Andrómeda in chains




“Libérame tú del monstruo
Andrómeda encadenada
del gris hostil que desuela las horas
rompe mansamente los grilletes
pues soy Andrómeda Encadenada.
La que habita en el foso de sí misma”.
Fátima Frutos
Andrómeda encadenada (Andromeda in chains) is the new opera by the composer Agustí Charles. With staging by Jordi Pérez Solé and starring the singer María Hinojosa, it is a small-format piece, a monodrama for soprano, with amplified violin, harp, percussion, and live electronics (with the incorporation of the ePad-Wood, a new electronic percussion instrument created by the composer himself).
Andrómeda Encadenada is based on the poem of the same name by the Basque writer Fátima Frutos, in which the author takes the old myth of the woman chained to the rocks and saved by Perseus and gives it a personal, contemporary, and, above all, feminist reading. The libretto, by Marc Rosich, turns the poet’s verses into dramatic material, transforming them into a sung monologue that also includes other texts taken from various poems by the author, as well as quotations from classical poets, such as Lope or Calderón, dedicated to the mythological character. The resulting piece presents us with a woman in crisis after a breakup, but who, while taking refuge in the reading of the classics, and especially in the reinterpretation of the myth of Andromeda, ends up finding a way to break the bonds of sentimental dependence and thus reach self-affirmation as an autonomous being. The staging of Jordi Pérez Solé underlines the shattered world of the protagonist, from which she embarks on her journey, coming to learn to free herself from the chains that do not let her be herself.
Opera in one act for soprano, amplified violin, harp, percussion and live electronics
based on texts from Fátima Frutos, libretto by Marc Rosich
on 21 & 22 October 2022, at Staatstheater Darmstadt, Germany
DATES & VENUES
Performances
Staatsthetaer Darmstadt
Georg-Büchner-Platz 1, 64283 Darmstadt, Germany
- 21 October 2022 (Friday) / 20:00
- 22 October 2022 (Saturday) / 20:00
Composition Agustí Charles
Based on the texts from Fátima Frutos
Libretto by Marc Rosich
Stage direction Jordi Pérez Solé
Musical direction Lorenzo Ferrándiz/José Rafael Pascual-Vilaplana
with
Soprano María Hinojosa
Violin Marc Charles
Harp Esther Pinyol
Stage design Sergi Corbera
Lights Sylvia Kuchinow
Costumes Joana Martí
Mouvement Laura Calvet
Construction of stage design elements Taller d’escenografia Castells – Castells, Planas and Quim Camps-
Tailoring Fernando Sória Muriel
Photos Joan Gastó
Executive producer: Clàudia Robert
Communication ÒBNC: Rocío Campaña Mora
Direction ÒBNC: Dietrich Grosse
World premiere on 28 October 2021, at Palau de la Música – Petit Palau, Barcelona
Production: ÒPERA DE BUTXACA I NOVA CREACIÓ
Special collaboration with: PALAU DE LA MÚSICA CATALANA
Supported by: DEPARTAMENT DE CULTURA DE LA GENERALITAT DE CATALUNYA, MINISTERIO DE CULTURA Y DEPORTE – INAEM, INSTITUT DE CULTURA DE BARCELONA – ICUB, ACCIÓN CULTURALESPAÑOLA
This project has received the support of by the grants “Premis Barcelona 2020” of the Ajuntament de Barcelona
In collaboration with: INSTITUT RAMON LLULL, GENERAL CONSULAT OF GERMANY, MONDIGROMAX, NAU IVANOW, GRANTS CITY OF BARCELONA
Thanks to: Louise Higham, Montse Majench, Núria Marquès, Helena Moliné