„Marina Abramović w Brazylii”. Fot. materiały prasowe.
The world of Eastern tales and Greek mythology transferred into modern time ? Opera Śląska has prepared two one-act ballet performances: Scheherazade by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Medea by Samuel Barber. Robert Bondara, the director and choreographer of the performance, is an artist of the Polish National Ballet, a dancer and choreographer. Maciej Tomasiewicz, the music supervisor of the performance, is a conductor from the young generation who has already conducted concerts with the best orchestras in the country. Stage design and costumes have been prepared by Martyna Kander, and the lighting supervisor is Maciej Igielski. The performance also features two video projections by Ewa Krasucka. The premiere will take place on 19 May 2018 at 6:00 pm in Opera Śląska in Bytom.
?What I find fascinating about these two ballet compositions, which is also the link between them, is the insight into the fates of women and the discovery in them of some contemporary aspects. Regardless of whether the source is Greek mythology or Eastern tales, these stories show some universal attitudes and behaviour as well as address universal issues,? emphasizes the director and choreographer Robert Bondara.
Scheherazade is a tale about jealousy and the need for intimacy. The latest staging presented by Opera Śląska does not contain any elements of the Orient and fairy tale, which are known from the ballet performance under the same title prepared by the choreographer Michail Fokin in 1910. The key emphasis of the story has been placed on the relationships between the main characters and their complex psychology. The plot takes place in some unspecified present day, in a rich house of a wealthy married couple, in a cold Modernist interior. Unaware of that, the household members are constantly monitored by hidden surveillance cameras. This is how the suspicious Schahriyar follows every step made by his wife and servants, which allows him to feed his obsessions and complexes. His insane jealousy only exacerbates the conflict and damages the bond between two people who used to be so close, thus perpetuating the chain of events which inevitably lead to a tragic end.
On the other hand, Medea is the performance of a famous drama by Euripides whose plot takes place in the top ranks of power and politics. Medea lives in the male-dominated world. On the one hand, she is neglected and humiliated, and on the other hand, she has a mercenary and unscrupulous character. Her acute humiliation arouses in her a blinding desire for a blood-soaked vengeance, which becomes stronger than the maternity instinct and her natural protection instinct towards her progeny. However, can the injustice and harm that she sustained justify her crime of infanticide? This is the question to the audience which Robert Bondara asks in the performance. As in the film by Lars von Trier, the injured Medea deliberately and in cold blood calculates the most painful vengeance for Jason, who has betrayed her and married the daughter of King Creon.
Coming performances: 20, 26 and 27 May, and 9 June.
Music Supervisor: Maciej Tomasiewicz
Director and Choreographer: Robert Bondara
Stage design, costumes: Martyna Kander
Lighting: Maciej Igielski
Video projections: Ewa Krasucka
Ballet Supervisor: Grzegorz Pajdzik
Assistant to the Choreographer: Aleksandra Piotrowska-Zaręba
Assistant to the stage and costume Designer: Dagmara Walkowicz-Goleśny
Music cooperation: Grzegorz Brajner
Project coordination: Marta Kuźmiak
