α (ALPHA)
Comic strip opera
“Alpha” is an opera which boldly addresses some of the major social and cultural issues and challenges, viewed both in personal and historical contexts, that people face in the world today, such as gender performance, minority politics, and the decline of grand narratives. The jarring combination of two seemingly distant genres – opera and comics – provides an extravagant backdrop for a story of love and murder with the distinctly strong female protagonist.
The story is a variation on the tragic fate of Federico García Lorca, one of the most famous Spanish poets and playwrights of the twentieth century. In “Alpha”, Isabel García Lorca, Federico‘s sister, returns to Spain after many years spent in emigration to solve the mystery surrounding her brother‘s death. Although circumstances of Federico’s death remain blurred, his burial place is thought to be located in the vicinity of Alfacar, a little town in Andalusia. The knowledge of the truth is laden with guilt that is trapped in the wheel of time, which constantly brings us back to the beginning and thus becomes an “omega-less alpha.”
Composer Albertas Navickas: “In devising the score for “Alpha, I wished to express my admiration for flamenco melodies and repetitive structures of minimalist music. The opera’s rhythmic texture consists of two layers collated by the principle of contrast: the constant, rhythmic pulse versus the “hovering” high-frequency ringing, as if giving voice to the uneasy silence.”
Stage director, production and costume designer GoraParasit (Gintarė Minelgaitė): “Not only it is an opera – it is a “comic-strip opera” about a female superhero who is fighting both supernatural and earthly demons, about her trials and struggles in the world. To me, “Alpha” resembles a set of pages – a comic book. “Alpha” is MEGA-feminine.”
Stage director, production and costume designer GoraParasit
Composer Albertas Navickas
Librettist Gabrielė Labanauskaitė
Video artist and stage designer Oskaras Gudas
Illustrator Edvinas Špetas
Sculptor Donatas Repeika
Lighting designer Povilas Laurinaitis
Sound director Svajūnas Jackus
Producer OPEROMANIJA
Performers: Nora Petročenko (mezzo-soprano), Nerijus Masevičius (bass-baritone), Ieva Savickaitė (actress), Pranas Kentra (electric guitar), Agnė Rimgailaitė (accordion), Monika Zenkevičiūtė (electronics)
Duration – 50 minutes
Première – April 20th, 2018, Arts Printing House, Vilnius, Lithuania
