mile Island Andrea Molino Composer

Andrea Molino

Guido Barbieri Andrea Molino

Karl Hoffmann

Libretto / Dramaturgy

Video

Speaker Birgit Bücker (Karlsruhe) Andrea Mirò (Rome)

Neue Vocalsolisten Stuttgart Soprano Sarah Maria Sun

Susanne Leitz-Lorey

Credits

Production

Stefan Zeromski Theatre in Kielce (Poland)

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Truike van der Poel

Daniel Gloger

Countertenor Tenor

Martin Nagy

Guillermo Anzorena

Andreas Fischer

Baritone Bass

Klangforum Wien Flutes

Thomas Frey

Bernhard Zachhuber

Gerald Preinfalk

Credits

Clarinets

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Saxophones

Trumpet / Flugelhorn Anders Nyqvist Violoncello

Photographer Felix Grünschloss / Copyright ZKM – Centre for Arts and Media Karlsruhe

Up-close

Andreas Lindenbaum

Michel van der Aa

Beltane Ruiz

Composition / Video Michel van der Aa Artistic Director

Contrabass

Percussion Adam Weisman

Björn Wilker

ZKM – Centre for Arts and Media, Karlsruhe

Sound Direction, Interactive Environment

Holger Stenschke

Medial Staging

Bernd Lintermann Manuel Weber Nikolaus Völzow

Video Editing

Anna Falkenstern

Zürcher Hochschule der Künste, Media Arts

The Cloud, interactive video installation

Candida Thompson

Sol Gabetta

Cello

Actress

Vakil Eelman

Production Frank van der Weij for the Disquiet Foundation (Stichting Rusteloos)

First performance 11 March 2011, Stockholm Konserthuset. Amsterdam Sinfonietta Sol Gabetta, cello

Commissioned by

uropean Concert Hall E Organization, Fonds Podium Kunsten, Het Concertgebouw. Written for Amsterdam Sinfonietta, Sol Gabetta

Photos / Video stills disquiet media Photographer Joost Rietdijk

War Sum Up Hotel Pro Forma Music The Irrepressibles

and Santa Ratniece with Gilbert Nouno

Vocals Latvian Radio Choir

Libretto Texts from classic

Noh theatre edited by Willie Flindt

Sigvards Klava

Kirsten Dehlholm

Conductor Kaspars Putnins /

Direction Kirsten Dehlholm Musical Direction Kaspars Putnins Concept Willie Flindt

Light Design

Jesper Kongshaug

Costume Design

Henrik Vibskov

Set Design

Kirsten Dehlholm Willie Flindt Jesper Kongshaug

Hikaru Hayashi

Manga Drawings

Production Hotel Pro Forma,

Latvian National Opera

Associate Producer

Sarah Ford / Quaternaire

Co-Production

Latvian Radio Choir Latvian National Opera Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival Concert Hall Aarhus Royal Danish Theatre Odense Theatre

Photographer

Gunars Janaitis

Credits

Production ZKM – Centre for Arts and Media, Karlsruhe (Germany) in co-operation with Acca demia Filarmonica Romana, IUC (Istituzione Universitaria dei Concerti), Rome

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Mezzosoprano

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Music Theatre Committee of the International Theatre Institute (ITI)

www.mtnow.iti-germany.de

Editors

Laura Berman Penny Black Annette Doffin Michael Freundt Maximilian Grafe Viviana Marrone

Antonella Amato Penny Black Marie Fol Andrew Jarman Karl Edward Johnson

Graphic design

Translation

Jan Grygoriew www.jangry.com

Printers Tastomat

113 Music Theatre Now

Publisher German Centre of the International Theatre Institute (ITI) Kunstquartier Bethanien Mariannenplatz 2 10997 Berlin Tel. + 49 (0)30 61 10 76 50 info@iti-germany.de www.iti-germany.de

Imprint