New opera: between convention and concept
Discussion panel
Discussion panel: Ewa Szczecińska, Sławomir Wojciechowski, Łukasz Grabuś
Moderator: Jan Topolski
No other musical genre has undergone such a complex and dynamic evolution as the opera. At the turn of the twenty-first century, “opera” can mean nearly anything, from an (a)historic collage (Cage, Nono), through a cinema film or TV series (Ashley, Barney), a spatial installation (Ablinger, Blecharz), up to a conceptual manifesto (Kreidler, Wojciechowski) and anti-institutional opera (Rheinholtsen). Meanwhile, many other composers (Neuwirth, Sciarrino, Mykietyn, to quote but those featured at this year’s Warsaw Autumn) try to continue the convention of a vocal–instrumental stage work.
Is it truly enough to call a work or action “opera” today? If so, what is the objective of adhering to that tradition? What can you still say within the genre? What can you opt for or against? These issues will be discussed by a panel including a theatre scholar (Łukasz Grabuś), a musicologist (Ewa Szczecińska), and a composer (Sławomir Wojciechowski), all three having addressed opera for many years. The panel will be moderated by Glissando music magazine editor-in-chief Jan Topolski.