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FULL BARROCATA (Andrew Morley) A Dance Opera London 2010
Information on the Performance
- Work Title: BARROCATA
- Composer: Morley Andrew
- Libretto: Inspired by seventeenth century artworks and science texts Libretto Text, Libretto Index
- Venue & Opera Company: Vocal Motions Elastic Theatre, London, UK
- Recorded: August 14 & 15, 2010
- Type: Staged Opera Live
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THIS PERFORMANCE
Fusing dance-theatre and opera, Baroccata is an imaginary journey across Baroque ideas about the body, venturing into the intimate and sometimes dysfunctional relationship between art, science and religion.
Inspired by seventeenth century artworks and science texts (ranging from Caravaggio’s paintings and Bernini’s sculptures to t he theories of humours, spirits and the motion of the heart and blood), absurd stories develop across intersecting tableaux. Here we follow the journey of an Artist, striving to represent the Ecstasy of St. Theresa, and a Scientist, studying a patient to det ermine whether blood circulates in the body or evaporates into spirits, which in turn become our thoughts and our soul… Along the way, an Angel and Doubting Thomas (the apostle who would not believe the descent of Christ unless he could touch him with his own hands), keep bickering with one another, symbolising the tension between religious faith and doubt. Then there is Puzzled Jesus, the quintessential enigma. His body conveys all the contradictions of the Baroque – a field of sacred, voyeuristic, anatomical and superstitious views. As art and science gradually move towards secular doubt, he keeps appearing and disappearing: perhaps by miracle, or perhaps by accident.
For Tête á Tête Opera Festival, this is the first staging of Baroccata, which will continue to develop in 2011, supported by the Wellcome Trust. Under the direction of Jacek Ludwig Scarso, all aspects of the work have been approached collaboratively, exploring ideas from scratch and increasingly shaping these into a non-linear narrative. This is true for the score too, developed by Andrew Morley, which relies on a strong use of structured improvisations and also features the unusual integration of toy pianos. Strong references to Baroque conventions in music, art and theatre permeate the piece, in a contemporary tribute to a cultural movement of true extravagance, ambiguity and radically changing perspectives.